Why this matters

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows you exactly how your website performs in search: which searches bring people to you, which pages they land on, and where you rank. It is also the single most important thing to connect if you want ScribeGap working at full strength.

Once your Search Console is linked, ScribeGap can read your real search data and use it to do two things guesswork never could: show you the Topics You're Missing (articles worth writing that your site does not cover yet) and surface pages in Improve Existing Pages that are sitting just off page one. Both run entirely on your own data, so the suggestions are specific to your site instead of generic advice.

Here is how to get set up, from a blank slate to a fully connected account. If your site is already in Search Console, skip straight to Part 2.

Part 1: Add and verify your site in Google Search Console

If you have never used Search Console, you set it up once. It takes about ten minutes, plus a short wait for Google to confirm you own the site.

1. Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with the Google account you want to use. Choose this carefully: it becomes the owner of your Search Console, so use an account you control and plan to keep.

2. Click Add property. Google offers two types:

   • Domain: covers your whole site, every version and subdomain at once (www, non-www, http, https, and things like blog.yoursite.com). This is the cleaner choice and the one we recommend. It is verified with a DNS record.

   • URL prefix: covers one specific address, like https://www.yoursite.com. Choose this only if adding a DNS record feels out of reach, because it offers a few easier verification options.

3. Verify that you own it:

   • For a Domain property, Google gives you a TXT record. Log in to wherever you bought your domain (your registrar, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Cloudflare), open its DNS settings, add a new TXT record for your root domain, and paste in the value Google gave you. Save it, then click Verify back in Search Console. This is often instant, but DNS changes can take a few hours to spread (Google allows up to 72), so if it does not verify right away, wait a bit and try again. Leave that record in place permanently, because deleting it disconnects Search Console.

   • For a URL prefix property, the simplest options are the HTML tag (paste a small snippet into your site's head section) or, if you already use them, Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager. Follow the on-screen instructions for whichever you pick.

That is everything on Google's side. Your site is now in Search Console. Brand-new sites start with very little data, and that is normal: Google gathers your search performance over time, and ScribeGap's suggestions get sharper as it does.

Part 2: Connect Search Console to ScribeGap

Connecting Search Console is part of the ScribeGap Pro plan. Here is the flow:

1. In ScribeGap, look at the top bar and click Connect Google Search Console.

2. Google asks which account to use. This is the step that trips most people up: choose the Google account that has access to your site's Search Console, which may be different from the email you used to sign in to ScribeGap. If you set up Search Console in Part 1, use that same account here.

3. Approve the permission. ScribeGap asks for read-only access, which means it can view your search performance but can never change, post, or delete anything in your Google account. You can disconnect at any time from your Google account's permissions page.

4. Back in ScribeGap, your verified sites appear in a list. Pick the website you want to grow. Your plan covers one website, so choose the right one, because it locks in when you select it.

That is it. Your Topics You're Missing and Improve Existing Pages tabs are now live, built from your real search data.

"I connected, but I don't see my website"

This is the most common snag, and it is almost always one of these:

• Wrong Google account. The account you connected does not have access to that site's Search Console. Disconnect, reconnect, and choose the correct account.

• The site is not verified yet. If verification in Part 1 has not finished, the property will not show up. Confirm it shows as verified in Search Console first.

• You only have restricted access. If someone else owns the site's Search Console and added you as a limited user, you may not see full data. Ask them to give you access in Search Console, under Settings, then Users and permissions.

• Your property type does not match your live site. If you verified a URL prefix for https://www.yoursite.com but your site actually loads on the non-www or http version, add a Domain property instead. It covers every version at once and avoids the mismatch.

You're set

Once your site is connected, you are ready for the parts of ScribeGap that do the heavy lifting for you. Head to Topics You're Missing to see the articles worth writing next, or Improve Existing Pages to find the quick wins already sitting just off page one.