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How to Add Your WordPress Site to Google Search Console

One of the most important steps in optimizing your WordPress site for SEO is adding it to Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools).

Google Search Console offers specific webmaster tools to help website owners monitor and maintain their search presence and rankings.

In this guide, we will show you how to easily add and verify your WordPress site in Google Search Console, also known as Webmaster Tools.

How to easily add your WordPress site to Google Search Console

What is Google Search Console?

Google Search Console is a free tool offered by Google to help website owners monitor their website’s presence in Google search results.

It helps you track search rankings along with keeping you updated about site errors, security issues, and indexing issues that may affect your website’s search performance.

If you are serious about WordPress SEO, then you need to add it to Google webmaster tools from day one.

That being, let’s take a look at how to easily add your site to Google Search Console.

Video Tutorial

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If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading.

Adding Your WordPress Site to Google Search Console

First, you need to visit the Google Search Console website and click on the ‘Start Now’ button.

Start Google Search Console

Next, you’ll need to sign in with your Google / Gmail account.

Once logged in, you’ll be asked to enter your website URL.

There are two methods for site verification: domain name or URL prefix. We recommend the URL prefix method because it is more flexible.

Add website URL

Keep in mind that Google considers HTTP and HTTPS as two different protocols. It also considers https://www.example.com and https://example.com as two different websites.

You need to enter the correct website URL used by WordPress.

If you are unsure, then there is an easy way to find out the exact URL you need to enter. Simply log in to your WordPress admin area and go to Settings » General page.

There you will see your website’s URL in the site address field.

Copy your site address from WordPress settings page

After entering your correct website address in the Google webmaster tools setup wizard, click on the ‘Continue’ button to go to the next step.

Now, you’ll be asked to verify ownership of your website. There are several ways to do that, but we will show the HTML tag method because it is the easiest one.

Copy the HTML tag

Click on the HTML tag to expand it and then copy the code inside it.

Now, you need to add this Google site verification meta tag in WordPress, so Google can verify that you are the owner of the website.

Most WordPress tutorials will guide you to just edit the header.php file in your WordPress theme and add the code just above the <body> tag.

However, we don’t recommend this method because if you update or change your theme, then the HTML tag will disappear.

Google periodically checks for the HTML tag and will disable your access to the site data in the search console if it cannot find the verification tag.

Here is how to make sure that Google can always verify your ownership of the website.

First, you need to install and activate the All in One SEO plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, go to All in One SEO » General Settings » Webmaster Tools page and click on “Google Search Console”.

The Webmaster Tools page in All in One SEO, to select Google Search Console

Then paste the code you copied from Google Search Console into the “Google Verification Code” box.

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your changes.

You can now go back to Google Search Console settings and click on the ‘Verify’ button.

Verify ownership

Google Search Console will now look for the HTML tag in your website code and will show you a success message.

Your website successfully added to Search Console

Note: If you don’t see a success message, then you need to clear your WordPress cache. This will ensure that Google can fetch the latest version of your website.

That’s all. You have successfully added your site to the Google Search Console (Webmaster tools). You can now click on the ‘Go to Property’ link to visit your Google Search Console dashboard.

Google Search Console dashboard

From here, you can see your website’s performance reports and index coverage.

Before you do that, let’s tell Google a little bit more about your website. This will help Google crawl your website a bit more efficiently.

Add XML Sitemap to Google Search Console

An XML sitemap is a file that lists all your website content in XML format, so search engines like Google can easily discover and index your content.

The good news is, if you installed the All in One SEO plugin in the steps above, you’ve already added an XML sitemap to your site automatically.

To see your sitemap, go to All in One SEO » Sitemaps. From here, you can see the sitemap is automatically enabled for you.

Enable sitemap in All in One SEO

Next, you need to get the XML sitemap link. Simply click on the ‘Open Sitemap’ button, and you will see a link to your XML sitemap.

All in One SEO XML sitemap preview

From here, you can just copy the URL from your browser’s address bar.

Alternatively, you can directly access your XML sitemap by adding sitemap.xml at the end of your website address. For example:

https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml

Now that you have the XML sitemap ready, let’s help Google find it quickly.

Simply switch to the Google Search Console dashboard and click on the Sitemaps menu from the left column.

Add your sitemap URL to Google Search Console

After that, you need to add the last part of your sitemap URL under the ‘Add new sitemap’ section and click the Submit button.

Google will now add your sitemap URL to your Google Search Console.

AIOSEO also comes with several other sitemaps, like video sitemap, news sitemap, and RSS sitemap, that all help you get a competitive advantage and rank higher in SEO.

The process of submitting those sitemaps is the same as above.

