Google Search Console 🔍

Google Search Console is essential for monitoring your site's performance in Google Search! Let's get you set up. 🚀

Why You Need This 🎯

Google Search Console helps you:

📊 Monitor Search Performance: See how many people find your site through Google
🔎 Track Keywords: Discover which search terms bring visitors to your site
🐛 Fix Issues: Get alerts about errors, broken links, or indexing problems
📈 Submit Sitemaps: Help Google discover and index all your pages
⚡ Improve Rankings: Get insights to optimize your content for better visibility

It's completely free and takes just 5 minutes to set up!

Prerequisites ✅

Before you start:

✅ Your Indie Kit site must be deployed and live
✅ You need a Google account
✅ You should be able to modify your site's code or DNS settings

Step 1: Add Your Property 🌐

Go to Google Search Console
Click "Start now" or "Add property" if you already have an account
You'll see two options - choose URL prefix:

Choosing Property Type 🤔

URL-prefix property (Recommended) ✨

Example: https://yourdomain.com
Includes only URLs with the exact prefix you specify
Multiple verification methods available
Best for most users!

Domain property

Example: yourdomain.com
Includes all subdomains (www, m, etc.) and protocols (http, https)
Requires DNS verification (more technical)
Good if you have multiple subdomains

Recommendation

For most Indie Kit apps, use URL-prefix property with your full URL including https://

Enter your site URL: https://yourdomain.com
Click Continue

Step 2: Verify Ownership ✅

Google needs to confirm you own the site. Choose one of these verification methods:

Option 1: HTML Tag (Easiest for Indie Kit) 🏷️

Google will show you a meta tag like:

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="abc123..." />

Add it to your Indie Kit app's src/app/layout.tsx:

export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode;
}) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <head>
        <meta 
          name="google-site-verification" 
          content="YOUR_VERIFICATION_CODE_HERE" 
        />
      </head>
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  );
}

Deploy your changes
Go back to Google Search Console and click Verify

Option 2: HTML File Upload 📄

Download the HTML file Google provides
Upload it to your public/ folder
Deploy your changes
Click Verify

Option 3: DNS Record (For Domain Property) 🌐

Copy the TXT record Google provides
Add it to your domain's DNS settings (in your domain registrar)
Wait a few minutes for DNS to propagate
Click Verify

Pro Tip

Verification may take a few minutes after deployment. If it fails, wait 5-10 minutes and try again!

Step 3: Submit Your Sitemap 🗺️

Once verified, submit your sitemap so Google can discover all your pages:

In Google Search Console, go to Sitemaps (left sidebar)
Enter your sitemap URL: sitemap.xml
Click Submit

Automatic Sitemap

Indie Kit automatically generates your sitemap! It's available at https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Learn more in the Sitemap documentation.

What Happens Next? ⏰

Verification: Takes a few minutes to a few hours
Data Collection: Starts appearing in 2-3 days
Full Data: Takes about a week to show complete statistics

Don't worry if you don't see data immediately - this is normal! 📊

Monitoring Your Site 📈

Once data starts coming in, check these sections regularly:

Performance Report

See clicks, impressions, and average position
Discover which keywords bring traffic
Identify top-performing pages

Coverage Report

Check which pages are indexed
Find and fix errors
Submit new pages for indexing

Enhancements

Check mobile usability
Monitor Core Web Vitals
Fix structured data issues

Troubleshooting 🔧

"Verification failed"

Make sure your site is deployed with the verification code
Wait 5-10 minutes and try again
Clear your browser cache

"No data available"

Normal for new sites - wait 2-3 days
Ensure your sitemap is submitted
Check that your site is publicly accessible

"Sitemap couldn't be read"

Verify your sitemap URL: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
Check that your site is live
Wait a few minutes and resubmit

Best Practices 💡

Check Weekly: Review your performance report weekly
Fix Errors: Address coverage errors promptly
Submit New Content: Manually submit important new pages via "URL Inspection"
Monitor Core Web Vitals: Keep an eye on performance metrics
Track Keywords: Identify opportunities to create more content

Next Steps 🚀

✅ Set up email notifications for critical issues
✅ Connect Google Analytics (if you use it)
✅ Review your performance report weekly
✅ Submit your sitemap
✅ Use "URL Inspection" tool to check specific pages

All Set!

Congratulations! Your site is now connected to Google Search Console. Data will start appearing in a few days! 🎉

Google Search Console