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Hi, I'm Britt!
Web designer. SEO strategist. Pop culture enthusiast. Britt is the founder of Pop Impact™, where bold, purpose-driven websites aren’t just pretty, they perform. With 15+ years of experience, her team helps creative entrepreneurs build online spaces that get seen, get results, and give back.
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This free mini-guide walks you through the exact steps to get found, boost traffic, and turn clicks into clients—without the tech stress.
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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.
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:
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!
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.
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.
In the top left corner, click the property selector dropdown (it may say “Search property” if this is your first time). Click + Add property.
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.
Google will generate a unique TXT record for your domain that looks something like this:
google-site-verification=abc123XYZexamplestring
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.
@ (this means your root domain)@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:
If you’re in the Squarespace Domains interface:
@@ (or your domain name)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:
@If you’re stuck, search for “[your registrar name] add TXT record” and you’ll find instructions specific to your provider.
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.
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!