If your website isn't showing up on Google, there's a good chance it hasn't been properly submitted to Google Search Console (GSC). This is the free tool Google provides to help website owners monitor their site's presence in Google Search, identify issues, and improve their rankings. Whether you just launched a new blog, a gaming website, or a business page, getting it into Google Search Console is the first and most important SEO step you can take. This tutorial walks you through the entire process from scratch — no technical experience required.
What Is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free service offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google Search results. Think of it as Google's direct communication channel with your website. Without it, Google might never properly index your pages — meaning your content simply won't appear when people search for topics you cover.
Through GSC, you can see which keywords are bringing traffic to your site, which pages are indexed, what errors need fixing, and how your site performs in search rankings over time. It is completely free, and every website owner should set it up immediately after launching a new site.
What You'll Need Before You Start
Before diving into the steps, make sure you have the following ready:
A Google/Gmail account (the same one you use for Google Analytics, if you have it set up)
Your website's full URL (e.g.,
https://www.yourwebsite.com)Access to your website's backend — either WordPress dashboard, Hostinger hPanel, or your domain registrar's DNS settings
That's it. You don't need to pay for anything or install complex software.
Step 1: Go to Google Search Console
Open your browser and visit:
👉 https://search.google.com/search-console/
Click the blue "Start Now" button. Sign in using your Google account. If you already use Google Analytics, use the same Gmail account — this makes it easier to link the two tools together later for deeper data insights.ottiliestudio+1
Once signed in, if this is your very first time using GSC, you'll be taken directly to the property setup screen. If you've used it before for another site, click the "Search property" dropdown on the top left and select "+ Add property".
Step 2: Choose Your Property Type
Google Search Console offers two types of properties to choose from:
Option A — Domain Property
This covers your entire domain including all subdomains (www, http, https, etc.). For example, entering yourwebsite.com covers www.yourwebsite.com, http://yourwebsite.com, https://yourwebsite.com, and any subdomain like blog.yourwebsite.com. This is the recommended option for most users as it gives a complete picture of your entire site.
Option B — URL Prefix Property
This only tracks the specific URL you enter. For example, if you enter https://www.yourwebsite.com, it will only track that exact version. You'd need to add separate properties for http://, non-www, or any subdomains.
Which one should you choose?
If you're comfortable with DNS settings → Choose Domain Property
If you're a beginner and want a quick setup → Choose URL Prefix and use the HTML tag verification method
Type your website URL into the correct box and click Continue.
Step 3: Verify Your Website Ownership
This is the most important step. Google needs to confirm that you actually own the website before giving you access to its data. There are five verification methods available:
Method 1: HTML Meta Tag (Easiest for WordPress Users)
This is the most popular method for WordPress websites and beginners.
After entering your URL, select "HTML tag" under the Other verification methods section
Google will give you a small piece of code that looks like this:
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" />Copy this code
Go to your WordPress dashboard → Yoast SEO plugin → Settings → Site Connections
Paste the meta tag into the Google field and click Save
Go back to Google Search Console and click Verify
If you don't use Yoast, you can paste the code directly into your theme's header.php file before the </head> tag, or use a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers to add it without touching code.
Method 2: HTML File Upload
Download the small HTML file Google provides
Upload it exactly as-is to the root directory of your website (the main folder where your website files are stored) using your hosting file manager or FTP
Once uploaded, go back to GSC and click Verify
This method works well for non-WordPress sites or users comfortable with file management in Hostinger's hPanel File Manager.
Method 3: Google Analytics
If your website already has Google Analytics 4 (GA4) installed, this is the fastest method.
Select "Google Analytics" as your verification method
Google will automatically detect the GA4 tracking tag on your site and verify ownership instantly
Click Verify — no code editing required
This is the quickest method if you've already set up Google Analytics.
Method 4: Google Tag Manager
If you use Google Tag Manager (GTM), select this option and Google will verify ownership via your GTM container tag. Same as GA4, no manual code editing needed.
Method 5: Domain Name Provider (DNS Record)
This method is required if you chose the Domain Property type.
Google gives you a TXT record (a string of text)
Log into your domain registrar (Hostinger, GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
Go to DNS Settings and add a new TXT record
Paste Google's TXT code into the "Value" field and save
Return to Google Search Console and click Verify
⚠️ DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to up to 72 hours to take effect, so don't panic if verification doesn't work immediately. Just wait and try again.
Step 4: Explore Your Search Console Dashboard
Once verified, Google will show you a "Verified Successfully" message and redirect you to your property dashboard. At first, it will appear mostly empty — this is completely normal. Google needs time to crawl and index your site, which can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Here are the key sections you should know about:
Performance — Shows clicks, impressions, average CTR, and average position for your pages in Google Search
URL Inspection — Allows you to check if a specific page is indexed and request Google to index it
Coverage / Indexing — Shows which pages are indexed, excluded, or have errors
Sitemaps — Where you submit your sitemap (covered in the next step)
Core Web Vitals — Measures real-world page experience scores that affect rankings
Manual Actions — Alerts you if Google has penalized your site for policy violations
Step 5: Submit Your Sitemap
Submitting a sitemap tells Google about all the pages on your website so it can crawl and index them faster. A sitemap is simply a file (usually sitemap.xml) that lists every URL on your site.
For WordPress users:
If you have Yoast SEO or Rank Math installed, your sitemap is automatically generated. The URL is usually:https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml or https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml
How to submit it:
In your GSC dashboard, click "Sitemaps" in the left sidebar
In the "Add a new sitemap" box, type
sitemap.xml(orsitemap_index.xml) and click SubmitGoogle will confirm the sitemap is received and show its status
After submission, Google begins scheduling your pages for crawling. Pages will start appearing in the Coverage report once indexed.
Step 6: Request Indexing for Important Pages
After submitting your sitemap, you can speed things up by manually requesting indexing for your most important pages using the URL Inspection tool.
Click "URL Inspection" in the left sidebar
Paste the URL of any specific page (e.g., your homepage or a new article) into the search bar at the top
Click "Request Indexing" once the result loads
Google will add the page to its crawl queue. This doesn't guarantee it'll appear in results immediately, but it significantly speeds up the process compared to waiting passively.
Step 7: Monitor and Maintain
Setting up Google Search Console is not a one-time task — it's an ongoing tool you should check regularly. Here's what to watch for:
Check Performance weekly to see which pages and keywords are gaining traction
Monitor Coverage errors — fix any "404 Not Found" or "Redirect Errors" that appear
Watch Core Web Vitals — improve loading speed and interactivity to boost rankings
Resubmit your sitemap whenever you publish a large batch of new articles or pages
Re-request indexing for important updated pages so Google picks up the new content quickly
How Long Until You Appear on Google?
After completing all the steps above, most new websites start seeing their pages appear in Google Search results within 1 to 4 weeks. Factors that influence this timeline include your website's domain age, the quality of your content, how many backlinks you have, and how often you publish new content. Regularly publishing quality content and promoting your site on social media speeds up the process significantly.
Google Search Console is the foundation of every successful SEO strategy. Setting it up correctly from day one puts you ahead of the majority of new website owners who skip this step — and gives you the data you need to grow your traffic intelligently.
