Do you want to know how to add Google Search Console to your WordPress website? One of the most important steps in optimizing your WordPress site for SEO is adding it to Google Search Console.
Did you know that the average person searches for something online 3-4 times a day?
It's, therefore, important to make sure Google sees your website and shows it in search results.
This is the first step to driving traffic to your site, boosting conversions, and growing your business. After all, if Google doesn’t know your site exists, no one else will either.
In this post, we’ll show you how to add Google Search Console to your WordPress website so that you can monitor your site’s presence in Google search results and improve your SEO.
Please feel free to use these quick links to jump straight to the sections you want:
In This Article
Let's start by explaining Google Search Console and why it's a helpful tool for website owners.
What Is Google Search Console?
Let's start by explaining Google Search Console and why it's a helpful tool for website owners.
Google Search Console, formerly known as “Google Webmaster Tools,” is a free service available to all website owners.
This powerful tool is like your backstage pass to understanding how your website performs on Google Search. Whether you're a seasoned SEO pro or just starting, GSC offers tools to help you boost your rankings and traffic. Let’s dive into its features and see how they can supercharge your SEO game:
1. Performance Report
Want to know what’s driving traffic to your site?
This report shows how your website is performing in Google Search. It breaks down:
- Clicks: How many people visited your site from search results.
- Impressions: How often your site appears in search results.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of impressions that turned into clicks.
- Average Position: Where your pages rank for specific keywords.
It also shows you other keywords a specific page is ranking for.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Spot high-performing pages and double down on them. For example, if a blog post is performing well, create similar content or update it to maintain momentum.
- Find keywords with high impressions but low CTR. Let's say you have a page ranking for “easy pasta recipes”, yet it rarely gets clicked. Improve the SEO title or meta description to stand out.
- Monitor trends over time to identify seasonal opportunities.
2. URL Inspection Tool
Ever wondered if Google sees your page the way you do?
Google Search Console's URL Inspection Tool gives you a sneak peek at how Google indexes your pages and flags any issues.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Check if a page is indexed.
- Troubleshoot problems like blocked resources, mobile usability issues, or missing structured data.
- Submit updated pages for re-crawling after making changes.
3. Index Coverage Report
Are all your pages being indexed?
If not, why?
The Index Coverage Report highlights which pages Google can or cannot index and why.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Fix errors like “404 not found” or “server errors.”
- Exclude pages you don’t want indexed (e.g., admin pages or duplicate content).
- Ensure your sitemap is helping Google find your key pages.
4. Experience: Core Web Vitals and Security Report
Search engines value the experience users get on your site. A positive experience results in your site being favored in search rankings. Two of the most common factors that impact experience are:
- Core web vitals
- Site Security (HTTPS)
Is your site fast and user-friendly?
This report dives into metrics like page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability (how stable your content is as it loads). On the security side it looks at elements such as whether your URLs are HTTPs or non-HTTPs.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Improve load times by compressing images and using a content delivery network (CDN).
- Fix issues with layout shifts to enhance user experience.
- Ensure you're using HTTPs on your site.
6. Sitemap Submission
A sitemap is like a roadmap for search engines, showing them your site’s most important pages. Submitting your sitemap to search engines makes it easy for them to discover your site. For example, you can submit your sitemap to Google, Bing, Yandex, and others.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Submit your sitemap to search engines for faster indexing.
- Use it to ensure all crucial pages (like blog posts, product pages, etc.) are crawled.
For AIOSEO users, your sitemaps are automatically synced to GSC if you use AIOSEO to connect your site to Google Search Console.
For AIOSEO users, your sitemaps are automatically synced to GSC if you use AIOSEO to connect your site to Google Search Console.
7. Links Report
The links report gives you insights into who’s linking to your site and content. It shows:
- Internal links: Links within your site.
- External links: Links pointing to your site.
- Top linked pages: Pages with the most links
- Top linking sites: Sites linking to yours the most
- And more
How to Use It for SEO:
- Strategically add internal links to improve site structure. and distribute link juice.
- Track backlinks and identify opportunities for more partnerships or guest posts.
You can use AIOSEO's Link Assistant to get more granular on your internal links. It can also help ensure you build your internal links strategically.
8. Manual Actions & Security Issues
Has Google penalized your site?
These sections alert you to manual penalties or security problems (like hacking).
If you see the ‘No issues detected’ message, then you’re in the clear.
That said, here’s a list of manual actions that Google can apply to your site:
- Site abused by third-party spam
- User-generated spam
- Spammy free host
- Structured data issue
- Unnatural links to and from your site
- Thin content with little or no added value
- Pure Spam
- Cloaking or sneaky redirects
- Cloaked images
- AMP content mismatch
- Sneaky mobile redirects
- Hidden text or keyword stuffing
- News and Discover policy violations
If your site is hit by manual actions, it can result in a drop in rankings and loss of traffic.
How to Use It for SEO:
To recover your rankings, resolve penalties and fix security issues to maintain trust with users and search engines.
9. Search Enhancements (Rich Results)
Want to stand out in search results?
This feature helps you optimize rich results like FAQ snippets, reviews, or product info. It also helps ensure your breadcrumbs are working properly.
How to Use It for SEO:
- Test your structured data to ensure it’s error-free.
- Monitor enhancements to see if Google is using your structured data correctly.
By using Google Search Console, you’re not just guessing at what works for your site—you’re working with real data straight from Google. So, dive in, explore these features, and start optimizing today!
That being the case, let’s take a look at how to add Google Search Console to your WordPress website.
Add Google Search Console to Your WordPress Website
The first step to adding GSC to your site is the traditional manual method.
To get started, head over to Google Search Console and click on the Start Now button.
