Lesson 4: The Google Search Console - Updated Directions

Anonymous 147 — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 21:53:00 +0000

Sometime prior to August 2022, Google changed how things on their end work when it comes to verification. Google's documentation has been kind of slow on rolling out this information, but it is probably somewhere now.

The reason I bring this up, the change for verification has now impacted how Google Search Console is setup. You can no longer use the HTML code which is what is displayed in the video. You now how to use TXT or CNAME records which is a totally different process.

In case anyone comes here to look for a "What do I do now?", here are some steps that are a little more straight forward, though I don't have a video for it.

1. When you reach the Domain Verification Screen, enter in your website on the left side. If you have URL Prefixes, these directions aren't going to work for you.
2. Click Next.
3. At the top of the box, you have two options in a drop down. It defaults to "TXT" which is recommended, but within it is also "CNAME". While TXT is recommended, we are going to select CNAME instead.
4. Before you copy the code, go to where you purchased your Domain from. This could be GoDaddy, Shopify, or another provider.
5. Access your DNS records. If you aren't sure how to do this, check the Help Center of your provider. If you've set up Email in the past, you might remember to location from that. For Shopify, you would go Settings > Domains > click on your Domain > Domain Settings > Edit DNS Settings.
6. On your screen, you should have the option for entering or creating a Custom Record. Select this and then select CNAME.
7. Copy the first value from Google Search Console and add it to the first box. Copy the second and add it to the second box. (If you didn't change to CNAME and are still seeing TXT on Google Search Console, that's fine, you can change to CNAME now and no one will no the difference.)
8. Click "Confirm" on the DNS records.
9. Go back to Google Search Console and click "Verify".

If all goes as planned, you should receive a green confirmation box confirming that the record has been setup.
If you got the red box, check back in 24 hours (or sooner, up to you). If you are still having an error after 24 hours, you might have an issue somewhere.

These directions were provided for CNAME instead of TXT because there is information missing from the TXT process. In order to understand what is missing and how to fix it, you need to have a certain level of familiarity with DNS records, which most of the people taking this course will not have (don't worry, there are IT Professionals that have no idea what would be needed either).

Enjoy!

Lesson 4: The Google Search Console - Updated Directions - Shopify SEO - Search Marketing

Lesson 4: The Google Search Console - Updated Directions