Set Up Google Search Console for Your Nuxt Site

Google Search Console shows which pages Google indexed, what queries bring traffic, and how you appear in AI Overviews. Use it to inspect reported indexing state and search performance.

Create a Search Console Property

Visit search.google.com/search-console and add a property. You get two types:

Domain property (example.com):

• Includes all subdomains (www, m, blog)
• Covers both HTTP and HTTPS
• Requires DNS verification only

URL-prefix property (https://example.com):

• Single protocol and subdomain
• Multiple verification methods
• Better for subsections or testing

Use the Domain property unless you only control a subdomain. It captures all traffic variations without managing separate properties.

Verification Methods

Google needs proof you own the site. Pick one method and don't remove it: Google checks verification periodically, and a removed record or file can silently drop you back to unverified.

DNS Verification (Recommended)

Domain properties require DNS verification. This example uses a TXT record; follow the record type and value Google supplies.

Steps:

1. Google provides a TXT record like google-site-verification=abc123xyz
2. Add it to your DNS at your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)
3. Click Verify in Search Console

DNS propagation varies. Retry verification after the required record becomes publicly visible. Domain property verification covers every subdomain and protocol together, so switching between www and non-www URLs doesn't require re-verifying.

Type: TXT
Name: @
Content: google-site-verification=abc123xyz
TTL: Auto

Record type: TXT
Name: example.com
Value: "google-site-verification=abc123xyz"
TTL: 300

HTML Meta Tag

Add a <meta> tag to your site's homepage <head>. Works for URL-prefix properties.

useHead({
  meta: [
    { name: 'google-site-verification', content: 'abc123xyz' }
  ]
})

The tag must appear in the HTML source. Check with View Page Source (not DevTools). Place this useHead excerpt inside your app.vue script setup and replace the placeholder with Google’s exact value. Verify the deployed response; SSR configuration alone does not prove the tag is present.

HTML File Upload

Upload the exact personalized HTML file downloaded from Search Console. Keep its supplied filename and content unchanged. This method supports URL-prefix properties, not Domain properties.

Steps:

1. Download the verification file from Search Console
2. Place it in your public/ directory
3. Verify it loads at your public origin followed by Google’s supplied filename
4. Click Verify in Search Console

Don't delete this file after verification. Google re-checks it.

Submit Your Sitemap

After verification, tell Google where to find your pages:

1. Navigate to Sitemaps under Indexing
2. Enter your sitemap URL: https://example.com/sitemap.xml
3. Click Submit

Status meanings:

• Success: sitemap fetched and processed; this does not prove every URL is discovered or indexed
• Couldn't fetch: inspect the reported error, exact URL, and server response
• Pending: processing in queue

Read the report’s processing details. A zero count alone does not identify an XML or HTTP error. Compare the submitted file with its reported state.

Key Reports Explained

Performance Report

Shows Search performance totals. Dedicated generative AI views describe impressions within supported AI features:

Metrics:

• Impressions: how many times your pages appeared in search results
• Clicks: how many users clicked through
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): clicks ÷ impressions
• Position: average ranking position

AI Visibility: Open the dedicated generative AI report below the Performance chart. It reports impressions by page, date, country, and, for Search, device. Those impressions are included in overall performance totals; do not add them twice. The report does not provide clicks, CTR, or citation counts. See Google’s report announcement.

The Search Analytics API returns bounded top rows and does not guarantee every query. Export tools such as gscdump can retain available data over time; a fresh export cannot recover every historical query. Nuxt SEO Pro uses Search Console data for site workflows, within the data available to the integration.

AI-Powered Configuration (Experimental): Google announced experimental AI-powered configuration in December 2025. If available, describe filters or comparisons, then verify the resulting settings. Do not assume every requested analysis or AI-specific filter is supported.

Page Indexing Report

Shows indexing status for all discovered URLs:

Categories:

• Indexed: pages in Google's index
• Not indexed: pages excluded or rejected
• Crawled - currently not indexed: pages Google saw but chose not to index

If the Indexed count drops, compare report dates and affected statuses. Investigate deployment, noindex, redirects, canonical changes, and content changes as possibilities. The count alone does not identify the cause.

URL Inspection Tool

Enter any URL to see:

• Whether it's indexed
• When Google last crawled it
• Stored crawl information available for the indexed URL
• Supported structured data detected

For a successful live test, open View tested page for tested HTML and a screenshot. That output describes the live test, not the last indexed crawl.

Click Request Indexing to request recrawling. Timing and indexing are not guaranteed. A daily limit applies; requesting the same URL repeatedly won't get it crawled any faster.

Common Actions

After publishing new content, open URL Inspection, enter the URL, and click Request Indexing to ask Google to crawl it sooner.

To pull a URL from search results quickly instead, navigate to Removals under Indexing, click New Request, and enter the URL. Removals last approximately 6 months.

Common Search Console Issues

Generative AI impressions without clicks: The dedicated report does not provide click data. Do not treat that omission as proof of zero clicks or a content problem.

Discovered, currently not indexed: Google knows the URL but has not crawled it yet. Inspect response availability and crawlable links without assuming a fixed timeline or a single cause.

Page indexing report looks frozen: Compare report dates with individual URL Inspection results and your server logs. Reporting lag does not establish a crawling outage.

Verification suddenly fails: Common if you delete a DNS record or refactor your <head> tags. Re-verify using the original method.

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools provides Bing crawl, indexing, and performance reports. Use its supported Search Console import flow or site-verification procedure. Setup time depends on your access and verification state.

IndexNow

IndexNow notifies participating engines of URL changes. It requires its own key and submission setup. Installing Sitemap does not establish automatic IndexNow submissions.

AI Performance Report

Bing introduced AI Performance in public preview in February 2026. It reports citations and cited pages across supported surfaces. Grounding query phrases are a sample, not every user query. These metrics do not establish ranking, authority, or placement within an answer.

Checklist