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Google Search Console Verification won't work? 4 common issues
Google Search Console Verification won't work? 4 common issues

Here are the 4 most common causes of Google Search Console verification failures

Anna avatar
Written by Anna
Updated over a week ago

Many users consider Google Search Console to be the most convenient way of verifying a project in Ahrefs. However, it's not without its challenges.

Let's discuss the most common causes of Google Search Console verification failure, and their solutions.

Using the Wrong Account

It's very common for users to have two Google Search Console accounts and the property they are trying to verify to not be on the account they are choosing.

Please check if this is the case by going to Google Search Console, and checking that the email shown in the account section is the same email of the Google account you used to verify the project.

Using a Different Project Scope (www vs non-www)

Sometimes the property in Google Search Console has a different version than the one that you added in Ahrefs. For example, our website's main version is ahrefs.com, and so is the version used in GSC. If you visit https://www.ahrefs.com, you are redirected to https://ahrefs.com.

So if we created a project with the scope www.ahrefs.com the verification would fail. The solution is to edit the project's scope in Ahrefs to match the one in GSC.

Not Giving Ahrefs the Required Access

When you select the Google account you want to use for verification, you are prompted with 5 checkboxes. The first 3 are checked by default, while the last 2 are not.

All 5 need to be checked, including the last 2. If you did not check them when connecting the account, you can try to remove the Google integration from this page to reattempt verification: https://app.ahrefs.com/account/integrations

Not Having an "Owner" Permission Level

Google Search Console has 4 permission levels: Owner (Verified or Delegated), Full User, Restricted User and Associate. In order to connect a Google Search Console property to Ahrefs, you must have an Owner permission level in that property.

You can check which permission level you have for that property in GSC by selecting the property in the top-right corner, going to Settings, then clicking on the Users and Permissions section.

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