If you’re an online business owner, you need information about how many people are visiting your website, how they’re getting there, what’s working, and what’s not working. The good news is that it’s easy to set up Google Search Console on your site. Google Search Console (GSC) can provide you with all of this data and more. All of this information can help determine whether your marketing efforts are effective, where you need to spend more time and money, and ways you can improve.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) is a free tool that provides tools and reports to help you gather information about your website and the people visiting it. It can also alert you need to fix issues, how you can improve performance, and what you need to do to make your site stand out on Google.
Here’s a breakdown of just some of the information available in Google Search Console:
- How many people visit your site, and how they find it
- Which pages and posts on your sites bring in the most traffic
- Which keywords bring in the most traffic
- Whether people view your site on a computer or a mobile device
- Crawl errors or security issues that may need to be fixed
- How your site appears in Google search results
- A performance report including total impressions and average position in search results
- How your page looks and performs on desktop and mobile devices
You can also submit a sitemap, which provides web crawlers and search engines with information about your site content and organization. The URL Inspection tool in GSC includes an index coverage report with information about your pages from the Google index.
How to Set Up Google Search Console for your Website
Setting up Google Search Console doesn’t take too much time and is relatively simple as long as you follow instructions. You’ll be grateful you set up this amazing tool when you see all the helpful information it provides.
1. Create a Google Search Console Account
First things first, sign in to the Google account you want to be associated with your website, or make sure you’re signed into the correct account.
Go to Google Search Console and click Start Now.
2. Add your website to Google Search Console
Select your Property Type. The two options available are Domain property and URL-Prefix property. Most bloggers will just use the Domain property.
Enter your website URL in the Domain box, then click continue.
3. Verify Your Website
Google will generate a code that you’ll insert into your domain name provider account. Copy the code and follow the directions on the notification to verify your website.
Note: This process will be different for each domain name provider and depending on your verification method. Generally, you’re looking for an option like “Manage DNS” or “DNS Zone Editor” where you will be able to update your DNS records and add the required TXT record.
If you need assistance, be sure to use the company’s tech support, and they should be able to help. You could also search for articles or information from your domain name provider.
Now you’ve set up Google Search Console set up for your website! You can access your account at search.google.com/search-console and view reports about your website.
Your next step is to connect your Google Analytics property to Search Console. Use Google Search Console in combination with your Google Analytics account to get even more information you can use to improve your website! Learn more about Google Analytics here:
