Verify your store in Google Search Console

Verify that you own the store's website and then monitor search traffic and indexing issues in Google Search Console.

Before you begin

Search Console is a free Google tool. It is used for Google's organic search results and is not the same as Google Analytics, Google Ads, or Merchant Center.

The guide applies to Abicart stores on all plans. For the theme field below, the active theme needs to have the setting for Google Search Console. The menu path applies to themes with this field; TPL and other theme variants may require a different placement for the verification.

Use the company's designated Google account and check that you are working with the correct store, domain, and any sub-store. If the property already exists, you should ask the owner for access instead of trying to replace their verification.

1. Choose the right property type

Open Google Search Console and add or select the website's property.

• Domain property: covers the domain with its protocols and subdomains. It is verified with DNS at the domain's DNS provider. The theme's HTML field is not a DNS verification.
• URL prefix: applies to the address prefix you enter, for example https://www.dinbutik.se/. HTTPS/HTTP and with/without www are different prefixes. For this method, Google may offer an HTML tag.

Do not choose a different property type just to get a field to accept a code. Follow Google's ownership verification for the method you have chosen.

2. Get the HTML tag's verification value

For a URL prefix, select HTML tag from the available verification methods. The example might look like this:

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="VERIFICATION_TOKEN" />

Copy only VERIFICATION_TOKEN, which is the value between the quotation marks after content=.

An HTML file is a different method. A file name like google123456.html is not the code for the theme field. Do not just remove .html and use the rest as the verification value.

3. Save the value in the active theme

1. Open the store's administration in another tab.
2. Go to Appearance → Themes and identify which theme is actually active for the current store.
3. Edit that theme and open Add-ons → Google → Google Search Console.
4. Paste only the verification value into the field and save.

The images show a previous interface. The field's function is the same even if the layout is different.

If the field is already in use, first check which account needs the existing code. Do not overwrite a working verification without arranging continued verification for that account.

4. Verify and maintain the verification

Open the public address that the property refers to and check that the correct theme and code are being used. Then go back to Search Console and select Verify. Google needs to be able to read the page; removed tags, the wrong domain, or changes that only exist in an inactive theme will not work.

No fixed waiting time is guaranteed. In case of an error: read Google's message and check the address prefix, active theme, published code, any cache, and if the page can be read without logging in.

Keep the verification even after a successful result. When changing themes or sub-stores/domains, you need to check that it remains on the correct website. DNS verification is handled by the DNS provider and follows different rules than a theme field.

5. Use the correct report after verification

Successful ownership verification does not mean that all pages will be indexed or achieve a certain position. Check a specific page with URL inspection and use the reports for indexing and search results. A sitemap can help Google find pages, but does not guarantee indexing.

Submit the store's sitemap and read the fetch error

The store's sitemap is located on the store's public domain with the path /sitemap.xml, for example https://www.dinbutik.se/sitemap.xml. Use the final domain that the store actually uses, not the administration address. If the file is a sitemap index, Google will follow the links to the parts.

1. Open the address without an administrator login and check that it displays XML instead of a login or error page.
2. Select the correct property in Search Console and open Sitemaps. You need owner permissions to submit a sitemap in the report.
3. Enter the sitemap address in the form for a new sitemap and submit it.
4. Open the report's row and read the latest fetch/parse status. In case of a fetch error: check the exact domain, any redirects, and if Google can reach the address. If Abicart shows that the sitemap is not yet available, wait for it to be generated and check again; do not create your own replacement file randomly.

The fact that the file can be read is not the same as all its pages being indexed. Follow the status of the pages with URL inspection and the indexing reports.

For product display in Merchant Center, you also need to check Merchant Center's website claim and product data. The fact that Search Console is verified does not mean that all products are approved there.

Quick start

1. Choose the correct Google account, domain, and property type.
2. Use DNS for a domain property or a provided HTML tag for a URL prefix.
3. For the theme field: save only the tag's content value in the active theme.
4. Verify in Google and maintain the verification during future theme changes.

Subscription: the guide applies to all Abicart subscriptions. The theme's verification field must exist in the active theme variant; DNS is managed separately with the domain's DNS provider.