3 Easy Steps on How to Set Up Google Console for the First Time

If you set up Google Console, you can boost your site’s visibility more efficiently. This tool goes hand in hand with Google Analytics. Google Console allows you to see the keywords that your website is ranking with, the number of click-throughs, and the average search engine results page (SERP) position.

Google Console also provides features that help improve how your website will appear on the SERP. It allows you to add content that will help make your site more attractive to your audiences, such as adding reviews and events.

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Steps on How to Set Up Google Console

It seems daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will see how simple it is to set up and use. You do not need to pay even a cent. All you need is a Google account.

Here is how to set up Google Console.

Go to search.google.com/search-console.

You can log in using your Google account. If you have used Google Analytics before, it is best to put in the details you used in signing up for Google Analytics.

After logging in, you will see the “Add a Property” button at the top part of the page. Click this button, and you will be directed to the page to enter your site’s URL.

Enter your site’s domain or URL prefix

If you want Google Console to track the whole website, enter your site’s domain name under the “Domain.” If you want Google Console to access a specific page, enter your site’s URL under the “URL Prefix.”

Enter your site’s URL and click the “Continue” button.

Verify that you are the site’s owner or have the right to access it.

If you choose to use Console with your domain, the verification method you need to do is copy and paste a particular text to the DNS configuration of your website.

If you choose to use Console using “URL Prefix,” you can verify your page in five ways:

• HTML File: upload a file and publish it on the site
• HTML Tag: needs HTML code editing on your site’s page
• Google Analytics: Google tracks the page if it has the code you installed from Analytics.
• Google Tag Manager: If you do not have a Tag Manager account, go for another verification option or create an account. Suppose you already have a Tag Manager account and your site has a Google Tag Manager snippet. In that case, you can choose this verification method.
• Domain Name Provider: same as the verification process when you sign up using your site’s domain. This method requires a more complicated procedure, but it can be straightforward if your domain is listed in the verification wizard.
  
  

Select the best way to verify your account. However, Google suggests that users should verify through uploading the HTML File on their site.

For a more straightforward method, and you already have your Google Analytics tracking code installed on your site, go for the Google Analytics verification method.

However, note that you need to wait for almost a week to see data in your account. Google has to index and find your content first; thus, the wait. If you want Google to track your data faster, help it by submitting an XML site map, which will help it index your site more quickly.

Google has fantastic tools in helping you keep track of your site’s performance. It lets you keep tabs on your visitors’ actions, number of visitors, and even the keywords your site is ranking for. Take advantage of these benefits, learn how to set up Google Console and Google Analytics and get started.

Contact James Hannan, founder of Results and Co and a StoryBrand coach, if you have any questions.