Have you ever wondered if Google actually “likes” your website? Or better yet, have you ever wished you could see the exact words people type into that search bar right before they find you?
At OMAI Marketing, after we get a client’s Google Business Profile polished, the very next thing we do is hook up Google Search Console (GSC).
If your Google Business Profile is your digital storefront, then Google Search Console is your Digital X-Ray. It lets you look “under the hood” to see exactly how Google’s robots are reading your site. I’m going to show you how we set this up for our pro clients so you can try it yourself, but be warned, this one gets a little “techy.”
Why Can’t I Just Use Google Analytics?
This is a question I get all the time. Here’s the simple version:
- Google Analytics tells you what people do after they get to your site (how long they stayed, what they clicked).
- Google Search Console tells you everything that happened before they got there (what they searched, how high you ranked, and if Google found any “broken” parts of your site).
If you aren’t using GSC, you’re basically flying a plane with the windows blacked out. You might be moving, but you have no idea where you’re going or if you’re about to crash into a search ranking penalty.
How to Set It Up (The Step-by-Step Blueprint)
Setting this up requires proving to Google that you actually own the website. They don’t just give this data away to anyone!
Step 1: Sign In
Head over to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your business Gmail.
Step 2: Choose Your “Property Type”
You’ll see two boxes.
- Domain (The Pro Way): This covers your whole site (including
www,blog.yoursite.com, etc.). This is what we use at OMAI because it’s the most “complete.” - URL Prefix: This only tracks one specific version of your URL.
My Advice: Go with Domain. Type in your website (like example.com) and hit continue.
Step 3: The Verification (Where it gets tricky)
Google will give you a string of random letters and numbers called a TXT Record.
- Copy that code.
- Open a new tab and log into your Domain Registrar (where you bought your website name, like GoDaddy or Namecheap).
- Find your DNS Settings.
- Add a new record: Select TXT, leave the “Host” as
@, and paste the code Google gave you into the “Value” box. - Wait about 5–10 minutes, then go back to Google and hit Verify.
Step 4: Submit a Sitemap
Once you’re in, Google knows you exist, but it needs a “map” to find all your pages.
- If you use WordPress, plugins like Yoast or RankMath create this for you automatically (usually at
yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml). - In GSC, click Sitemaps on the left menu and paste that link in. This is like giving Google a GPS for your website.
Is This Worth Your Time?
I’ll be real with you: the first time I did a DNS verification, I accidentally took a client’s website offline for an hour because I clicked the wrong button. It’s a lot of “copy-pasting” into scary-looking technical settings.
Once it’s set up, you then have to actually read the data. You’ll see graphs for Impressions (how many people saw you) and Clicks (who actually visited).
But here’s the kicker: GSC tells you what is wrong, but it doesn’t always tell you how to fix it. If you see a “Crawl Error” or a “Core Web Vitals” failure, do you know which line of code to change?
Would you like me to do a free “Health Check” on your website’s search data? At OMAI Marketing, we handle the scary DNS stuff and the technical errors so you can just focus on the results. If you don’t feel like playing “IT Support” this weekend, we can get your “X-Ray” running and explain exactly what it means for your business in plain English.