How long does it take for Search Console to show data?

Google says data should begin to appear in a property in a few days. Collection starts when someone adds the property, even before it is verified, so add the property first and sort out verification afterwards.

Can I add Search Console to a site that already has Google Analytics?

Yes, for a URL-prefix property. Sign in to Search Console with the Google account that has edit rights in the Analytics account, and make sure the gtag.js or analytics.js snippet sits in the head section of the homepage. A Domain property cannot be verified this way; it needs a DNS record.

Why does my Search Console property show no data?

Google names two causes when a property is still empty several days after verification. Either the site has not been seen in Google Search yet, or the property was created for the wrong URL, for example http instead of https on a URL-prefix property.

Do I need Search Console for my site to appear on Google?

No. Google states that you do not have to sign up for Search Console to be included in Google Search results. Search Console is the free service that shows you how Google sees the site and alerts you to problems.

Can I set up Search Console without access to my DNS settings?

Yes, with a URL-prefix property. It can be verified with an HTML file, an HTML tag, Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager. Only a Domain property requires a DNS record, unless the site is hosted on a Google product such as Blogger or Google Sites.

How to Set Up Google Search Console (Step by Step)

To set up Google Search Console, sign in with a Google account, open the property selector, select + Add property, choose a Domain or URL-prefix property and complete the verification method Google shows you. Data should begin to appear in a few days. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console} The service is free. ^{[6]Google Search Console Help. About Search Console}

One detail changes the order you should work in: Search Console starts collecting data when a property is added, not when it is verified. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership} So add the property today, even if the DNS record has to wait for someone else.

How to set up Google Search Console in five steps

Sign in. You need a valid Google account and a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari. ^{[6]Google Search Console Help. About Search Console} If a colleague has already granted you access, there is nothing to set up: open Search Console and pick the property in the property selector. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
Add the property. Open the property selector dropdown on any Search Console page, or go straight to the welcome page, and select + Add property. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
Choose the property type. For a website you choose between a Domain property (example.com) and a URL-prefix property (https://example.com). ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
Verify ownership. Google shows the steps for the method you pick. Follow them and click Verify, or click Verify later to save the property and resume from the property selector. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
Finish the setup. Add the people who need access, decide whether you need a sitemap, and check back when the first data arrives. The sections below cover each.

Adding a property does not change how your site appears in Google Search, and Google says an unfinished or failed setup "won't hurt your website". ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}

Domain property or URL-prefix property: which to choose

A Domain property collects data for every subdomain and protocol of a domain. A URL-prefix property collects data only for URLs that begin with the exact prefix you enter, protocol included. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}

	Domain property	URL-prefix property
You enter	`example.com`	`https://www.example.com/`
Includes	All subdomains (www, m and so on), http and https, every path	Only URLs starting with that prefix
`http://example.com/page`	Included	Not included (wrong protocol and host)
Verification	DNS record only	Many possible methods

Choose a Domain property when you can edit DNS: one property then shows the whole site. Choose a URL-prefix property when you cannot, or when you want a report limited to one path such as https://example.com/es/. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console} You can have both; an account holds up to 1,000 properties. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console} The trade-offs, including why you should never add the totals of two overlapping properties together, are covered in Domain vs URL-prefix properties.

How to verify a Domain property with a DNS record

A DNS record is the only way to verify a Domain property, unless the site runs on a Google product such as Blogger or Google Sites. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console} You need to be able to log in to your domain name provider, the company you bought the domain from. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

Enter the root domain. Type example.com with no protocol, no path and no www. If you type www.example.com, the property is created as example.com and covers both. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
Check whether Google can add the record for you. If Search Console shows your provider in its list, choose it and click Start verification. You log in to the provider and verification should occur immediately. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}
Otherwise add the record yourself. Choose Any DNS provider, then TXT under Select record type. Search Console gives you a string that looks something like google-site-verification=.... ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}
Create a TXT record at your provider. Leave the Host/Name field blank or set it to @, depending on your provider's documentation, and paste the string into the Value field. It must match exactly. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}
Click Verify. If it fails, wait a day or two and try again. A manually added record can take up to two or three days before the provider starts serving it. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

Google also offers a CNAME record as an alternative, but notes that most sites use TXT records for domain verification. CNAME only applies when a CNAME record already exists for your domain and points to a parent domain; Google's Admin Toolbox shows which records your domain serves. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

Leave the record in place after verification succeeds. Search Console checks periodically that the token is still there. If it disappears you are notified, and your permissions on the property expire after a grace period. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

How to verify a URL-prefix property without DNS access

A URL-prefix property accepts several methods. Enter the full prefix including http:// or https:// and the final /, then pick the method that matches the access you have. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}

