Author name: sanoopbalan

How to Set Up GSC Property Using HTML File Upload Google Search Console (GSC) is an essential tool for SEO experts and executives or those who want to know information about the website’s performance on the Google Search Engine Result Page. It helps you monitor and maintain the website’s presence in SERP. In this step-by-step guide, I will help you on how to set up a Google Search Console property using the HTML file upload method. This method is very easy and simple to implement, especially for those starting their SEO journey or not that much into the technical side of SEO or the website.  Step-by-Step Guide to Verify Site Ownership: Step 1: Sign In to Google Search Console Begin by signing in to Google Search Console. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to create one. Visit “https://search.google.com/search-console/about” and click the Start or Sign In button. If your Gmail Account is already logged In, you will be automatically redirected to the GSC.  Step 2: Add a Property Once logged in, you can see two options, as shown in the screenshot below. If it is not showing, click on the “Add property” button in the left top corner of your window. You will see two options: Domain and URL prefix. Select the URL prefix option because today, we are discussing the verification method that can be done using the URL Prefix method, which is simpler and more direct. Enter your website’s URL in the URL prefix field and click “Continue.” Step 3: Download the HTML Verification File Once you click the continue button in the second step, you will be redirected to another option. In the verification methods list, select the HTML file as the first option. Click the download link to get the HTML verification file and save it in your system. Step 4: Upload the HTML File to Your Website Once you downloaded the file, Next, you need to upload this HTML file to your website’s root directory. So here I’m discussing a general method that can be used to upload the file to the root directory because many of you might be using different hosting providers to host your website. This method will work irrespective of your hosting provider; for that, Use an FTP client (like FileZilla) or your web hosting service’s file manager to upload the file. Ensure the file is placed directly in the root directory (e.g. sanoopbalan.com/google1234567890.html). I have attached the Filezilla dashboard below. Always paste the file into your server’s root directory. For the WordPress website, there is a common root directory named Public_HTML; you have to paste the file inside this folder. Step 5: Confirm File Upload Once you upload the file to the root directory, it is always better to check whether you uploaded the file properly. You can confirm the upload by visiting the file’s URL in your browser. The file name will be the URL, so you can copy and paste the file name and check if it is live. (e.g., yourwebsite.com/google1234567890.html). If the file is accessible and displays correctly, proceed to the next step. Step 6: Verify Ownership in Google Search Console Once you are verified, the Verification remains valid as long as the Search Console can confirm the presence and validity of your verification token using any of the methods explained above Step 7: Verification Success If everything is set up correctly, you will see a success message confirming that your site has been verified. Step 8: Remove the HTML File (Optional) If you don’t like any third-party files on your server, you can remove the HTML file you have copied. However, keeping the file in place will help in future verifications if needed. Conclusion Setting up a Google Search Console property using HTML file upload is a fundamental step for SEO professionals. This method is reliable and ensures that you have full control over your site verification. By following these steps, you can efficiently manage and monitor your website’s performance in Google Search.

How to Verify Your Site Ownership in Google Search Console Most probably you heard about Google Search Console or GSC in your SEO Journey? Basically GSC is a free tool released by Google to Track and analyze your website user behaviour in Google SERP. So, If you are looking on how to verify your site ownership using GSC in easy methods, Don’t worry I will be explaining about different ownership verifications available on GSC in this blog. Before that let me tell you what ownership verification is. GSC Site Verification is nothing but telling Google that you have full access to the domain and you are the authorised person to claim the Google Search Console Account. So now let’s talk about why Ownership verification is important for your SEO Activities. Why is Ownership Verification Important? As you know, While doing Search Engine Optimization for your website you have to analyse how your site is performing in Google SERP results. GSC helps site owners to analyse the interaction rate and impressions gained from google. Therefore it is always important to verify the ownership in GSC or else you will be missing some valuable insights about your site which will then help you to plan SEO strategies in future Step-by-Step Guide to Verify Site Ownership: Step 1: Access Google Search Console: Go to Google Search console by entering the name in google search, Upon clicking you will be asked to Sign in to your Google account or create a new one if you don’t have an existing one. Navigate to Google Search Console and select “Add Property” to begin the verification process. On a general note, Properties is a search console term for identifying which website is connected and it represents a website’s data Step 2: Select Property Type Once you login you can see multiple options in property. Domain and URL prefix are the two types of properties available to get your website verified. Each property type has its own pros and cons, for example if you select the domain property every subdomain created within the domain will be automatically added to the newly created property where it is not possible in URL Prefix property where the exact URL will only be tracked. Step 3: Choose Verification Method Select the website you want to verify ownership for or add a new property if it’s not already listed. Then, choose one of the available verification methods recommended for your site. Options include HTML file upload, HTML tag, domain name provider, or Google Analytics verification. Step 4: Implement Verification Method Follow the instructions provided by Google for your chosen verification method. This may involve uploading a specific HTML file to your website’s root directory, adding a meta tag to your site’s homepage, or verifying through your domain name provider or Google Analytics account. Step 5: Verify Ownership Once you’ve implemented the verification method, return to Google Search Console and click the “Verify” button. Google will verify the presence and validity of the verification token or code. If successful, you’ll receive confirmation that your site ownership has been verified. It is always better to use Multiple Verification Methods which will help you to enhance the security of your website and a smooth flow of your data, if any of the verification fails due to any unforeseen issues like theme modification or any changes in your website code How to Verify Child Properties When you verify ownership of a parent property, any child properties you add will be automatically verified using the same method. This streamlines the verification process for subdomains or specific paths within your website. Which means if you verify examples.com using GSC, the subdomains  like blog.example.com will be automatically verified and start recording the data in your verified property Once you are verified, the Verification remains valid as long as the Search Console can confirm the presence and validity of your verification token using any of the methods explained above By implementing site ownership verification in Google Search Console, you can unlock a large set of actionable insights to optimise your website’s performance and improve the visibility in search results