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Rank Your Pantheon Free Hosted Website on Google

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Rank Your Pantheon Free Hosted Website on Google

Step 1: Verify Your Site on Google Search Console

1. Sign In to Google Search Console

2. Add a Property

  • Click on the "Add property" button.
  • Enter the URL of your website (e.g., https://www.example.com).
  • Click "Continue".

3. Choose a Verification Method

You can choose from several verification methods. Here are the two most common methods:

Method 1: HTML File Upload

  1. Select HTML File Upload:

    • Choose "HTML file" as the verification method.

  2. Download the HTML Verification File:

    • Download the HTML file provided by Google.

  3. Upload the HTML File to Pantheon:

    • Log in to your Pantheon dashboard.
    • Go to the "Sites" section and select your site.
    • Click on the "Code" tab and then "SFTP" to access the file manager.
    • Upload the HTML file to the root directory of your site (e.g., /code/).

  4. Verify the HTML File:

    • Go back to Google Search Console and click the "Verify" button.
Method 2: HTML Tag

  1. Select HTML Tag:

    • Choose "HTML tag" as the verification method.

  2. Copy the HTML Tag:

    • Copy the meta tag provided by Google.

  3. Add the HTML Tag to Your Website:

    • In your Pantheon site dashboard, go to "Code" and access your site's files using the SFTP mode.
    • Open the index.html or header.php file, depending on your site structure.
    • Paste the HTML tag within the <head> section of your website's HTML.

  4. Verify the HTML Tag:

    • Go back to Google Search Console and click the "Verify" button.

Step 2: Submit Your Sitemap

  1. Create a Sitemap:

    • If you don't already have a sitemap, you can create one. WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or online tools like XML Sitemaps can generate a sitemap for you.

  2. Submit Your Sitemap:

    • In Google Search Console, go to the "Sitemaps" section.
    • Enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g., https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml).
    • Click "Submit".

Step 3: Monitor Your Website's Performance

  1. Check Coverage:

    • In Google Search Console, go to the "Coverage" section to see which pages of your website have been indexed by Google.

  2. Analyze Performance:

    • Use the "Performance" section to analyze your website's search traffic, including clicks, impressions, and average position in search results.

  3. Fix Issues:

    • Regularly check the "Coverage" and "Enhancements" sections for any issues Google identifies on your website. Fix these issues to ensure your website is fully optimized for search.

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Clear Cache: After making changes, ensure that you clear your website's cache on Pantheon to make sure Google can see the updates.
  • Check Permissions: Ensure that the files and directories have the correct permissions set so that they are accessible.
  • Verify URL: Make sure the URL you enter in Google Search Console exactly matches the URL of your website, including the correct use of http or https and www if applicable.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully add your Pantheon-hosted website to Google Search Console and begin monitoring and optimizing your site for search performance.

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