In Google Search Console, add a URL prefix property for your site and choose the HTML tag verification method. Copy only the value inside content="…", paste it into Google Search Console in the Site verification section of WP Visibility → Settings, save, and click Verify in Search Console. Bing Webmaster Tools works the same way, or can import the verified site from Search Console.
Pick the method first
| Property type | How it verifies | Does WP Visibility help? |
|---|---|---|
| Google Domain property (every subdomain and protocol) | A DNS record (TXT or CNAME) at your domain registrar or DNS host | No. Add the record where your DNS lives. |
Google URL prefix property (one exact address, such as https://example.com/) |
HTML tag, HTML file, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, or DNS | Yes, for the HTML tag method |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Import from Search Console, a meta tag, an XML file, or a DNS record | Yes, for the meta tag method |
The DNS route is the most durable: it lives outside WordPress, so a theme change or a plugin switch cannot remove it. The tag route is the quickest when you do not control DNS. Methods checked September 27, 2026 against Google’s verification help and Bing’s Search Console import announcement, which lists Bing’s other methods.
Google Search Console, tag method
- In Search Console, add a property, choose URL prefix, and enter the exact address visitors use,
https://andwwwincluded or not. - Under verification methods, open HTML tag and copy the tag. It looks like
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="abc123…" />. - In WP Visibility → Settings, scroll to Site verification and paste only the part between the quotes after
content=into Google Search Console. The whole tag is not accepted; it saves as empty. - Click Save changes, then go back to Search Console and click Verify.
Bing Webmaster Tools
The fastest route is to import your sites from Google Search Console: Bing reads the sites verified in your Search Console account, imports them with their sitemaps, and verifies them without a code. Otherwise choose the meta tag option, copy the value of content from the msvalidate.01 tag, paste it into Bing Webmaster Tools in the same section, save, and verify.
The other two fields
Pinterest takes the p:domain_verify code to claim your domain, and Yandex takes the yandex-verification code. Paste only the code in both.
Where the tags print
Each filled field prints one tag, <meta name="google-site-verification" content="…"> and so on, on the homepage only, which is where each of these services asks for its tag (Google, Bing, Pinterest, Yandex, checked September 27, 2026). To check, view the source of your homepage and search for google-site-verification or msvalidate.01.
If verification fails
- The tag is not in the homepage source. A page cache may be serving an older copy; purge it and try again.
- The address does not match. A URL-prefix property includes only URLs with that exact prefix, protocol included, so
https://www.example.com/andhttps://example.com/are separate properties (Google, checked September 27, 2026). Search Console follows the redirect when it looks for the tag, but add the property for the address your site redirects to so it covers your pages. - A different code is on the page. Another plugin or the theme may print its own
google-site-verificationtag. Google says another user’s tag on the page can cause the “Your meta tag is incorrect” error; confirm the exact code Search Console gave you is in the source. - Keep the value after verifying. Search Console periodically checks that the tag is still there and removes your access after a grace period if it is gone, and Yandex rechecks too. Leave the Google, Bing and Yandex codes in place. Pinterest says you can remove its tag once the website is claimed (Pinterest, checked September 27, 2026).
Once verified, submit the sitemap: Submit Your Sitemap.
Behavior checked against WP Visibility 2.10.3.