Benefits of using Google Search Console
But what benefits does Google Search Console bring? Among other things:
Improves the search appearance of a website: Google Search Console can show us how our pages look in the SERPs. This is essential in digital marketing strategies.
Make HTML improvements: It is possible to squeeze this tool to improve our HTML. For example, if we forget to put the meta description on our website, we can add it and optimize it for the right words.
Increase organic search traffic: If you use Search Console, it is because you are interested in increasing and improving the organic traffic of a web page, so this tool offers a lot of information on how to achieve it.
Helps you understand the Google Index: If you want to find out how many pages Google is indexing, use this tool to track the number of web pages that appear in Google results.
Track a web page: Crawling or crawling a web page is an essential function of search engine optimization.
How to register your website in Search Console?
At this point we explain step by step how to register your website in Google Search Console, but before you start, you have to know that you can include up to 1,000 properties in your account. Without a doubt, Search Console offers a wide range of opportunities.
How to log in to Search Console
It is necessary to have a gmail account or a corporate email account associated with Google.
From this link you can access Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome
Paste the link to add the property
Being logged in to the Search Console account, the option “Add a property” will appear on the main page tab. There we paste the link of the web page that we want to add.
How to verify a property in Search Console
After adding the new website in Google Search Console and claiming ownership, we need to select the verification method we want to use. It can be done in different ways, either through the method recommended by the platform or through alternative methods.
The available verification methods are the following:
1# How to validate a property with the HTML tag option
Here we show you how to do it through WordPress using the SEO by Yoast Plugin, since it is the most used CMS and Plugin so far (keep in mind that there is another plugin called “Rank Math SEO” similar to Yoast SEO that it can also be good for us.
Copy the HTML code suggested by Google Search Console.
Once the code has been copied, you have to paste it into the header of the web. In this case, you have to access the “Menu” section within WordPress, then “Appearance” and finally click on “Editor”.
Next, you have to review the template you are using in the Menu on the right (from the drop-down menu) and finally look for the “header.php” file.
In the text box that appears, below <head> you have to paste the text that we have copied from Search Console.
Here an example:
<head>
<meta name=”google-site-verification” content=”ijijijijNg-pFioB47cNe0EPllRRdKfMLLt5WJk9U-C-Q” />
</head>
To check ownership from Yoast, copy the code between the last two quotes and then go to your WordPress dashboard and click on the Yoast SEO column, choose the “Webmaster tools” tab and paste the code in the “Google Search Console”.
<meta name=”google-site-verification” content=”ijijijijNg-pFioB47cNe0EPllRRdKfMLLt5WJk9U-C-Q” />
Once pasted, click on the “Save changes” button.
We access Search Console and verify the account
2# Perform verification with domain provider option
Another verification option is the following:
Find your domain provider
Do this on the who.is search page and look up the domain at the registrar. If you know, choose the name of your domain name provider in the dropdown window that opens.
Once the name of the domain provider has been selected, a txt record must be added, and if you have followed the steps indicated on the screen, depending on the type of provider, all that remains is to confirm the ownership by clicking on the “Verify” button.
3# Carry out the verification with the Google Analytics option
Create Google Analytics account
If we do not have an account on this platform, it is time to create one from Google Analytics.
We fill in all the fields and, once this step is finished, we add the script code that they provide us:
Copy tracking code
We copy all the tracking code and go to our wordpress.
In the appearance column, we display until we see the “Editor” option
Now we have to add the code after the <head> tag just like we did in previous points:
header.php
Paste tracking code
This is where we paste the tracking code that we copied earlier. But beware! Do it inside the header (<head> … </head>) where we indicate, never put it outside (you can see it in the image below):
google analytics alt text in wordpress
And we save the changes.
4# Carry out the verification with the Tag Manager option
Create an account in Google Tag Manager
If you don’t have a Tag Manager account, it’s time to create a new one.
create google tag manager account
Set the container name:
create container in google tag manager
Next you have to enter the following codes in the head and body of your web page:
install google tag manager in wordpress
Once the property is installed in Google Tag Manager and after adding the tracking code to the head and body of your website, all you have to do is click on the “verify” button in Search Console.
How to add the sitemap to the website?
If we have already created the sitemap on the web, we have to add its name in the “Sitemap” tab that we will find in the “Tracking” option in the left column.
sitemap search console
We click on “Add Sitemap” and paste the link of our sitemap, which will be similar to this: sitemap_index.xml or sitemap.xml.
Add the sitemap to Search Console if we use WordPress
From WordPress we access Yoast SEO (again) and choose the option “XML Sitemaps”.
create web sitemap with yoast seo
Here we can improve the performance of our sitemap, choosing the number of pages that we want to be included for each sitemap, choosing the value of its sections and its priority.
xml sitemap
Once the url of the sitemap has been copied, we have to paste it into the “Sitemap” field of Search Console. Once we’ve done that, we submit it, and check back after a while to see if the pages we’ve submitted have been indexed.
Tell Google if you use WWW or not
Domains with www or without ells, Google recognizes them differently and that’s why we have to tell you. To specify the domain you want, you have to follow these steps:
On the Google Search Console Home page, click the website
Choose the option and settings
In the preferred domain section, choose the option that best suits you
Tell Google your geographic preferences
Depending on the geographical location of your website, the order of results in the search engine will appear in one way or another. Therefore, we have to tell Google what we are most interested in and what we want to achieve. Are we interested in positioning ourselves in Portugal or in France, Italy, Spain? We can do the following.
Under International Targeting, click the Country tab.
Check the Geo-targeting box and select the targeting country. If you want to make sure your website isn’t associated with a specific country or region, select Nobody from the dropdown.
Manage website daily and monthly
Daily: Thanks to this option, Search Console notifies you by email of possible changes that may occur with your properties such as web hacking or tracking problems.
Monthly: Through the Search Console dashboard you can see on a monthly basis if there are any website errors or unusual drops in click count. It is the most recommended way to take a look as quickly as possible.
How to fix technical problems
To check that there are no errors, we have to enter the Control Panel. Remember that Google will not allow indexing if possible errors that may appear are not resolved.
On the Control Panel screen, we can see Status, which indicates the tracking errors and shows you if everything is correct. If there are three green ticks, it means there is no problem, otherwise you will have to fix it.
The possible errors are:
dns
server connectivity
Robot Information
It is a simple process that provides many advantages that facilitate expanded knowledge of our website. If you intend to be a true expert in SEO, do not hesitate to review the training in Web Positioning that our courses offer. We will wait for you!