That’s all, you have successfully added your website to Google Search Console.

View Google Search Console Data Inside WordPress with AIOSEO

The next step is to learn how to use the treasure trove of information in Google Search Console to grow your business.

We have a complete Google Search Console guide for beginners, which shows you how to make the most out of Google Search Console data.

But, you can also easily view a lot of this important data right from your WordPress dashboard using the AIOSEO Search Statistics addon.

With AIOSEO’s Search Statistics, you can track your keywords, view your top-performing content, discover valuable search statistics, and more, inside WordPress. This means that you don’t have to waste time switching from WordPress to Google Search Console to find the data you’re looking for.

Once Search Statistics is connected to Google Search Console, simply click on ‘Search Statistics’ in the AIOSEO menu from your WordPress dashboard.

AIOSEO Search Statistics addon

This will bring you to the Search Statistics dashboard. From here, you can see SEO Statistics, such as the search impressions, total clicks, average click-through rate (CTR), and average position of all of your content.

See SEO Statisitics report in AIOSEO Search Statistics addon

You can also use the Keyword Performance report to see which keywords your website content is ranking for in Google search results. By clicking on the ‘Top Winning’ and ‘Top Losing’ tabs, you can see what keywords have seen the biggest position changes.

AIOSEO Search Statistics keyword performance table

In addition, with the powerful Content Rankings report, you can easily spot content decay and important content performance trends.

AIOSEO Search Statistics Content Rankings Report

It will show you the date a URL was last updated, details about the rate at which your content is decaying, and other essential SEO and content marketing metrics.

Using AIOSEO’s built-in SEO recommendations, you can easily optimize your decaying content to boost your rankings again.

You’ll also get helpful reports for improving the user experience (UX) on your site, tips for troubleshooting issues that are negatively affecting your SEO, and more.

Google Search Console and WordPress FAQs

Having helped thousands of readers add and verify their websites in Google Search Console, we have seen just about every question you can think of. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

1. How can I upload a Google HTML verification file to my WordPress blog?

Google Search Console allows a few different ways to verify website ownership. In this article, we covered the easiest method, which is to use the Google site verification meta tag. However, some website owners prefer to upload the HTML file to verify site ownership.

To upload the Google search console HTML verification file to WordPress, you will need to log in to your WordPress hosting cPanel or connect to your hosting account using FTP.

Next, you need to upload the HTML verification file inside the /public_html/ folder of your website. This is the root directory where you’ll see other WordPress folders like /wp-admin/, /wp-content/, etc.

2. Should I use a Google Site verification plugin for WordPress?

There are many WordPress plugins that are designed specifically to help you with Google site verification. However, you don’t need to use them because you’ll likely need to verify ownership on other webmaster tools and platforms like Bing, Yandex, Pinterest, etc.

It’s much better to use the All in One SEO plugin because it lets you add site verification for all platforms (in a single plugin). Not to mention, it also has a ton of other WordPress SEO features to help you rank better and get more traffic.

3. How can I become a power user of Google Search Console?

Google Search Console has a lot of useful information that you can use to grow your business. We have created the ultimate Google Search Console guide that you can use to become a power user.

4. I’m running into problems, is there a Google Search Console phone number that I can contact?

No, there’s no Google Search Console phone number that you can contact. If you’re running into problems with Google Search Console, then you can use their online support center. For specific questions about WordPress, you can always join our free WordPress help group to ask your questions.

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily add your WordPress site to Google Search Console. You may also want to see our guide on how to get more traffic to your website, and our comparison of the best email marketing services for small businesses

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

256 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
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  2. Malaykumar

    Website ownership verify successfully but when i am submitting sitemap then this type of error is showing: Sitemap couldn’t fetch

    • WPBeginner Support

      You may want to ensure you’ve cleared any caching on your site as that is the most likely cause of that specific issue.

      Admin

  3. Jonathan Whitaker

    Right now I have a 2 properties on GSC for the same website. One domain and one URL prefix

    Since the https:// version is in the settings > general > site address URL field, should I just delete the domain property from GSC? (clutchjunkremoval.com?)

    • WPBeginner Support

      You can remove the version of the site you don’t want to use.

      Admin

  4. ryad

    on the tutorial about google analytic you said to paste the code on the header section of the, header and footer plugin and you said the same thing for google search console, its a bit confusing .
    how we can do when we have both, google analytic and google search console

    • WPBeginner Support

      You would add both codes on different lines

      Admin

  5. Ashish Malik

    Really helpful, did the work.

    • WPBeginner Support

      Glad our guide was helpful :)

      Admin

  6. Hadar

    very helpful, thanks!

