Google Search Console is a free tool that lets you see how the Google search engine views your website. This is useful for improving your search rankings and fixing any problems with your website. Here are the basic steps to set up Google Search Console for your website, and access it via the Yoast plugin. It’s a prerequisite that you have Google Analytics already set up for your website to allow Google to verify that you own the site you want to set up with Google Search Console. And that you have installed the Yoast plugin.
1. Set up an account with Google Search Console
First you need to open up Google Search Console. If you have more than one google account then you’ll need to choose the one you want to use before you get to the Welcome screen.
2. Add your website
Just fill in the url for your website and hit the ‘Continue’ button.
2. Verify Ownership
Just fill in the url for your website and hit the ‘Continue’ button.
This is where you need to have already set up Google Analytics for your website. If Google Analytics is set up correctly you will successfully verify your website ownership.
You will then get an email with some suggestions for improving your website search rankings… This will be covered in another blog post.
4. Authorise Yoast to access Google Search Console
There are two ways to access this. You may have a message on your Yoast Dashboard suggesting that you do this…
Or you can access the same thing via the Yoast Section in your wordpress dashboard. SEO -> Search Console
Click on the ‘connect with Google Search Console here’ link to get to the next screen.
Get Google Authorization Code
Simply use the ‘Get Google Authorization Code’ button and you will be taken to a screen to access your google account.
Give permission to Yoast SEO to access your google account and manage Search Console data for your website.
A pop-up will display the authorization code that you need.
Paste this into the Yoast box and hit the ‘Authenticate’ button and you will see your website added as a profile. Use the ‘Save Profile’ button to save the changes.
Your set up of Google Search Console is now complete!
