Why bother#
Google finds new sites on its own, but it can take weeks. Search Console tells Google the site exists and shows which queries people find it by. It is the foundation for search traffic.
Indexing does not affect how the site works or your share — it is only about how fast people find you in search.
Adding to Search Console#
Choose the “Domain” property type. It is verified with a single DNS TXT record and covers both https and www at once. The “URL prefix” type asks you to upload a file to the site or add a meta tag, and you do not edit the shop’s files.
- Open Search Consolesearch.google.com/search-console → “Add property” → “Domain”.
- Enter the domainWithout http and www, for example
skins-shop.com. - Copy the TXT recordGoogle shows a record like
google-site-verification=…. Copy it in full. - Add the TXT record to the domain’s DNSIn the same place where you set the A record (at the registrar, or in Cloudflare if the domain was moved there): type TXT, name
@, value — the copied string. Do not touch or delete the A record. - VerifyGo back to Search Console and click “Verify”. If the record is not visible yet, wait 15–60 minutes and click again.
Requesting indexing#
- Open “URL inspection”The search bar at the top of Search Console. Enter the full address:
https://skins-shop.com/. - Click “Request indexing”Google queues the page for crawling. No need to click again.
Timing is up to Google: usually from a few hours to a few days. The number of requests per day is limited, so one request for the home page is enough.
How to check the site is in search#
- Search Google for
site:skins-shop.com. If the site shows up, it is indexed. - In Search Console, “Indexing → Pages” shows how many pages are indexed and why the rest are not.
- After 2–3 days, “Performance” shows the queries the site appeared for and got clicks from.
If verification fails#
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Couldn’t find the TXT record” | The record has not propagated yet. Check it on dnschecker.org (TXT type) and retry once it is visible. |
| dnschecker shows nothing even after an hour | The record was added in the wrong place. If the domain’s NS servers point to Cloudflare, add it in Cloudflare, not at the registrar. |
| The record is visible but Google rejects it | Extra quotes, spaces or a truncated string. Copy the value again in full. |
| The site is indexed but the wrong page shows | Normal in the first days while Google recalculates. Make sure the domain is “Running” in the panel. |
Yandex and Bing#
If your audience is from the CIS, it is worth adding the site to other search engines too. Same idea: verification via DNS.
- Yandex Webmaster: “Add site” → verification method “DNS record” → a TXT record in the domain’s DNS.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: you can import a site already verified in Google Search Console in a couple of clicks.
Add each TXT record separately: Google and Yandex records do not conflict and can exist side by side.