Optimize the visibility of your website in the world’s largest search engine.

While your website doesn’t have to be connected to Search Console to appear in search results, connecting to this free service can speed up the process of getting index and provide you with useful insights as to how your website is performing in search.

How to setup Google Search Console

If it’s your first time using Search Console (formerly known as webmaster tools), head over to the Search Console website, and click the Start Now button.

Note: You’ll need to have a Google account (like Gmail) to proceed.

After you’ve logged in, you’ll be greeted with a Welcome screen (pictured below). You’ll put your domain in the “Domain” field on the left hand side.

From that point, Google will walk you through the process of verifying your domain. If you’ve already installed Google Analytics with the same account the verification process is much quicker.

What can I do with Search Console?

Inside search console you can submit URLs for indexing, submit your XML sitemap, and monitor your presence in search engines.

The ‘Performance’ tab in the menu on the left will show you what queries your website is ranking for, how many times people have seen it, your average position, and how many clicks you’ve received. All of this can be very useful data as you improve the SEO of your website.

Keep in mind that a brand new website won’t be getting many (if any!) views or clicks. Your best bet is to set this up as soon as you launch a website and give it time to start collecting data.

Additional resources

For additional information on how to setup and use Search Console, check out this great tutorial: