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How to set up Google Search Console

Live guide · Checked 28 October 2026 · Updated 28 October 2026 · Checked every week against Google Search Console's own help pages

Verify your whole domain in Search Console with a DNS record, submit your sitemap and check your pages are in Google.

Time
15 minutes
You will need
  • A Google account for the business
  • Access to your domain's DNS (for example Cloudflare, GoDaddy or your host)
Stuck?
Troubleshooting or ask us a question

Step by step

  1. Open Search Console

    Go to https://search.google.com/search-console and click Add property.

  2. Choose Domain

    Pick Domain (not URL prefix) and type your domain without https:// or www, for example yourdomain.com. A Domain property covers every subdomain and both http and https.

  3. Copy the TXT record

    Search Console shows a TXT record starting google-site-verification=. Copy it.

  4. Add it to your DNS

    In your DNS provider, add a new TXT record. Name: @ (or leave it blank). Value: the record you copied. Save.

  5. Verify

    Back in Search Console, click Verify. It often works in minutes, but DNS can take up to an hour. If it fails, wait and try again.

  6. Submit your sitemap

    Open Sitemaps, enter your sitemap address (usually https://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and press Submit. Add one for each subdomain that has its own sitemap.

  7. Check a page

    Paste one of your pages into the URL inspection bar at the top. It tells you if the page is in Google, and you can press Request indexing for new pages.

  8. Come back weekly

    Check Performance for the searches you show up for, and Pages for anything Google could not index.

Tips from people who set these up every week

  • Add a second owner under Settings > Users and permissions, so you never lose access if one person leaves.
  • Link Search Console to GA4 (Admin > Product links) to see search queries next to your leads.
  • Do not delete the TXT record after verifying: Google checks it again from time to time.

Troubleshooting: questions and answers

Verification failed.

DNS changes can take up to an hour. Check the record is a TXT record on the root of the domain (@), with no extra spaces or quote marks, then press Verify again.

My pages say Discovered - currently not indexed.

Google knows the page but has not crawled it yet. Make sure it is linked from your other pages and in your sitemap, then use Request indexing. New sites can take a few weeks.

Should I use a URL prefix property instead?

Only if you cannot edit your DNS. A URL prefix property only covers the exact address you enter, so you would need one for each subdomain.

Official help pages

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