Connect your shop to Google Search Console
Google Search Console shows you how your shop is doing in Google. You see which searches bring people to you, which pages Google knows about and where something is going wrong. It is free and takes a few minutes to connect. Here is how.
Why this is worth it
Without Search Console you are guessing. You do not know whether Google knows your records, whether anyone finds you by the name of your shop, or whether a problem is costing you visitors. Once connected you see three things that genuinely matter:
- Which searches bring you visitors. These are often different words than you expected, an artist or a pressing rather than the name of your shop.
- Which pages are included in Google. If a record is missing, you can do something about it.
- Whether there are errors. Google tells you when a page cannot be read.
How to connect Search Console
- Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google account.
- When creating a property, choose the type URL prefix and enter the full address of your shop, including https.
- Choose HTML tag as the verification method. Google then shows you a line of code.
- In your dashboard, go to SEO. There you will find the field for the verification code. Paste the code in. You may paste the whole line, we pick the code out of it ourselves.
- Save, then click Verify in Search Console.
If you choose the type Domain instead of URL prefix, Google asks for a DNS record. That only works if you manage the domain yourself. If you use the address you received from us, choose URL prefix. That is why we recommend that method.
Then submit your sitemap
Your shop creates a sitemap automatically: a list of all your records and pages, made for search engines. In Search Console, go to Sitemaps and enter sitemap.xml. Google then knows immediately which pages you have, instead of discovering them one by one. With a large inventory that saves a lot of time.
What to expect
The first data usually appears within a few days. Be patient with the numbers themselves: a new shop needs time before Google knows all its pages and searches start coming in. In the beginning, look mainly at the Pages report, which shows whether your records are included. The figures on positions and clicks only become interesting later.
Adding Google Analytics
On the same page in your dashboard you can also connect Google Analytics. Create a GA4 property in Analytics, copy the measurement ID (it starts with G) and paste it into the field. Search Console shows how people find you, Analytics shows what they do next.
Analytics is only loaded after a visitor accepts all cookies in the cookie banner. Anyone who chooses functional cookies only is not measured. As soon as you fill in a measurement ID, we automatically adjust your cookie policy, your privacy statement and the text in the cookie banner, so that what your shop says stays true.
The accounts stay yours
You create the properties under your own Google account. The data is yours and you decide who has access to it. We only store the two codes and place them in your shop. If you ever leave us, you keep your Search Console and Analytics.
One tip that often helps more
A new shop is not yet known to Google. It helps enormously if places that are already found link to your shop: your Instagram bio, your Facebook page, your seller profile on Discogs and any existing website. If someone searches for the name of your shop, those pages probably rank above it right now. One link from each of them helps Google understand that your shop belongs to the same store.