Google Search Console for WordPress Websites

To optimize your website’s visibility in the world’s largest search engine, set up Google Search Console as soon as possible, even if you won’t be able to look at the data immediately. This guide will show you how to submit your website easily and make it shine in Google search results.

Key Takeaways

• Set up Google Search Console (GSC) early; it can start processing your site before you review data.
• Add your site as a domain property, then verify ownership by adding the TXT record in your DNS (often via Cloudflare).
• Submit your sitemap in GSC (Sitemaps), then confirm the status shows “Success.”
• Speed up indexing for new posts by using instant indexing (via an SEO plugin) or by using GSC URL Inspection and “Request Indexing.”
• Keep GSC maintained by watching email alerts, checking indexing issues, and reviewing 404 reports after major site changes.

Requirements

• Google account
• Access to DNS provider like Cloudflare
• WordPress admin access
• Sitemap URL from WordPress or SEO plugin

Add Your Website to Google Search Console (GSC)

Domain Property

1. Log into Google Search Console
2. For the Domain property type (selected by default), enter a naked domain (You don’t enter anything before your domain name, such as ‘www,’ ‘https://,’ etc.)
   • Correct: (e.g., influencewp.com)
   • Incorrect: https://influencewp.com, https://www.influencewp.com
3. Click Continue

Domain Verification

Next, we need to make some additions to DNS. I recommend using Cloudflare for DNS management, so I’ll cover how to make changes using their tools.

1. Log into Cloudflare
2. Choose the website that you want to verify as part of this guide
3. Browse to the DNS tab
4. Click +Add Record
5. Using the DNS Record type drop-down, select ‘TXT.’
6. Name > Enter the ‘@’ symbol to use your root domain
7. Content > Click Copy to grab the value (e.g., google-site-verification=123XYZ) GSC gives and paste it here
8. Click Save
9. Go back to Google Search Console and click Verify

If everything goes well, you should see an ‘Ownership Verified’ message, and clicking ‘Go to Property’ should show you that Google has started to process your website’s data. Allow Google some time, and check back every 15 minutes until the processing is complete.

Submit Your Sitemap

Next, you should submit your website’s sitemap to Google to help it understand its content and URL structure.

1. Google Search Console > Sitemaps
2. Paste in your sitemap URL (e.g., https://influencewp.com/sitemaps.xml)
3. Click Submit

With your sitemap now submitted, you should monitor the console to ensure it shows a ‘Success’ status.

Note: If your website is in ‘Coming Soon’ mode or you’re blocking indexing of your website some other way, you’ll see a status of ‘Couldn’t Fetch.’ You can temporarily stop the blocking of indexing or return to this task later to get a status of ‘Success.’

Pro Tip: Use an SEO plugin for enhancing and managing your sitemaps.

Jumpstart New Content Indexing

Assuming there isn’t something preventing Google from indexing your website or the content you wish to be indexed, it’s true that Google will eventually index your content automatically. That said, I like to set the wheels in motion when I press ‘publish’ using one of the options below.

Instant Indexing

Once you publish content, some SEO plugins help with instant content indexing, and it can be automated.

GSC Request Indexing

If you don’t use an SEO plugin that provides instant indexing and don’t mind more of a manual method, you can tell Google you have some new content to index.

With the steps below, you are asking Google to crawl your entire website by entering the default top-level URL of your website (e.g., influencewp.com).

1. Google Search Console > URL Inspection > Enter your domain
2. Hit Enter
3. Click Request Indexing

Grant Access to Your GSC Property

Whether you’re working on a team or need to grant temporary access to an outside consultant, these steps will show you how to invite someone to a specific property within your Google Search Console.

1. Google Search Console > Settings > Users and Permissions > Click Add User
2. Enter the email address of the team member
3. Choose the desired permissions for the user. (Note: In most cases, when setting up permission for a team member, you’ll want to grant full access.)

Note: The person(s) you grant access to will not be notified, so you must let them know you have granted them access.

Connect GSC to Google Analytics

Linking Google Search Console and Google Analytics can help you gain more insight into how your website is interacted with, helping you better understand how your content resonates with your website’s visitors.

1. Google Search Console > Settings > Associations > Click Associate
2. Choose the desired property and click Continue
3. Choose the desired data stream and click Continue
4. Click Associate

Ongoing GSC Maintenance

Fortunately, Google simplifies the process of maintaining Google Search Console by sending out email notifications when they detect issues. You must access the email on file with Google and regularly check it, or you can set up an email forwarding rule that sends these particular messages to an account you check daily.

Depending on your SEO’s importance, you may need to fix some things right away, wait on others, or just consider some recommendations.

404 Monitoring

Current, active URLs on your website with a 404 (page not found) status are detrimental for the user experience and website performance and use a crawl budget allocated by Google, all of which can degrade your overall SEO and conversions.

Conduct Manual 404 Checks Using Google Search Console

Google Search Console provides an easy way to find all 404 pages.

1. Google Search Console > Indexing > Pages > Look for any line item with ‘404’ in the name
2. Click on each of those line items and review the affected pages
3. Do your best to address the affected pages

Automated 404 Monitoring

There are SEO plugins for WordPress that provide automated 404 monitoring that will save you time.

It’s important to note that if you use Automated 404 Monitoring, you don’t leave it permanently enabled. Instead, enable it after making significant changes to your website’s content where links are involved, and then disable it after ensuring you’re good to go regarding 404s.

“Good” vs. Bad 404s

The 404s reported in Google Search Console may not be an issue, as this could be content that no longer exists on your website due to steps you’ve intentionally taken (e.g., deleted the content).

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Search Console for WordPress Websites

What is the Best GSC Property Type for a WordPress Site?

Use the Domain property in Google Search Console. It covers all protocol and subdomain variants (such as http/https and www/non-www) under one property. When you set it up, enter the naked domain only (e.g., influencewp.com).

How Do I Verify a Domain Property in Google Search Console?

Verify it with a DNS TXT record. Copy the TXT value Google provides, add it to your DNS (for example, in Cloudflare under DNS, add a TXT record), then return to Google Search Console and click Verify. If the record is correct, you’ll see an “Ownership Verified” message.

What Sitemap URL Should I Submit for a WordPress Site?

Submit the sitemap URL your site generates, then confirm it shows “Success” in GSC. The article’s example is https://influencewp.com/sitemaps.xml. If your site uses an SEO plugin, use the sitemap URL that plugin provides.

Why Does My Sitemap Show “Couldn’t Fetch” in GSC?

This often happens when your site blocks indexing, such as with “Coming Soon” mode or with other no-index settings. Remove the block temporarily (or come back later after launch), then resubmit and look for a “Success” status.

How Do I Ask Google to Index a New Page Faster?

Use either instant indexing from an SEO plugin (automated) or the manual GSC method. In GSC, go to URL Inspection, enter your site URL, press Enter, then click “Request Indexing.”