Short answer: Google Search Console is Google’s free set of reports on how your site does in Search. To start, you need a Google account; then you add your site as a property and prove you own it. After that, a quick check-up once a month is enough for many sites, unless Search Console alerts you.
Domain or URL-prefix property
A URL-prefix property includes only the URLs that start with the prefix you enter, protocol included. A Domain property includes all subdomains, such as www and m, and every protocol.
The Domain property needs a DNS record: it’s the only verification it accepts. A URL-prefix property takes other methods too, such as uploading an HTML file, adding a meta tag, Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager.
What to check first
Google’s getting started guide marks a few reports as critical. The dashboard already flags security issues and manual actions, and both also arrive by email.
| Report | What it answers | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Any important issue, plus charts of performance and indexing | In every check-up |
| Performance | How you do on Google: clicks, impressions and CTR | In your monthly check-up |
| Security issues | Whether Google found signs that your site was hacked | When an email alert arrives |
| Manual actions | Whether your site breaks Google’s spam policies | When an email alert arrives |
| URL Inspection | How Google sees one page when something looks wrong | When a page has a problem |
From Search Console Help, “Getting started with Search Console”, read November 3, 2026.
How to set up Search Console
- Sign in to Search Console with a Google account.
- Add a Domain property for your whole domain, and a URL-prefix property if you want a report for one prefix.
- Verify the Domain property with a TXT record in your DNS.
- Leave the record in place: verification lasts only while Google can still find it.
- Submit your sitemap.
- Open the overview and look for security issues or manual actions.
- Come back about once a month, and sooner if Google emails you.
Our URL Inspection tool guide covers the report you’ll use for single pages.
How our own Search Console is set up
Our site has 2 properties in Search Console, and we own both: a Domain property for feedback-studios.com and a URL-prefix property for https://feedback-studios.com/.
The Domain property is verified with a TXT record in our DNS, the only method Google accepts for that type. Our home page carries no verification meta tag, so a template change can’t break it.
We submitted one sitemap, our sitemap index. On November 3 it listed 318 addresses, and the URL Inspection API found 200 of them indexed; our XML sitemap guide explains how to submit yours.
Before you rely on your Search Console data
- You own a Domain property for your whole site.
- Its TXT record is still in your DNS.
- Your sitemap is submitted.
- The overview shows no security issues or manual actions.
- Your URL-prefix property uses https, like your site.
- Someone gets the alert emails.
RememberVerify a Domain property with your DNS record and leave it there. Then the monthly check is short: the overview, the performance report and any email Google sends.
If you want us to set up and watch Search Console for you, see our technical SEO service.
Quick answers about Search Console
Is Google Search Console free?
Google’s getting started guide lists one requirement: a Google account. Then you add your site and prove you own it, because Search Console shows data that only site owners should see.
Domain or URL-prefix property: which one should I add?
A Domain property covers all subdomains and protocols, and you verify it with a DNS record. A URL-prefix property covers only one prefix, such as https://www. You can add both, as we did.
How long does verification last?
As long as Search Console can confirm that your verification token is still present and valid. It checks it from time to time, so leave the DNS record, tag or file in place after you verify.
Can several people verify the same site?
Yes. Several people can verify ownership of the same property, with the same method or different ones. If you share a method, take care not to overwrite another owner’s verification token.
What do clicks, impressions and CTR mean?
A click is someone following a link to your site from Google, an impression is someone seeing that link, and CTR is clicks divided by impressions. Our guide to click-through rate covers how to improve it.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. Search Console Help: Getting started with Search Console, Add a website or platform property to Search Console and Verify your site ownership. Our own case: our Search Console account, our DNS and our sitemap, November 3, 2026.