Create a domain property, verify it with a DNS TXT record, and submit your sitemap. From then on, three reports do the heavy lifting: Performance for queries, Pages for indexing problems, and URL Inspection for checking any single page.
Pick the property type before anything else
Search Console offers two property types and the choice matters. A domain property covers the whole domain — every subdomain, both protocols — so data from www and non-www, HTTP and HTTPS all rolls into one view. A URL-prefix property tracks only the exact address you enter. Choose the domain property unless you have no way to edit DNS records. Splitting your data across four prefix properties is a mess you will regret untangling later.
Verify with a DNS TXT record
Domain properties verify one way: a TXT record added wherever your DNS lives, which for most cannabis operators means the registrar or Cloudflare. Google shows you the string, you paste it into a new TXT record, and you click verify. Propagation sometimes takes a few hours, so a failed first attempt usually just needs patience rather than troubleshooting. The record has to stay in place — delete it during some DNS cleanup and the property silently unverifies.
Submit the sitemap
Under Sitemaps, enter the path to your XML sitemap, usually /sitemap.xml, and submit. The report should flip to Success and show how many URLs were discovered. Discovered is not indexed; the sitemap tells Google what exists, and Google still decides what to keep. What the submission buys you is the coverage reporting that makes the next section useful.
The three reports that pay rent
Performance shows the actual queries people typed before clicking your site, with impressions and average position. Pages (the indexing report) lists what got indexed and, more usefully, why the rest did not. URL Inspection interrogates a single address: is it indexed, when was it crawled, what canonical did Google choose. A monthly pass through all three catches most problems while they are still small. Everything else in the interface you can learn as the need arises.
Worked example: the menu that never got indexed
A dispensary client swore their strain pages were live, and they were — in the browser. The Pages report told a different story: 120 URLs sitting under "Crawled – currently not indexed." URL Inspection showed Google rendering nearly empty pages, because the menu platform injected all product content through JavaScript after load, and every page looked like a thin duplicate of the same shell. The fix was moving key product text into the server-rendered HTML. Without Search Console, that problem was invisible; the pages worked fine for humans.
Key takeaways
- Use a domain property so all hosts and protocols report in one place.
- Verification is one TXT record; leave it in DNS permanently.
- A sitemap gets pages discovered; indexing is still Google's call.
- Performance, Pages, and URL Inspection cover 90% of routine needs.
Frequently asked questions
Domain property or URL-prefix property?
Domain property, if you can edit DNS. It covers every subdomain and protocol in one view, so www, non-www, HTTP, and HTTPS data all land in the same place. A URL-prefix property only sees the exact address you typed in.
Does Search Console treat cannabis sites differently?
No. Verification, index reports, and performance data work the same for a dispensary as for any other site. Organic search carries none of the ad-platform cannabis restrictions, which is exactly why the channel rewards the setup effort.
How long until data shows up?
Performance data typically appears within a day or two of verification, and Google backfills a little history from before you verified. Index coverage takes longer to populate on new sites. Give a fresh property a week before judging anything.
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