Agent WranglersSEO-18Recommended
Watch how search engines see the site
Verify the site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, submit the sitemap, and read the indexing reports after every large change.
How to do it
Verify the whole domain with a DNS TXT record, so every host and protocol is covered. Submit the sitemap in both tools. After a launch, a move or a redesign, read the page indexing report for new "Not found", "Soft 404" and "Excluded by noindex" pages. Turn on email alerts. Redirect the old addresses it finds, as Watch for broken old links says.
Examples
Shell example
dig +short TXT example.com | grep -i google-site-verificationHow to check
Both tools show the domain verified and the sitemap read with no errors. The DNS TXT records exist.
Sources
Related rules
- SEO-2 List every public page in a sitemap in SEO
- SEO-60 Read and answer a manual action in SEO
- WEB-89 Watch for broken old links in Website
For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/measuring-results/search-console">Agent Wranglers SEO playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.