Sign in to search.google.com/search-console with any Google account. Click "Add Property" and choose between Domain (covers all subdomains and protocols) or URL Prefix (covers only the exact protocol and subdomain you enter). Domain properties require DNS verification, while URL Prefix offers more verification methods. For verification, you have five options. HTML file upload is fastest for most sites: download the file, upload it to your root directory via FTP or cPanel, then click verify. DNS verification works by adding a TXT record to your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.) and takes 10 minutes to 48 hours to propagate. Google Analytics and Tag Manager methods work if you already have those installed with admin permissions. HTML tag verification means pasting a meta tag into your site's header. Once verified, submit your XML sitemap under the Sitemaps section. Your sitemap URL is typically yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml if you use WordPress with Yoast or Rank Math. Submitting the sitemap helps Google discover and crawl your pages faster, especially on new sites or after major updates. Give Search Console 2-7 days to populate data. You won't see reports immediately. After the initial indexing period, check the Coverage report for errors, the Performance report for keyword and click data, and the Core Web Vitals report for page speed issues. At Ottawa SEO, we set up Search Console on every client site within the first week, usually alongside Google Analytics 4. We verify via HTML file for WordPress sites because it's reversible and doesn't require client access to DNS records. For multi-regional sites or those using CDNs like Cloudflare, Domain properties simplify management but require coordination with whoever controls DNS. Always verify both www and non-www versions if you're using URL Prefix properties, or use a Domain property to avoid split data.