Method	What you need	The catch
HTML file upload	The ability to upload a file to the site's root directory	The file must be reachable without a login and used exactly as provided
HTML tag	The ability to edit the `<head>` of the homepage	The tag is tied to your Google account; do not overwrite another owner's tag
Google Analytics	Edit rights in the Analytics account, same Google account in both products	The snippet must be in `<head>`, not `<body>`, and unmodified
Google Tag Manager	Publish or Admin permission on the container, same Google account	The container code must be placed exactly as provided
DNS record	Access to the domain name provider	Also auto-verifies you for the Domain property

All five rows come from Google's verification help page. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

Having Google Analytics installed is not enough by itself: verification fails if you lack edit rights or sign in with a different Google account. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

On WordPress, Shopify, Wix or a similar platform, check the host's documentation first. Some methods may be unavailable there, and the platform may offer a setting or plugin that verifies for you. For WordPress, Google points to Site Kit as the only plugin it officially sponsors. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

Two habits save trouble later. Add a second verification method under Settings > Ownership verification, so a template change that drops a tag does not cost you access. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership} And if your site answers on both http and https, or on several subdomains, remember that each one needs its own URL-prefix property. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}

The thing people get wrong: waiting to add the property until verification is sorted out. Google collects data for a property as soon as anyone adds it, even before verification. Add it, click Verify later, and the days your DNS change takes are not lost. ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}

What to set up right after verification

Users. Whoever verified the property is a verified owner. Everyone else is added under Settings > Users and permissions with Add user, their Google account email and a permission level: owner, full user or restricted user. Only owners can add users. ^{[3]Google Search Console Help. Managing owners, users, and permissions} If you plan to connect a tool through a Google sign-in, add the account you will sign in with. How to add users to Google Search Console has the full procedure.

Sitemap. Google lists a sitemap as something to consider, not a requirement: pages can be discovered without it, though submitting one might speed up discovery. ^{[5]Google Search Central. Get started with Search Console} For a site of about 500 pages or fewer where every page is reachable from the homepage, Google says you probably don't need one. ^{[4]Google Search Console Help. Sitemaps report} If you do, paste the sitemap URL into Add a new sitemap in the Sitemaps report; that report requires owner permissions. ^{[4]Google Search Console Help. Sitemaps report} The steps and the status messages are in how to submit a sitemap to Google.

Homepage. For a new website, Google's suggested first step is to request indexing of the homepage. ^{[7]Google Search Console Help. Page indexing report} You do that with the URL Inspection tool; see how to request indexing.

When your data shows up (and what the first week looks like)

Google gives ranges, not dates. The timeline below is constructed to illustrate how those ranges line up for a new Domain property; the durations are Google's, the day labels are ours.

When	What happens	Source of the timing
Day 1	You add `example.com` and click Verify later. Data collection starts.	Collection starts as soon as anyone adds the property ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}
Days 1 to 3	The TXT record goes live at your provider. Verify succeeds once Google can see it.	Up to two or three days for a manually installed record ^{[2]Google Search Console Help. Verify your site ownership}
After a few days	The Performance report starts to show clicks and impressions.	"Data should begin to appear in your property in a few days" ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}
After a week or so	On a brand-new site, pages begin to appear in the Page indexing report.	"It can take a week or so for Google to start crawling and indexing a new page or site" ^{[7]Google Search Console Help. Page indexing report}

Nobody can open the reports until the property has a verified owner. ^{[3]Google Search Console Help. Managing owners, users, and permissions} The collection that started on day 1 is the reason to add the property early anyway.

Expect the newest figures to move. The Performance report marks the latest data as preliminary, meaning it is still being collected and might change in the next few hours. ^{[8]Google Search Console Help. Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup}

If the property is still empty several days after verification, Google names two causes: the site has not been seen in Google Search yet, or you created the property for the wrong URL, for example http instead of https on a URL-prefix property. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console} For the first case, check whether your pages are indexed. For the second, add the correct property; a Domain property avoids the problem because it includes both protocols. ^{[1]Google Search Console Help. Add a website or platform property to Search Console}

What to do in Search Console now

Add the property today, before you have DNS access. Collection starts at that point.
Verify, then add a backup verification method and the accounts that need access.
Request indexing of the homepage if the site is new, and submit a sitemap if the site is large or poorly linked.
Come back after a few days. Google says there is no need to sign in every day: Search Console emails you when it finds new issues, and a check around once a month is enough. ^{[5]Google Search Central. Get started with Search Console}

Once the Performance report has data, how to use Google Search Console walks through the reports one by one. And when the property has collected enough queries, our low hanging fruit finder reads that data through a read-only Google sign-in: you pick a verified property and it keeps the keywords in positions 4 to 30.

How to Set Up Google Search Console: Add, Verify and Check Your Property