Google Search Console (previously Google Webmaster Tools) is a free service that helps you manage your site's presence in Google search results. Through Google Search Console, you can request that Google index your Squarespace 5 site, meaning changes you've made will show up in search results sooner.
Before you begin
- If you have a custom domain, it must be connected properly.
- You may want to register for Google Analytics first.
- A Google account is required to sign up for Google Analytics and Search Console. You can create one here.
Step 1 - Register for Google Search Console
Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools and log in with the same Google account.
Enter your domain name in the box and click Add Property. Use your full domain. For custom domains, include with the www prefix.
Step 2 - Copy the HTML tag
Google will recommend a verification method based on your domain provider. For the simplest setup, we recommend the HTML Tag method instead.
Click the Alternate Methods tab, then check HTML Tag. Copy the meta tag.
Note: If you already verified your site with Google Analytics, check Google Analytics, then click Verify.
Step 3 - Add HTML tag to code injection
To insert your meta tag:
- Open a new tab, log into your site, and open the Website Management bar.
- Cick Website Settings under Structure.
- Go to the Code Injection tab and select Extra Header Code in the Injection Region drop-down.
- Paste the meta tag into the HTML Code field.
- Click Update Information.
Step 4 - Verify your site
In Google Search Console, click Verify.
A congratulations message will appear.
Step 5 - Index your site (optional)
One of the primary uses for Google Search Console is requesting Google index your site. This forces Google's bots to review your site and helps Google update search results with your new content.
When you contact us about updates not appearing in search results, we'll likely recommend that you follow this process.
- On the Search Console homepage, select the site you'd like to index.
- On the left dashboard, click Crawl and then click Fetch as Google, which appears as a child menu item below Crawl.
- Leave the text box blank and leave Desktop selected in the drop-down menu.
- Click Fetch to see the HTTP response Google received from your page.
- Click Request Indexing next to your results.
- Check Crawl this URL and its direct links. You can submit up to 10 of requests of this kind per month.
- Click Go.
The next step is to wait. According to Google, "Once you submit your URL, you might need to wait some time for Google to process your request as well as crawl and index the page. Also, understand that we can't guarantee that Google will index all your changes as Google relies on a complex algorithm to update indexed materials."
Crawl errors
When verifying your site with Google Search Console, you'll see a message showing that parts of your URL are restricted by a robots.txt file. This is completely normal. We ask Google not to crawl these pages because they’re for internal use only or display duplicate content that can count against a site's SEO.
Note: Google Search Console is an advanced third-party service, and Squarespace is unable to offer additional assistance. For more help, visit Google's documentation.