Install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin.
If you haven't already, install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin on your WordPress website. You can do this by going to your WordPress dashboard, clicking on "Plugins" in the left sidebar, and then selecting "Add New." Search for "Yoast SEO," install it, and activate it.
Access the Google Search Console:
Visit the Google Search Console website (https://search.google.com/search-console/) and log in with your Google account. If you don't have a Google account, you'll need to create one.
Add Your Property (Website):
In Google Search Console, click on the "Add property" button. Enter your website's URL and click "Continue."
Verify Ownership:
Google will provide several verification methods. For this guide, we'll use the "HTML tag" method.
Click on the "HTML tag" option.
You'll see a meta tag code. Copy the entire meta tag code provided by Google.
Add Google Search Console Verification Code to Yoast SEO:
Return to your WordPress dashboard.
Navigate to "SEO" in the left sidebar.
Click on "General."
Go to the "Webmaster Tools" tab.
Paste the Verification Code:
In the "Google Search Console" section, paste the meta tag code you copied from Google Search Console into the "Google Verification Code" field.
Save Changes:
After pasting the code, scroll down and click the "Save Changes" button.
Verify Ownership in Google Search Console:
Go back to Google Search Console and click "Verify." Google will check if the code is correctly placed on your website.
Confirm Verification:
Once verified, Google will provide access to your website's data in Search Console.
Submit a Sitemap:
After verifying ownership, it's a good practice to submit a sitemap to Google. Yoast SEO automatically generates a sitemap for your website.
In Google Search Console, click on your property.
Go to "Sitemaps" in the left sidebar.
Enter "sitemap_index.xml" (this is the default sitemap generated by Yoast SEO) and click "Submit."
It's over now! The Yoast SEO plugin has helped you effectively set up Google Search Console. Through Google Search Console, you can now keep tabs on the functionality and index status of your website as well as gain useful information to enhance your SEO efforts.
