What is Google Search Console (GSC)?
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that helps website owners monitor and maintain their site's presence in Google search results. It shows how Google sees your site, reports on search traffic, performance, and ranking issues. GSC also lets webmasters submit sitemaps, check indexing status, and improve website visibility. It's a must-have tool for anyone who wants to understand and improve their website's performance in Google search.How do I submit a sitemap to Google Search Console (GSC)?
Submitting a sitemap to Google Search Console is a crucial step in ensuring that Google indexes your website efficiently. A sitemap provides a roadmap of your site’s content, helping Google understand its structure and prioritize crawling. Here's a step-by-step guide to submitting your sitemap:
Ensuring your website is indexed by Google is crucial for visibility in search results. Google Search Console (GSC) offers tools to help you verify and expedite this process. Here’s how to make sure your website is indexed:- Create Your Sitemap: Ensure you have an XML sitemap ready. This can be generated using various tools like Yoast SEO (for WordPress) or XML-sitemaps.com.
- Log in to Google Search Console: Navigate to Google Search Console. If you haven’t already, verify your website ownership by following Google’s verification steps.
- Select Your Property: Choose the website property you want to submit the sitemap for from the property selector at the top left of the dashboard.
- Navigate to Sitemaps: In the left-hand menu, click on “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section.
- Add Your Sitemap: In the “Add a new sitemap” section, enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g.,
https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml) and click “Submit.” - Check Submission Status: After submission, Google will process your sitemap. You can monitor its status and check for any errors in the “Sitemaps” section.
How to add a new property in Google Search Console (GSC)?
Adding a new property to Google Search Console is essential for monitoring and optimizing your website's performance on Google Search. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you add a new property:- Log in to Google Search Console: Visit Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account.
- Access the Property Selector: In the upper left corner of the dashboard, click on the property selector drop-down menu, then select "Add property."
- Enter Your Website URL: You'll be prompted to choose between two types of properties: "Domain" and "URL prefix."
- Domain: Use this option if you want to include all subdomains and protocols (e.g.,
http,https). - URL Prefix: Use this option if you want to add a specific URL prefix (e.g.,
https://www.yourwebsite.com).
- Domain: Use this option if you want to include all subdomains and protocols (e.g.,
- Verify Your Website: After entering your URL, you'll need to verify ownership of the site. Google offers several verification methods:
- HTML File Upload: Download a verification file from Google and upload it to your website’s root directory.
- HTML Tag: Add a meta tag provided by Google to the
<head>section of your website's homepage. - Domain Name Provider: Use this method if you chose the "Domain" property type. You'll need to add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings.
- Google Analytics: If you have Google Analytics set up, you can verify your site using your tracking code.
- Google Tag Manager: Use your Google Tag Manager container snippet to verify your site.
- Complete Verification: Once you’ve implemented the verification method, click “Verify.” Google will then check for the verification file or tag and confirm ownership.
- Property Added: After successful verification, your new property will be added to Google Search Console. You can now access detailed insights and reports to help improve your site's performance on Google Search.
How Do I Make Sure My Website is Indexed Using Google Search Console (GSC)?
- Submit Your Sitemap:
- Navigate to the "Sitemaps" section under the "Index" menu.
- Enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g.,
https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml) and click "Submit." - This helps Google understand your site’s structure and index all your pages more efficiently.
- Request Indexing of Individual URLs:
- Use the URL Inspection Tool to check the status of specific pages.
- Enter the URL you want Google to index in the search bar and press Enter.
- If the URL is not indexed, click "Request Indexing" to prompt Google to crawl the page.
- Fix Indexing Issues:
- In the "Coverage" report under the "Index" section, review any errors or issues.
- Address problems like "404 Not Found" or "Server Errors" by fixing the URLs or server settings.
- Ensure your robots.txt file does not block important pages from being crawled.
- Monitor Mobile Usability:
- Check the "Mobile Usability" report to ensure your site is mobile-friendly.
- Fix any issues that might prevent Google from indexing your site effectively on mobile devices.
- Check for Manual Actions:
- In the "Security & Manual Actions" section, verify if there are any manual actions against your site.
- Address any issues flagged by Google to restore indexing.
- Review Coverage Report:
- The "Coverage" report provides insights into indexed and non-indexed pages.
- Regularly review this report to understand how many of your pages are indexed and to identify any indexing issues.
- Use WildSEO for Faster Indexing:
- Utilize WildSEO.co for advanced SEO tools that help ensure your site is indexed quickly.
- WildSEO offers features that complement Google Search Console, providing additional insights and faster indexing capabilities.
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