Google Search Console and Verification Methods

 

GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE AND VERIFICATION METHODS

Google Search Console

What is Google Search Console?

Google search console is a free service provided by Google to monitor a website's overall health and performance. It helps in the site’s visibility and improves search ranking. Google search console is indispensable for publishers and search marketing professionals. It offers an overview of the search performances and user experience to web owners to help them improve their sites and generate more traffic. Google console also helps Google communicate with web owners.

Search Console offers tools that helps in the following actions:

  • It confirms that Google can find and crawl your site.
  • It helps in the submission of a sitemap
  • It helps in the page indexing of new or updated content.
  • It helps add robot text.
  • It examines the site links to your website.
  • It informs you about a manual action penalty.

Sitemap is an XML document that contains all related URLs in a website. The size of a sitemap is less than 10 MB. A single sitemap can contain up to 50000 URLs. A sitemap contains the frequency changes, last modified date, priorities of the URLs etc.

Syntax: website URL/sitemap.xml

There are two different types of sitemaps- HTML and XML. The HTML format is more easily understandable for humans whereas the XML format is easier for Google to crawl.


 What are the features of the Google search console?

  • It helps in the monitoring indexing and crawling of a webpage.
  • It identifies and fixes errors.
  • It gives an overview of search performances.
  • It helps web owners in requesting new or updated pages.
  • It reviews the internal and external links. 

The search console enables SEO activities in a controlled form. It helps us to easily target a particular country, specified date etc. it also helps to find issues regarding device compatibility, mobile compatibility and browser compatibility. 


Verification Methods

To get started, you have to access the Google Search Console dashboard and open ‘property list’ and click ‘Add property’. When verifying a site the user has to choose between Domain and URL-prefix. Most of the domains registered with Google are auto-verified.

There are mainly 5 methods to verify a site-

  • HTML file upload
  • Meta Tag
  • Google Analytics
  • Tag Manager
  • Domain Name Provider

HTML File Upload 

HTML File Verification

  • This verification method is the recommended method.
To verify a site-
  • Add your site to Google Search Console and download an HTML verification file.
  • The downloaded file should then be uploaded to your website.
  • Then return to Google Console and verify. 

 HTML Tag

HTML Tag Verification

 With the HTML tag method, you need to add a simple meta tag to your site’s <head> section.

  • The meta tag can be found under the ‘other verification methods’ section in Google Console.
  • The copied meta tag should be pasted to your website’s home URL.
  • The meta tag should go in the <head> section, before the <body> section and save.
  • Finish the verification process by clicking the verify button on Google Console.

Google Analytics 

Google Analytics Verification

You can quickly verify your site using Google Analytics if you already have the asynchronous tracking code for Google Analytics placed on your website.

  • This tracking code should be pasted in the <head> section of your page.
  • Then verify your page on Google Console.

Google Tag Manager 

Google Tag Manager Verification

  • Google Tag Manager is used in this method.
  • Tag manager is shown as a container snippet and it is used to verify the ownership.

Domain Name Provider

Domain Name Provider Verification

If you want to verify your website using the Domain method, you need to purchase a domain name from domain name providers like godaddy.com or namecheap.com.
  • The text provided by the Search Console should be copied to the DNS data entry option.
  • By clicking the verify button verification is complete.  

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