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Google Search Console

product  124 facts observed across 17 calls

Overview

Verifying a website with Google

  • Google Search Console can be used to verify ownership of a website with Google.
  • Verification informs Google or its bots that the website exists, is online, and is publicly accessible. It allows Google to send its bot to collect information from the website and can help the website become visible in Google Search.
  • Verification instructions are sent to customers by email, and separate guides are available for completing Google Verification.
  • For URL-based verification, a Thai domain must be converted into a computer-readable format before it is entered.
  • Google Search Console reports a verification failure when the meta tag is not in the <head> section of the home page.
  • Google may continue displaying old website information, such as an old logo, until it updates the website.

Submitting a sitemap

  • A sitemap prompts Google to crawl pages on the website and allows Google to collect information from it.
  • Submitting a sitemap after website updates can help the updated information appear in Google Search.
  • Submitting a sitemap sends it to Google, but it does not indicate when Google's crawler will collect the updated data.
  • Separate guides are available for submitting a sitemap to Google.

Understanding URL and indexing results

  • A URL that has been indexed is one for which Google has already collected data.
  • A URL that returns a 404 indicates that the linked page has no available data. This can result from deleting article data from the website.
  • If Google has stored an old HTTP URL and that URL has changed to HTTPS, checking the old URL can result in a 404 Not Found error.
  • A 400 Bad Request or blacklist-check error indicates that the URL is incorrect.

Removing outdated content

  • The removal area includes temporary removal and outdated-content options.

How To

Submitting a sitemap

  1. Complete the website’s page, URL, SEO, and content changes before submitting or resubmitting the sitemap.
  2. Verify the website with Google before submitting its sitemap.
  3. Open Google Search Console. You can use the Google Search Console link in the provided guide.
  4. Open the Sitemap section or sitemap-submission menu.
  5. Enter sitemap.xml in the Sitemap field.
  6. Click Submit or Send.
  7. Wait for Google’s bot to collect the website data. Processing may take time; wait until the status shows that processing is complete.
  8. Check Google Search periodically to see whether the updated website information appears.

The sitemap can be resubmitted after website pages and URLs are corrected so Google can discover updated links. One procedure advises submitting it after each page update; another advises completing the website changes before resubmitting it. When Google has not updated the information displayed in search results, submit the sitemap again. One instruction recommends prompting it approximately once every two weeks.

Verifying the website with Google

  1. Log in to the browser with the Google-verified email address before accessing Google Search Console.
  2. Open Google Search Console and select Start now or Get started.
  3. Enter the website URL in the designated field. When using URL prefix verification, enter the website’s HTTPS URL.
  4. Select Continue.
  5. Select URL prefix as the verification method when that option is presented.
  6. Select the HTML tag verification method.
  7. Copy the Google Site Verification meta-tag code.
  8. Connect the email-address verification to the website.
  9. Return to the Google Search Console page where the verification code was obtained.
  10. Select Verify under the HTML tag verification method.

Checking whether Google verification is installed

  1. Access the website’s backend system and open Settings.
  2. Open Google Tools from Settings. In another settings menu, Google Tools is the third item.
  3. Check the Google Site Verification Meta Tag field for a Google meta-tag code.
  4. Check whether a Google Site Verification meta tag has been installed.

Removing a URL reported as a 404

  1. Open the Removals section in Google Search Console.
  2. Click the option to create a new removal request.
  3. Enter the URL reported as a 404.
  4. Select the option to remove only the specified URL.
  5. Click Next to continue the request.

Removing a valid URL

  1. Copy a URL from the Search Console list and open it in a new browser URL.
  2. Paste the valid URL into the removal request form.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Choose the option to remove the URL.
  5. Click Submit Request to send the removal request.

Rules & Requirements

Verifying ownership and accessing Google Search Console

  • Register for Google Search Console separately using an email address. A Gmail account can be used.
  • Verify the website with Google before confirming ownership in Google Search Console.
  • The Google site verification meta tag must be present in the <head> section of the website's home page.
  • Google Search Console supports verification with either a domain property or a URL property.
  • Log in using the email address used to verify the account with Google.
  • Submitting a sitemap requires the customer's email login.
  • Support staff need the customer's authorization again to access the website backend.

Submitting or resubmitting a sitemap

  • Submit the sitemap using the website URL rather than selecting an individual page.
  • Include the .xml suffix. A sitemap entry without .xml is unsuccessful because it was submitted incorrectly.
  • Submit the sitemap when a new menu or page is created.
  • Submit it again after website pages or information are changed or added. If an updated sitemap is not submitted, Google may not collect the website's latest information.
  • If the update takes too long, submit the sitemap again to prompt Google's bots to collect the data again.
  • Google may continue displaying old website information after the website has been updated because its indexed data has not yet been refreshed. The time required for Google to update the information cannot be specified precisely.

Removing 404 URLs

  • Perform 404 URL removal in Google Search Console rather than by editing the website itself.
  • Open the copied URL to check it. If it displays a 404, the URL has been deleted.
  • A page listed as not indexed is not necessarily damaged.
  • Use a correctly formatted URL so the removal request can proceed.
  • Remove 404 URLs one at a time to reduce the risk of removing a page that has not been properly checked.

Handling an incorrect sitemap entry

  • An incorrect sitemap entry shown on the Google Search Console Sitemap page cannot be deleted.

Contact & Timing

Timing for Google search updates

  • The time required for a website to appear in Google Search cannot be specified because it depends on Google's bot.
  • Google may take approximately one to two weeks to collect results after a sitemap or related website changes are submitted.
  • Support staff cannot specify exactly when Google's search data will change after a sitemap submission.

Submitting a sitemap

  • Submit the sitemap once; it does not need to be submitted separately for every page.

Compiled from 124 facts observed across 17 customer calls.