The Right Property Type for BlogSpot in GSC

The Right Property Type for BlogSpot in GSC - BlogSpot bloggers need to choose between Domain and URL Prefix as their property type in Google Search Console. Which one is the right choice? Short answer, URL Prefix is the right property type for BlogSpot bloggers. Keep reading!

Understanding Google Search Console

Long time ago, when we wanted to submit our blog URLs, what we did was just enter the URL and a comment or suggestion on google.com/addUrl. However, Google had made lots of changes and improvements and one of them is Google Search Console.

Google Search Console or formerly Google Webmasters is a dashboard page for every bloggers to submit URLs and control the growth of their blogs. Less complex than Google Analytics, Google Search Console shows many information related to your blog like the number of clicks, impressions, average CTR, average position, indexed and unindexed pages, errors detected in your blog, how your pages appear on the users’ device, mobile usability, internal and external links, and so on. In short, Google Search Console is a perfect tool to monitor your blog. However, the main function of Google Search Console is to make your blog appears on the Google search engine result page (SERP).

Whether you are a BlogSpot user or not (e.g. WordPress), Google Search Console is available for you. And, actually, even without having an account in Google Search Console, your page is still indexed if it fulfills basic requirements for Google. Nevertheless, having an account in GSC makes it easier for you to monitor your BlogSpot blog growth.

Property in Google Search Console

Your blog, in GSC, is called property. BlogSpot users are under Google’s mercy since BlogSpot is a Google product. Google needs to verify that you are the owner of the property and since your BlogSpot and GSC account are directly connected, then the verification process goes automatically.

The tricky comes when a newbie BlogSpot user wants to add a property in GSC. He faces with two options that for most people are unclear, Domain and URL Prefix. These two types of property works for BlogSpot bloggers but in fact they work differently. You need to choose the right one for you.

Read Also: How to have Google Index your Site

Domain or URL Prefix for BlogSpot?

I assume that you are a BlogSpot user because you decided to click this article. If you are, then you need to understand this.

A BlogSpot blog is not a domain but a subdomain. You don’t own BlogSpot because it is Google’s. What you own is a subdomain under BlogSpot which you name as you wish. To make myself clear, look at the following examples:

a. https://www.yourblog.com or https://yourblog.com

b. https://zainurrahmans.wordpress.com or https://writingnblogging.blogspot.com

The (a) example is a domain. To know that yours is a domain is to see if before the .com (.org, .net, .id, or .xyz, etc.) there is a word or not. If yours look like the example (a), then you must choose the Domain property.

The (b) example is a subdomain. It is clear that before the domain .com there is a word that you cannot change or remove. It means that your blog is under a domain (BlogSpot, WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and so on). Because your BlogSpot blog is a subdomain, you must choose the URL Prefix property.

Advantages of URL Prefix in Google Search Console

Although you can add your property as a domain and Google won’t blame you for doing that, you are disabled from certain GSC features. By choosing URL Prefix as your property type, you can access legacy tools and reports like:

1. International Targeting: this helps you to set the target country of your visitors which consequently improve your BlogSpot SEO.
2. URL Parameters: this helps you to set parameters to your URLs but if you don’t know what to do with this, just leave it alone.
3. Web Tools: this helps you to set and monitor how ads appear on your page either on mobile or desktop screens.
4. Messages: this helps you to track back changes you made in your blog through GSC.

All of these features are only available for URL Prefix property. You must take advantages from URL Prefix in Google Search Console.

What if you have added your property as domain in GSC and you don’t want to change it to URL Prefix? I understand you. The good news is that Google also won’t blame you if you have one blog registered in two property types. The downside is that you start it from zero. While you can see the growth of your blog in the domain property, you will see blanks in your URL Prefix. As time goes by, the records will be updated and you will be happy again.