Google Search Console setup means proving to Google that you own or manage a website, then configuring the tool to track how your pages perform in search results. The core steps are domain verification, submitting a sitemap, and setting your preferred URL version. Verification happens through one of several methods. The DNS TXT record is cleanest for agencies managing multiple properties because it validates the entire domain and all subdomains at once. You add a specific code to your domain's DNS zone file through your registrar or hosting panel. The HTML file upload method works if you have FTP access but only verifies one protocol and subdomain combination. Google Tag Manager or Analytics verification is fast if those are already installed, but creates a dependency on those tags staying in place. We default to DNS verification for clients because it persists even if the site gets rebuilt. Once verified, submit your XML sitemap under the Sitemaps section. This tells Google which pages you want indexed and how often they change. For a standard WordPress site, the sitemap URL is usually yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml. If you run a multi-regional or bilingual site, submit separate sitemaps for each language or region to track performance independently. You'll also want to set a default property view. Search Console distinguishes between http/https and www/non-www versions as separate properties. Even if your server redirects traffic correctly, verifying all four combinations and grouping them in a domain property gives you unified reporting. After setup, the tool takes 24–48 hours to populate data. The Performance report shows clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position for every query and page. Coverage tells you which URLs Google indexed, which it rejected, and why. The Core Web Vitals report flags pages failing Google's speed and user experience thresholds, which became a ranking factor in 2021. At Ottawa SEO, we set up Search Console for every client site during onboarding and configure email alerts for critical errors like sudden indexing drops or manual actions. It's the single most important free diagnostic tool Google offers, and running a site without it is like driving without a speedometer.