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Monday, December 17, 2012
Verifying ownershipof your website is the first step towards usingGoogle Webmaster Tools. To
help you keep verification simple and reduce its maintenance to a minimum, especially when you
have multiple people using Webmaster Tools, we've put together a small list of tips and tricks
that we'd like to share with you:
The method that you choose for verification is up to you, and may depend on your CMS and hosting
providers. If you want to be sure that changes on your side don't result in an accidental loss
of the verification status, you may even want to consider using two methods in parallel.
Back in 2009, weupdated the
format of the verificationmetatag and file. If you're still using the old format, we
recommend moving to the newer version. The newermetatagis calledgoogle-site-verification, and the newer file format
contains just one line with the file name. While we're currently supporting ye olde format, using
the newer one ensures that you're good to go in the future.
When removing users' access in Webmaster Tools, remember to remove any active associated
verification tokens (for example, a file or ametatag). Leaving them on your server means that
these users would be able to gain access again at any time. You can view the site owners list in
Webmaster Tools under Configuration / Users.
If multiple people need to access the site, we recommend using theadd usersfunctionality in Webmaster Tools. This makes it easier for you to maintain the access control
list without having to modify files or settings on your servers.
Also, if multiple people from your organization need to use Webmaster Tools, it can be a good
policy to only allow users with email addresses from your domain. By doing that, you can verify
at a glance that only users from your company have access. Additionally, when employees leave,
access to Webmaster Tools is automatically taken care of when that account is disabled.
Consider usingrestricted(read-only) access where possible. Settings generally don't need to be changed on a daily basis,
and when they do need to be changed, it can be easier to document them if they have to go
through a central account.
We hope these tips help you to simplify the situation around verification of your website in
Webmaster Tools. For more questions about verification, you can drop by ourWebmaster Help Forums.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eVerifying website ownership is the first step to using Google Webmaster Tools (now Search Console).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUse the updated \u003ccode\u003egoogle-site-verification\u003c/code\u003e meta tag for verification to ensure future compatibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eManage user access effectively within Webmaster Tools to control and monitor site permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eConsider using restricted access for most users to maintain better control over site settings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor additional assistance with verification, consult the Webmaster Help Forums.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Website verification in Google Webmaster Tools requires careful management. Users can choose verification methods, potentially using two simultaneously. Update to the newer `google-site-verification` meta tag format. Removing user access requires removing associated verification tokens. Utilize the \"add users\" feature for multiple users and restrict access by domain. Consider read-only access where appropriate. These steps simplify verification and access control while enhancing security and maintainability.\n"],null,["# Webmaster Tools verification strategies\n\nMonday, December 17, 2012\n| **Newer content available** : This post is outdated. Check out our newer documentation on how to [verify your site ownership in Search Console](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9008080).\n\n\n[Verifying ownership](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9008080)\nof your website is the first step towards using\n[Google Webmaster Tools](https://search.google.com/search-console). To\nhelp you keep verification simple and reduce its maintenance to a minimum, especially when you\nhave multiple people using Webmaster Tools, we've put together a small list of tips and tricks\nthat we'd like to share with you:\n\n- The method that you choose for verification is up to you, and may depend on your CMS and hosting providers. If you want to be sure that changes on your side don't result in an accidental loss of the verification status, you may even want to consider using two methods in parallel.\n- Back in 2009, we [updated the\n format of the verification `meta` tag and file](/search/blog/2009/10/changes-to-website-verification-in). If you're still using the old format, we recommend moving to the newer version. The newer [`meta` tag](/search/docs/advanced/crawling/special-tags) is called `google-site-verification`, and the newer file format contains just one line with the file name. While we're currently supporting ye olde format, using the newer one ensures that you're good to go in the future.\n- When removing users' access in Webmaster Tools, remember to remove any active associated verification tokens (for example, a file or a `meta` tag). Leaving them on your server means that these users would be able to gain access again at any time. You can view the site owners list in Webmaster Tools under Configuration / Users.\n- If multiple people need to access the site, we recommend using the [add users](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615) functionality in Webmaster Tools. This makes it easier for you to maintain the access control list without having to modify files or settings on your servers.\n- Also, if multiple people from your organization need to use Webmaster Tools, it can be a good policy to only allow users with email addresses from your domain. By doing that, you can verify at a glance that only users from your company have access. Additionally, when employees leave, access to Webmaster Tools is automatically taken care of when that account is disabled.\n- Consider using [restricted](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615) (read-only) access where possible. Settings generally don't need to be changed on a daily basis, and when they do need to be changed, it can be easier to document them if they have to go through a central account.\n\n\nWe hope these tips help you to simplify the situation around verification of your website in\nWebmaster Tools. For more questions about verification, you can drop by our\n[Webmaster Help Forums](https://support.google.com/webmasters/community).\n\n\nPosted by\n[John Mueller](https://johnmu.com/),\nWebmaster Trends Analyst, Zurich"]]
