Google Webmaster Tools allows webmasters to check their websites’ indexing status and optimize visibility in Google search results. It shows your sites’ search appearance, search traffic, indexing status, crawl reports, and much more.
This article explains the steps to add a site to Google Webmaster Tools. Once the site is added, you can check the site’s visibility and indexing statuses in Site Dashboard.
Step (1). Log in to your Google Webmaster Tools account.
Step (2). Click on ADD A SITE button. This will display the “Add a site” dialog.
Step (3). Provide your website’s complete URL into the specified field and click on the Continue button.
Step (4). Once the site is added to Google Webmaster Tools, you need to verify the site. So that Google understands you are the site’s owner. Google Webmaster Tools will display verify page to verify your site. You can verify the site with your Google Analytics account also. If you don’t have a Google Analytics account, click on the Alternate methods tab.
Step (5). Google Webmaster Tools will display the list of alternate methods to verify the site’s ownership. You can select any method which is convenient to you. In this article, we are using the HTML file upload method. So, select the HTML file upload method.
Step (6). Once you selected the HTML file upload method, Google Webmaster Tools will display the link to download the HTML file. This file should be uploaded into your website’s root folder.
Step (7). Once you upload the HTML file into your website’s root folder, click on VERIFY button to verify the site ownership with Google Webmaster Tools.
Step (8). Google Webmaster Tools now check for the HTML file in your site’s root folder and if it is found, it will display the success message. Click on the Continue button.
Step (9). Google Webmaster Tools opens the Home page and it will display the list of sites added to your Google Webmaster Tools account.
Step (10). Click on your site’s link to open Site Dashboard. Site Dashboard will display the site’s messages, crawl errors, search queries, and sitemaps in an organized way.
Now your site is added into Google Webmaster Tools and it is verified. Google Webmaster Tools start capturing your site’s information and display it in Site Dashboard. Whenever you want to check how your site is performing, you can come to Google Webmaster Tools and check for your site’s performance using tools provided by Google Webmaster Tools.