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome :)

      Admin

  7. Karan

    Hello i have a question.
    Can I add my site to search console from day 1 .if i have not much posts less then 5 .can I add on search console .how many posts has on the site to add site to console

    • WPBeginner Support

      You can add your site to Google’s search console from the beginning so you don’t have to worry about waiting :)

      Admin

  8. Aishwarya Rani Kotipalli

    Bro !
    You are a true life saver. I did everything you said and it worked :)

    • WPBeginner Support

      Glad our guide was helpful :)

      Admin

  9. Daniel

    Please i successfully verify my site but since then Google search console has been displaying “processing data please check again in a day or two”. I have been waiting for close to a week now.
    Please help me

    • WPBeginner Support

      Sadly, this is something you will need to wait for something to change from Google’s end, there is no hard timeline for it to be added.

      Admin

  10. MuhammadWasim

    Sir, I have some problems with indexing my wp site which is, when I put URL of my site in search console it said ” Blocked by Robot.text “. I have done everything including sitemap and robot.text .

    • WPBeginner Support

      You would want to check your robots.txt file that you’re not blocking your site from being crawled for that specific issue.

      Admin

  11. Regi

    Thank you, that was very helpful.

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome, glad you liked our article :)

      Admin

  12. Stefan

    THANK YOU GUYS! You really are the best , and you make everything so easy! I did it successfully! Much love and gratitude!

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome, glad you’ve found our content helpful :)

      Admin

  13. SaraH O

    THANK YOU! This was exactly what I needed — none of the other instructions I found elsewhere worked.
    You’re the best.

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome, glad we could help :)

      Admin

  14. Sarah

    Sadly no help to someone not on the premium package.

  15. Adi

    Hi…
    Is impotant or not to index all tags and all caetogires on worpdress website?

    • WPBeginner Support

      We would recommend adding your category and tag pages and not excluding them

      Admin

  16. Josiah

    What if I manage multiple sites, can I used one Google account

    • WPBeginner Support

      You can, you would add an additional domain to your account for that

      Admin

  17. Emmanuel Mabuza

    This helped. Thanks

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome, glad our guide was helpful :)

      Admin

  18. Karin

    yeaaasssss! thank youuu!!!

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome :)

      Admin

  19. mel

    Thanks for an easy and straight forward guide!

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome, glad you liked our guide :)

      Admin

  20. Dipen Soni

    Nice, the projection for adding Wordpress site to webmaster tool (Search Console) is simple and easy steps. I did the same with the “insert header and footer” wp plugin. Once I add the meta tag to the head I simply remove the plugin.

    Now I want to delete that meta tag but I don’t know how to do that. Can you help me in finding the root path where all these meta tags are lives?

    • WPBeginner Support

      If you removed the plugin then the code that was added by the plugin should be removed as well.

      Admin

      • Dipen

        I did. Means I remove the plugin but the meta tag is still there. Now what should I do.

        • WPBeginner Support

          Just to be sure, you would want to ensure you’ve cleared any caching on your site as that is the most common reason for still seeing code on the site.

  21. Harish Nemade

    Hey, I had created Blog page and Added Categories as a sub in Blog page from Appearance –> Menus.
    But then GSC showed my Blog Url as a Soft 404 error.
    What does this mean?

    • WPBeginner Support

      It likely means you either have very few posts on that page or your site could have had a hiccup when Google tried to crawl your page

      Admin

      • Harish Nemade

        Yes, I have Only 2 posts on my Blog page, so that could be the reason for Showing Soft 404 error?

        • WPBeginner Support

          Yes, once google recrawls the page the soft 404 shouldn’t be an issue as long as you don’t have any errors on your site

  22. Pranjal Raut

    Thank you so much. I was literally stuck in this step and you cleare my doubt. my website is now verified thank you soo much.

    • WPBeginner Support

      Glad our guide was helpful :)

      Admin

  23. Rahul choudhary

    How to use webmaster

    • WPBeginner Support

      At the moment we do not have a guide for Google’s webmaster tools.

      Admin

  24. ash

    hey , I have a free plan , how can i do this /

    • WPBeginner Support

      For WordPress.com you would sadly need to reach out to their support for if they allow the connection and/or how to connect

      Admin

  25. Andreas

    Hi,

    Thank you for another informative post. I love WPBeginner!!! :)
    One thing this post does not address which confuses me is whether I should add the domain with and without the www. I have added both as properties in the Google Webmaster tools and I don’t know if this will cause problems.

    Thanks
    Andreas

  26. J-P Zacaropoulos

    I installed my website (Bluehost/WP going thru the video tutorial you sent. I finished, but did not launch it. The tutorial does not cover how I can change the picture in the header. Is there a different tutorial for that?

