How to Set Up Google Search Console (The Right Way!)

If you’ve ever wondered whether Google can even find your website, Google Search Console is the tool that gives you the answer and so much more!

A lot of small businesses skip this step entirely. Either they’ve never heard of it, or they’ve seen it mentioned somewhere and quietly filed it under “tech stuff I’ll deal with later.” But setting up Google Search Console is one of the most important things you can do for your website’s SEO, and the setup only takes about ten minutes.

Why Google Search Console Matters for Your Business

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that shows you how your website is performing in search results. Once it’s connected to your site, you can see:

• Which search terms are bringing people to your site. Not just traffic but actual keywords that real people typed in before clicking on you.
• How often your site appears in Google results and how often people actually click through.
• Which pages are getting the most impressions so you know where to double down.
• Any technical errors that might be stopping Google from indexing your pages.
• Whether Google has crawled your site and when.

In short, GSC is your direct line of communication with Google. With it, you have real data to guide your SEO decisions.

The best part is that it’s completely free!

Domain Property vs. URL Prefix: Which Should You Choose?

When you set up GSC, Google gives you two options for adding your website: Domain or URL Prefix. Here’s what you need to know.

URL Prefix tracks one specific version of your URL, for example, just “https://www.yourdomain.com” but not “http://yourdomain.com” or “https://yourdomain.com” without the www. You’d have to add each version separately, and the data stays siloed.

Domain tracks everything. All versions of your URL, all subdomains, both http and https. It gives you the complete picture of your site’s performance in one place.

The Domain property is almost always the better choice, and it’s the one we’re setting up today. The only catch is that it requires you to verify ownership by adding a DNS record to your domain, which sounds scarier than it is. I promise.

Not sure which domain registrar you use? A domain registrar is the company you bought your domain name from — think GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains. Check your email for a receipt from when you purchased your domain if you’re not sure.

How to Set Up Google Search Console

Step 1: Go to Google Search Console

Head to this link and sign in with the Google account you want to use for your business. If you use Google Analytics or Gmail for your business, sign in with that same account so everything stays connected.

Step 2: Add a New Property

In the top left corner, click the property selector dropdown (it may say “Search property” if this is your first time). Click + Add property.

Step 3: Choose “Domain”

You’ll see two options: Domain and URL Prefix. Select Domain.

Type in your domain name without any prefix. Just yourdomain.com (no www, no https, etc). Click Continue.

Step 4: Copy Your TXT Verification Record

Google will generate a unique TXT record for your domain that looks something like this:
google-site-verification=abc123XYZexamplestring

Step 5: Add the TXT Record to Your DNS

This is the step that trips people up, but it’s just a matter of logging into wherever you bought your domain and pasting in a record. Here’s how to do it in the most common registrars.

GoDaddy

1. Log in to your GoDaddy account at godaddy.com.
2. Click your name in the top right, then go to My Products.
3. Find your domain and click DNS next to it.
4. Scroll down to the DNS Records section and click Add New Record (or the + icon).
5. Set the fields like this:
   • Type: TXT
   • Name: @ (this means your root domain)
   • Value: Paste your full Google verification string here
   • TTL: 1 Hour (or leave as default)
6. Click Save.

Namecheap

1. Log in to your Namecheap account.
2. Go to Domain List and click Manage next to your domain.
3. Click the Advanced DNS tab.
4. Under Host Records, click Add New Record.
5. Set the fields like this:
   • Type: TXT Record
   • Host: @
   • Value: Paste your full Google verification string here
   • TTL: Automatic
6. Click the green Save All Changes checkmark.

Google Domains / Squarespace Domains

Google Domains was purchased by Squarespace in 2023. Depending on when you bought your domain, you may be in the classic Google Domains interface or the newer Squarespace interface.

If you’re in the Google Domains interface:

1. Go to domains.google.com and sign in.
2. Click on your domain.
3. Go to DNS → Custom Records.
4. Under Create new record, set:
   • Type: TXT
   • Name: Leave blank (defaults to root)
   • Data: Paste your full Google verification string here
   • TTL: 3600 (1 hour)
5. Click Save.

If you’re in the Squarespace Domains interface:

1. Log in to Squarespace and go to Settings → Domains.
2. Click on your domain name.
3. Click DNS Settings, then Add Record.
4. Set the fields like this:
   • Type: TXT
   • Host: @
   • Data: Paste your full Google verification string here
5. Click Save.

Cloudflare

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard.
2. Select your domain from the list.
3. In the left sidebar, click DNS → Records.
4. Click Add Record.
5. Set the fields like this:
   • Type: TXT
   • Name: @ (or your domain name)
   • Content: Paste your full Google verification string here
   • TTL: Auto
6. Click Save.

Using a Different Registrar?

The steps are nearly identical no matter where your domain lives. Log in to your registrar, find the DNS settings for your domain, and add a new TXT record with:

• Host/Name: @
• Type: TXT
• Value/Content/Data: Your Google verification string

If you’re stuck, search for “[your registrar name] add TXT record” and you’ll find instructions specific to your provider.

Step 6: Verify in Google Search Console

Once you’ve saved the TXT record, head back to Google Search Console and click Verify.

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to process, but in most cases it happens within 5-15 minutes. If verification fails the first time, wait 10 minutes and try again.

Once it verifies, you’ll see a success message and your property will be active. Google will start collecting data for your domain immediately, though it may take a few days before you see anything meaningful in your dashboard.

You’re All Set!

SEO can feel overwhelming, but it’s really just a series of small, doable steps. Setting up GSC is one of the most important ones, and you just knocked it out!