Like many other analytical tools Google offers, the Google Search Console is meant to help you monitor your site’s ranking in its search results. It’s one of the most fundamental tools that you should already know about if you’re working closely with Search-Engine Optimization. By using your own Gmail account, you can sign up and use it for completely free.
By using the Search Console, you’ll be able to see if Google is able to find your site and crawl through it entirely. You can troubleshoot problems that you might not have otherwise detected during initial development, to fix indexing issues.
Similar to Google Analytics, you can add different properties (websites) to your Google Search Console account. All of the relevant data will then be available in your dashboard.
If you’d like others to have access to data relevant to your business (which you will), then you can provide them with different levels of permission depending on their role within your business.
Key Takeaways
By reading through this entire guide, you’ll be learning the following key points:
- Is it okay to give access directly through your personal Gmail account?
- How to add a user to your Google Search Console step-by-step?
- All available permissions and their roles in GSC.
- Who can use the Google Search Console?
Should I Share My Google Account to Give Access?
Absolutely not. While it will get a job done, it is not the most logically sound method to provide access to the data at hand. You will run into various problems by doing so which include but are not exclusive to,
- Data vulnerability as not everyone can be trusted with your business’ data.
- You won’t know who exactly has access and it will remove accountability.
- Possibility for the account to get hacked.
- Logistical nightmare if someone with the details of the account leaves the company.
Don’t ever share any of your Google Search Console details with anyone under any circumstances. We’ll be showing you in this guide how to add other users to Google Search Console with limited permissions.
Step-by-Step to Adding a User to Google Search Console
The process for adding a user to your Google Search Console is easily accomplished by following the steps below:
- Go to the menu on the left and scroll down. Here, you’ll see ‘Settings’. Click on it.
- Here, you’ll see an option titled ‘Users and Permissions’ right under the ‘General Settings’ section.
- Now, click on the blue ‘Add User’ button located at the top-right, in line with the Settings > Users and permissions heading.
- Type in the Gmail address of the user you’d like to give access. You can choose to give them ‘Owner’, ‘Full’, or ‘Restricted’ permissions.
- Once done, click on ‘Add’, and the designated user will now have access.
An important thing to note here is the fact that new users will not get an Email notification, unlike Google Analytics. You should notify the user manually that they now have access.
After adding a user, you can always revoke permissions from them at any point you like. Keep in mind that once someone’s contract or work is done with you, and there is no need for them to look at your business’ data, ALWAYS delete them from the list.
To do so, you need to simply go back to ‘Users and permissions’, click on the three dots next to their name and click on ‘Remove access’.
From here, you can also edit permissions for all existing users and change their role between ‘Full’ and ‘Restricted’ access at any time you like.
Permissions in Google Search Console
In Google Search Console, you can be one of three roles depending on which you were assigned. For this particular instance, you as an owner should know about the capabilities of each and every role so as to give only what is needed.
Owner
The owner of a Google Search Console can be one of two types. The first one is the person who verified their ownership of the property in question by using a token. In order to remove a verified owner, you will have to remove the token from the site.
A delegated owner is one assigned by the verified owner. Any owner can remove other delegated owners at will through the Users and permissions section.
As for the powers of an owner, they have absolute control over each and every use case in the Google Search Console. They can add and remove users, make significant changes, view any and all data, and use all available tools.
Note: Make sure you trust the individual that you’re giving the Owner access to, as they may have the liberty to remove you from your position as well. These credentials should only be given if absolutely necessary.
Full Access
Users with full access can view all data with the ability to take some actions through tools like the disavow tool. They’ll also be able to submit sitemaps, URLs and take care of manual action requests. This is the most commonly provided access to third-party contractors.
Restricted Access
When giving someone restricted access, they will be able to view all of the data within the Google Search Console, but won’t be able to access many of the tools in the GSC. Good for individuals who just need to view the important metrics to get their job down without having to make any internal changes within the Search Console.
Associate
Associates don’t have direct access to the Google Search Console. They’re able to access only specific data but are at liberty to perform specific tasks depending on the type of their association which may be through something like the Chrome Web Store.
Who Can Use the Google Search Console?
Building a digital presence is an absolute must in today’s business world. If you’d like to stay neck-to-neck with your competition then it’s necessary that you know how Google Search Console works.
Not only does it help you as a business owner, but it will also be a fundamental building block for others working on your business which includes:
Marketing Agencies
If you’re partnering up with marketing agencies, they’ll need you to set up your website properties on Google Analytics and Google Search Console in order to be able to monitor your website traffic and in turn implement a thorough SEO strategy. GSC will be your primary source of useful information that will help you in making key technical decisions for creating a viable organic traffic flow.
Business Developers
Considering you’re offloading your managerial role to another individual, they too, will need access to Google Search Console at all times as it is a great tool that helps you make revenue projections. It will become the basis for what your goals should be for your business for that year.
Web Developers
More often than not, you’ll be hiring a web developer to iron out a few changes, or to make the entire website from the bottom up. They’ll need access to your Search Console to develop the website without any issues.
Conclusion
And that’s about it! You have all the information you need to get started with your online expansion. By adding users to your Google Search Console, you’ll be able to delegate tasks that you would normally have to do alone. Feel free to edit their permissions or remove them at any time you like with the information provided above.
FAQs
Can you have multiple verified owners in Google Search Console?
Yes, more than one person can verify the ownership of one website property by using either the same or another available verification method. When using the same verification method as another owner, avoid overwriting the verification token they put in place.
Can Google Search Console be used with any other email account?
No, you will need to have a Google account linked with Gmail in order to be able to use Google Search Console. If you already have an account associated with Google Analytics, you can just use that.
Is there any difference between Google Search Console and Google Analytics?
Although it might seem that the two are somewhat the same, it is far from true. Google Search Console will help you determine how your website is performing in Google’s search engine while Google Analytics is going to help you learn user behavior and how much traffic you’re getting.
How long does Google Search Console store data?
The Google Search Console will keep your data safe for up to 16 months. You can see the data in your Search Console and Analytics 48 hours after the data is collected by the Search Console.
