Site Verification Tools

Various platforms allow website owners to have additional tools to help them use their sites. Among them are Google, Bing, and Pinterest.

For example, Google Search Console will show you the total number of individual URLs on your site that have been indexed by Google, which search keywords are most significant for your site, and other information about how Google is indexing your site.

Please note that verifying your site in order to use the webmaster tools is not necessary in order for your site to be indexed with Google, Bing, or any other search engine.

For most sites, in order to verify your site for webmaster tools, you normally need to add a hidden “meta tag” to your page or change a DNS entry. Since this isn’t always the easiest thing to do if you’re not technical, Jetpack’s Site Verification module is here.

If you have multiple domain names pointing to the same site, we recommend verifying the primary domain.

All of the Website Verification Services can be accessed by going to Jetpack > Settings > Traffic in your dashboard. There, you’ll find a card named “Verification Tools” where you can configure each service.

Here are instructions for how to verify your WordPress site with each service:

Google Search Console

1. Log in to Google Search Console with your Google account.
2. Click on “Add a property”
3. Enter your blog address.
4. Click the Continue button.
5. Click on the “Alternate Methods” tab.
6. The option you want is “HTML Tag.”
7. You’ll see a line of HTML code like this:
   <meta name="google-site-verification" content="rc2RXSkjV5rz9P2s2hTwdDsnwTu4tD-gmruKUrqBGjs" />
8. Copy the code appearing between quotes after content (bolded above)
9. Leave the verification page open and go to your blog dashboard (in a new tab/window).
10. Open the Jetpack –> Settings –> Traffic tab and scroll down to the Site Verification section.
11. Paste the code into the Google field.
12. Click on Save Changes.
13. Go back to Google’s verification page and click Verify.

Google Warnings

If you receive an email from Google or an alert in your Webmaster Tools dashboard that your site’s security certificate could not be found, this means your site was inadvertently added as a “secure” site. Here’s an example of the message you may have received:

Dear Webmaster,

The host name of your site, https://example.com, does not match any of the “Subject Names” in your SSL certificate [….]
This will cause many web browsers to block users from accessing your site, or to display a security warning message when your site is accessed.

To correct this problem, please get a new SSL certificate by a Certificate Authority (CA) with a “Subject Name” or “Subject Alternative DNS Names” that matches your host name.

If you’re receiving this message, you’ll need to remove the site from your Webmaster Tools account, and then add it back as a standard site. Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to Google Webmaster Tools with your Google account.
2. Under the button for Manage Site, click Delete Site.
3. Click the button to Add a Site and follow the instructions above.

Bing Webmaster Center

1. Log in to Bing Webmaster Center with your Live! account.
2. Click Add a Site.
3. Enter your blog URL and click Submit.
4. Copy the content value of the meta tag. The content value is the bold text in this example:
   <meta name='msvalidate.01' content='12C1203B5086AECE94EB3A3D9830B2E'>
5. Leave the verification page open and go to your blog dashboard (in a new tab/window).
6. Open the Jetpack –> Settings –> Traffic tab and scroll down to the Site Verification section and paste the content value in the Bing Webmaster Center field under the Website Verification Services header.
7. Click on Save Changes.
8. Go back to the verification page and click Return to the Site list.

Pinterest Site Verification

1. Log in at Pinterest with your Pinterest account.
2. Go to your profile and click the gear menu, then Account Settings.
3. Scroll down and enter your Website address if you haven’t already.
4. Click the Verify Website button.
5. A popup window will show a meta tag, which you’ll need to enter on your site. Copy the content value of the meta tag. The content value is the bold text in this example:
   <meta name="p:domain_verify" content="8525e3384b3545fb80b9e21f0910de21"/>
6. Leave the verification page open and go to your blog dashboard (in a new tab/window).
7. Open the Jetpack –> Settings –> Traffic tab and scroll down to the Site Verification section and paste the content value from your meta tag code from step 4 in the Pinterest Site Verification field of your blog dashboard.
   
8. Click on Save Changes.
9. Go back to the verification page and click the “Finish” button.
   

Privacy Information

This feature is activated by default. While there is no deactivation control for it within the primary Jetpack settings area, it can be deactivated any time by following this guide.

Data Used
Site Owners / Users For activity tracking (detailed below): IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID and URL, Jetpack version, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.	Site Visitors None.
Activity Tracked
Site Owners / Users We track when, and by which user, the feature is activated and deactivated.	Site Visitors None.
Data Synced (Read More)
Site Owners / Users We sync options that identify whether or not the feature is activated and how its available settings are configured, including any active HTML tags.	Site Visitors None.