Learn how to set up Google Search Console for your Showit Website with this beginner-friendly guide. It’s your next step to boost SEO and rank higher on Google.

Google Search Console is a free, powerful SEO tool and is a gold mine of website performance data. A must-have for any small business or blogger with a Showit website.  

If your instinct is to start panicking right now, I promise this step-by-step guide will eliminate any tech overwhelm! Let’s take a look and get you started…

STEP ONE: Sign Up to Google Search Console

• Head to Google Search Console and click Start Now.
  
• Sign in with your Google account. (If you don’t have one, you can set one up here.)

STEP TWO: Add Your Showit Website to Google Search Console

Here, we let Google Search Console know who you are.

• For your property type, select the URL prefix option.
• Enter your Showit website’s URL, including the prefix  https://www.*******.
• Click Continue.

STEP THREE: Verify your Showit Website in Google Search Console

You have a couple of different options here to verify your site:

• If you have already set up a Google Analytics account, select the Google Analytics option and click Verify. Simple.

Or, the official Showit recommended option:

• Select the HTML Tag option and copy the tag provided.
• Login to your Showit website and paste the tag into the head section of your homepage. 

Don’t worry if this feels like a lot! I’ll break it down…

How do you add an HTML tag to the head section of your Showit website?

• Select Page on your Showit website, then Home (your site’s homepage).
• In the properties panel on the right-hand side, click the Advanced Settings tab.
• Click the Custom Head HTML box that appears.
• A pop-up window will appear, where you now Paste your HTML code (which you copied in Google Search Console).
• Click Save and then Publish your site to activate the code.
• Head back to Google Search Console and click Verify.

Now we have one last step to help Google easily navigate your Showit website…submit your Showit Sitemap. 

STEP FOUR: Submit a Showit Sitemap in Google

Your sitemap is a structured directory of all the pages on your Showit website that Google uses to find and rank your pages faster. So don’t miss this step.

Fortunately, Showit automatically generates a Sitemap for you, so the process is pretty straightforward.

• To find your sitemap, go to www.insertyourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
• Next, head to Sitemaps in Google Search Console and enter your Showit sitemap URL in Add a new sitemap box.
• Click Submit.

That’s it! You’re now all set up to track your Showit website performance with Google Search Console. 

However, if you’re using WordPress with a Showit website, you have one extra step…

Google Search Console for Bloggers Using WordPress

As Showit and WordPress have separate sitemaps, you must submit both to ensure Google knows about your incredible blog posts.

If you’re using Yoast, ShowIt’s preferred SEO plugin for WordPress, your sitemap will be:

• www.insertyourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml  

(i.e. www.amazingtemplates.com/sitemap_index.xml)

Follow Step Four above and paste this into the Add a new sitemap setting in  Google Search Console. 

FAQs: Understanding Google Search Console

Setting up digital tools like Google Search Console can be daunting if tech isn’t your thing.

But you know it’s an asset your business needs to flourish, and you did it.😊

So now that you’re ready to go, let’s answer some of the burning questions possibly spinning through your mind right now…

How Long Does Google Search Console Take To Start Working?

Allow a week at least to start seeing any data. 

In this initial stage, Google must crawl and index your site, meaning it must thoroughly explore your Showit website. 

It reads and follows all pages and links, before storing all this info and preparing it for ranking.

Top Tip – submitting your sitemap can speed up this process.

What Data Will Google Search Console Give Me?

It’ll give you valuable SEO insights into how your Showit website pages perform in Google search results. 

• Google rankings.  
• Keyword performance (which search queries are finding which pages)
• Click-through rates (what pages are visitors clicking to read?)
• Impressions (number of times your site appears in search results)
• Linking Report (Are other websites linking to your Showit website?)

Brilliant for analysing what’s working and what could do with a little tweak to attract and engage more visitors. 

These are also super beneficial SEO metrics for bloggers who post regular content and want to build an audience.

Do I Need Google Search Console AND Google Analytics?

In one word, Yes. 

Well, that’s if you want a comprehensive picture of your website’s overall performance. Which I highly recommend…

Each provides its own set of unique, actionable insights for different things:

Google Search Console gives insights into how your Showit website is performing in Google search results and highlights SEO issues.

Google Analytics provides data on user behaviour on your website. 

Together, they form a dynamic digital duo of helpful metrics designed to get the best out of your website.

An important note on using Google Analytics:

If you don’t have it, you absolutely should get it ASAP. You’re missing out on another free website analytics tool that provides hugely beneficial user behaviour metrics for your Showit website.

Follow our step-by-step guide on how to set up Google Analytics on Showit which takes you through the simple setup process.

Do I Need Google Search Console For SEO?

Yes, absolutely! Its valuable performance metrics take the guesswork out of how well your pages are performing in Google search results.

So, while it won’t automatically boost your rankings, this data can help you review and strategically modify your SEO.

Google Search Console for bloggers using Showit

Google Search Console gives bloggers essential insights into how each blog post performs. 

You can then use these metrics to improve low-ranking content and create more relevant content around popular search terms and keywords. Give readers what they want..

In return you’ll attract more visitors to your site and help establish your blog as a go-to resource in your industry. It’s a win.

Fully armed with these simple steps to set up Google Search Console on your Showit Website, it’s time to get curious. It’s your job to understand how your website is performing for your business…

And then use the superb data at your fingertips to maximise your Showit websites’ SEO and Google ranking potential.

Remember your brand is amazing and deserves to be seen!

Is your current website missing the mark with its online performance?  Book a 1:1 Strategy Call with me here and discover how we can create the magnetising digital presence your brand deserves.