Next, sign in with your Google / Gmail account. If you don’t have one yet, you can create an account here.
It's easy and will only take you a couple of minutes.
Once you’ve created your Google / Gmail account and logged in, you’ll see a welcome page.
On the right side of the page, you’ll see a box called URL prefix.
Click on this box, enter the full URL for your website, and then click the Continue button.
Note: The URL you enter must exactly match the URL for your site. This includes https:// and www, etc.
After you've clicked continue, it will take you to a new Verify ownership window.
We’re going to use the HTML tag to verify your WordPress website with Google. With that said, simply scroll down to Other verification methods, and click on the HTML tag option.
This will open a new window with the meta tag that you need to add to your WordPress site’s homepage.
Here you need to click on the Copy button to copy the HTML tag.
Anyway, you can now open a new browser window and log into your WordPress site.
In the next step, we're going to show you how to easily verify your WordPress site with Google Search Console using the best SEO plugin in the market, All in One SEO (AIOSEO).
Easily Connect Your WordPress Site Using AIOSEO
Many people find the above method complicated and tedious. That's why we decided to create a flow that's super easy—you don't even need to use a verification code.
Step 1: Install All In One SEO (AIOSEO)
The first step to connecting your site to Google Search Console is to install a powerful SEO plugin like All In One SEO (AIOSEO).
AIOSEO is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market. Over 3 million savvy website owners and marketers trust it to help them dominate the SERPs (search engine results pages) and drive relevant site traffic. This is because of the powerful SEO features and modules designed to help you optimize your site for greater search visibility.
One of the most loved is the Webmaster Tools section.
This function lets you connect your site to various platforms, including Google Search Console (GSC). As for GSC, you don’t have to go through the tedious process of copying and pasting verification codes.
Other features you’ll love in AIOSEO include:
- Cornerstone Content: Helps you build topical authority and enhances your semantic SEO.
- Next-gen Schema generator: This no-code schema generator enables users to generate and output any schema markup on your site.
- Redirection Manager: Helps you manage redirects and eliminate 404 errors, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site.
- Sitemap generator: Automatically generate different types of sitemaps to notify all search engines of any updates on your site.
- SEO Revisions: Track any changes you make to your site and see their impact on your SEO. Plus, you get to see on a timeline how Google updates affect your site.
- Advanced Robots.txt Generator: Easily generate and customize your robots.txt file for better crawling and indexing.
For step-by-step instructions on how to install AIOSEO, check our detailed installation guide.
Why Use AIOSEO to Verify Your Site with Google Search Console?
There are many reasons to use AIOSEO to verify your site:
Here are a few:
- Editing theme files is risky: It's never a good idea to edit theme files directly. When the theme updates, all your edits will be gone.
- You’ll miss out on powerful features: With AIOSEO, you can easily include advanced SEO features that will improve rankings and drive more traffic to your site. For example, the Index Status Checker, Author SEO, and many more.
- Automatic syncing of sitemaps: When you verify your site with AIOSEO, your sitemaps automatically sync with GSC. This results in faster indexing and an advantage in ranking higher on SERPs.
- It's much easier: AIOSEO takes the grunt work out of so many SEO tasks, including verifying your site with GSC. You don't have to know coding, and most features are enabled by default, so you only have to install the plugin, and it's all set!
Now that you know why you should use AIOSEO, let's take a look at how to easily verify your site with Google Search Console.
Step 2: Access AIOSEO’s Webmaster Tools
With AIOSEO installed and an active Google account, you can now move to the next step in connecting your site to GSC—the easy way. To do that, head to AIOSEO’s Webmaster Tools section. If your site is not yet connected to GSC, you’ll get a prompt asking if you have:
You can click the Connect to Google Search Console or the Google icon if you’re not connected.
Step 4: Connect to Google Search Console [No Verification Code Required]
When you click the Connect to Google Search Console or the Google links, you trigger a flow for connecting to GSC.
Click on the Connect to Google Search Console button to start the connection wizard. The first step requires you to select the Google account you want to use to connect to GSC.
Next, you’ll be asked to sign in to your AIOSEO account:
When you sign in by clicking Continue, you'll be asked to give AIOSEO permission to access your GSC account.
Once you click Allow, you will be taken to the last step, where you verify site ownership by clicking a button:
When you click Complete Connection, your site will be connected to GSC.
You’ve connected your site to Google Search Console—and that without using a Google Search Console verification code!
And there you have it!
You’ve now successfully added Google Search Console to your WordPress website.
How to Add Google Search Console to Your WordPress Website: Your FAQs Answered
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools) is a free service provided by Google that allows website owners to monitor their site's performance in Google search results. It provides data on search traffic, crawl errors, search analytics, and more.
Why should I add my WordPress site to Google Search Console?
Adding your site gives you access to valuable data about how Google crawls and indexes your pages. This lets you monitor for any issues and optimize your site's visibility in search results. It also allows you to submit sitemaps to help Google discover your content.
Can I add Google Search Console through my WordPress dashboard?
Yes. With an SEO plugin like AIOSEO, adding GSC through your WordPress dashboard is super easy. With AIOSEO, you don't even have to go through the hoops of copying and pasting verification codes or HTML tags.
We hope this post helped you know how to add Google Search Console to your WordPress site. You may also want to check out other articles on our blog, like our tutorial on adding an HTML sitemap in WordPress or our guide to improving your indexing.
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This guide is incredibly helpful for WordPress users looking to integrate Google Search Console! The step-by-step instructions are clear and concise, making it easy even for beginners.
Adding Search Console is crucial for SEO, and the explanation of its benefits highlights its importance. Thanks for breaking down the process and simplifying an essential task for website optimization!