    Also. When I am finished, just not published, I have no way to see the finished product. Do I need to publish before it shows up?

    Thanks in advance

    • WPBeginner Support

      It would depend on your theme for how to change the header image but that is normally under Appearance>Customize.
      For the content to appear for users not logged in, it would need to be published

      Admin

  27. sandeep

    Sir, It is very good article for beginners. But can you please publish a new post about Adding a website on new google search console, sitemap, and everything.

    • WPBeginner Support

      We will certainly look into updating these articles as Google updates their interface

      Admin

  28. A2Z

    very help full

    • WPBeginner Support

      Thank you :)

      Admin

  29. Kudakwashe Blessing Muzividzi

    Thank you very much. This article helped me verify my website.

    • WPBeginner Support

      You’re welcome :)

      Admin

  30. Rakesh Mhetre

    Nice article…it helps me to add site to google webmaster..

    • WPBeginner Support

      Thank you :)

      Admin

  31. Venkatesh M

    Extremely useful site.Thanks a lot for the great work!

    • WPBeginner Support

      Thank you, glad our articles can help :)

      Admin

  32. Katerina Strabergerova

    Thanks! Such a useful website for a beginner blogger!!!

    • WPBeginner Support

      Glad our site can help :)

      Admin

  33. Gerry

    Hi, This, as with so many tutorials, is most helpful. However I have come across something not dealt with. On pasting the meta line into the Insert Headers and Footers widget and hit save, the system takes to me to my site with an “oops we cannot find this page” message. So annoying. As a result I get a verification failure.
    Any suggestions as I always seem to have issues installing the google apps.
    regards
    Gerry

    • WPBeginner Support

      You would want to reach out to your hosting provider to see if they have any errors on their end that could be causing the message.

      Admin

  34. Tobin

    Thank you this was easy and helpful. If I need any help I’ll hire you!!!

    • WPBeginner Support

      While we don’t have a service for hire at the moment, we’re glad you found our article useful :)

      Admin

  35. Frogger

    In both plugin

    Verification failed. We couldn’t find the verification meta tag.

  36. Ronna Johnston

    Thanks for the excellent info on this site in general! I am the subcontract for a person who wants us both to have individual access to Google Console.

    My question: I have used various plugins for Google verification and there is one space only for the code. I know I can also add an HTML file to the root of the site or insert an HTML code into the header. If she generates a new code through Google Console and I insert it, will that nullify my data views/ownership?

    I have added her as a full user in Google Console but it is still asking her to verify her ownership via one of the code.HTML file methods.

    Thanks for your help!
    Ronna

  37. Alessandra

    Thanks for that
    really helpful

  38. Anna Tang

    As a new WordPress site owner your tutorials have been extremely helpful! They are up-to-date, simple, use visuals, and just make things easy to do. Thank you!
    Anna

    • WPBeginner Support

      Hi Anna,

      We are glad you found WPBeginner articles helpful. Don’t forget to join us on Twitter for more WordPress tips and tutorials.

      Admin

  39. gk

    how to add verification file in root directory

  40. Andrea

    Thank you so much!!! I was trying to get my site verified for a couple days now…trying so many different options – this worked on the first try! Thank you!

  41. Vincent Iheke

    Quite handy… THANKS A MILLION

  42. Prashant

    can I register my domain in Google search console if I’m using wordpress hosted version for my own domain not the free version. And yes, one more point, I’m not using the Business plan for wordpress hosted version. I am using the Pro one. Please reply.

  43. jonathsn

    no matter what i can it says cannot connect to server

  44. Bruce

    This was very helpful. Thank you!

  45. Shazad Bhatti

    How to put my wordpress post on google?
    And find on google with title

  46. ehsan

    hi
    i wanna to know that is it necessary for site to submit Y WebSite To Google Search Engines to approve ad sense account?
    please must answer?

  47. Victor Viyke

    Am really grateful for this guide, thanks and keep it up!

  48. Simon DA

    Thank you for the info, couldn’t find a way to validate my WP site !
    i did use your Header and footer tool.

  49. Erika

    Thank you for the very helpful video/instructions. One suggestion would be to let people know about the option to use Yoast (which is even called out that “you probably already have”) first instead of second. This would avoid needing a completely different/new plug-in. I did in fact already have Yoast but went forward with the header/footer plug-in not knowing I could use Yoast.

  50. Pat

    Thanks SO much. I couldn’t figure out how to put in that code and these two methods are very easy.

  51. Howard

    Hi, I am trying to verify my WP site but really struggling. I have placed the code in the header but it then appeared on the public facing site.
    It is not the only code in the head section but no matter where I put it, it does not verify.
    Help please!

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