Verify your website in Google Search Console (2026)
What you’ll have at the end
Your website added to Google Search Console as a Domain property, with you as its verified owner. A Domain property covers your whole domain: every subdomain (such as www.) and both http and https.
Before you start
You’ll need
- A Google Account
- A website on your own domain name (such as example.com)
- A sign-in to the company you bought the domain from (your domain provider)
What it costs. Google says Search Console is a free service.
You need a website on your own domain name, and a sign-in to the company you bought the domain from. Google calls this your domain name provider. Verifying a Domain property means adding a small record to your domain's settings there, so this guide uses both Search Console and your provider's site.
If your website is on a hosting platform, Google suggests looking in that platform's help for its own instructions on verifying with Search Console first.
Adding a property doesn't change anything about your website on Google Search. Google says that if you don't finish in one sitting, it won't hurt your site.
Steps
1. Open Search Console
Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google Account.
2. Start adding your website
If this is your first website in Search Console, click Add a website. If you already have one, open the property selector at the top left and select + Add property.
3. Choose a Domain property
Choose the Domain option (Google's help calls it a Domain property, written like example.com).
4. Enter your domain
Type your domain name only, such as example.com. Leave out https:// and www. Search Console includes both www and non-www versions anyway. Then continue.
5. Choose your provider, if Search Console lists it
If Search Console shows your domain name provider in a list, choose it and click Start verification, then follow the instructions. You'll be asked to sign in to your provider, and Google says verification should then happen straight away. You can skip to the end of this guide.
If the provider shown isn't yours, choose Any DNS provider.
6. Copy the TXT record
When Search Console asks you to select a record type, choose TXT. Search Console gives you a line of text, the TXT record. Please copy it.
7. Open your domain's DNS records
In a new tab, sign in to your domain name provider and open the DNS records for your domain. Every provider's screens are different; Google's help points to the Google Workspace instructions for many providers.
8. Add the TXT record
Add a new TXT record. For the Host or Name, leave it blank or type @, as your provider's instructions say. For the Value, paste the TXT record from Search Console. You can keep the default TTL your provider suggests.
9. Save the record
Save the new record in your provider's DNS settings.
10. Click Verify
Go back to Search Console and click Verify.
If verification fails, please don't worry. Google's verification help says it can take up to two or three days for your provider to start serving a new record, and suggests waiting a day or two before trying Verify again.
If something looks different
- If Search Console offers a CNAME record instead, Google's help explains when to use one. For most sites, Google says a TXT record is the right choice.
- If you'd rather verify only one version of your site (for example, only https://www.example.com), choose a URL-prefix property at step 3. That type offers other methods, such as an HTML file or an HTML tag, and its screens differ from these steps.
- If you can't verify the site yourself, a current owner of the property in Search Console can give you access.