1. Add your website to Google Search Console
Open Google Search Console ↗ and sign in with the Google account you want to use in Maple Orbit. Open the property selector and choose Add property.
| Domain | URL prefix |
|---|---|
Enter example.ca, without https:// or a path. Covers protocols and subdomains. Requires DNS verification. | Enter the exact address, such as https://www.example.ca/. Covers only that prefix. Choose one of the verification methods Google offers, such as an HTML tag or file. |
Either type can work with Maple Orbit. A URL-prefix property must match the address you want to analyse, including https and www where applicable.
DNS verification: where the TXT record goes
- In Google’s Domain verification screen, select the TXT method and copy the complete value beginning
google-site-verification=. - Open the DNS service used by your domain’s nameservers. It may be your registrar, such as GoDaddy, or a separate provider such as Cloudflare.
- Add a TXT record. For the root domain, use the host/name your provider requires—often
@or a blank field. Paste Google’s full value into the value/content field and save. Keep the existing website and email records. - Return to Search Console and select Verify. If the record is not visible yet, allow DNS propagation and retry. Confirm the value and the authoritative DNS provider before adding it again.
- Keep the verification record after success so Google can continue checking ownership.
Google’s verification instructions and supported methods ↗
Choose your website platform
Shopify
For a custom domain, DNS verification works through its DNS provider. For URL-prefix verification, follow Shopify’s HTML-tag instructions: copy Google’s tag, add it inside the live theme’s head as directed, save, then select Verify in Google. A developer can help if you do not manage theme code. Follow the current Shopify guide for the exact editor steps. Shopify generates /sitemap.xml; use the sitemap on your primary public domain.
WordPress.com
Use the site verification controls described in WordPress.com’s guide to save Google’s URL-prefix verification code, then verify in Search Console. Eligible sites also have an automatic verification option. DNS verification is another option when you manage a custom domain. Find the sitemap under Jetpack’s traffic settings or at /sitemap.xml.
Self-hosted WordPress
Use DNS verification, or the Google verification setting in your existing SEO plugin if it offers one. Follow the plugin’s instructions for whether it expects the full tag or only its code. Do not add multiple plugins solely for verification. WordPress core commonly provides /wp-sitemap.xml; an SEO plugin may replace this with a different sitemap index. Check the active plugin or your site’s robots.txt for the actual address.
Wix
For an eligible published site with a connected domain, use Wix’s SEO Setup Checklist to connect Google. Wix also provides a Site Verification tool for verification tags. Follow the method shown for your site and plan. The checklist can submit the sitemap automatically, so check Search Console before submitting it again.
Custom website or another platform
Verify with DNS if you manage the domain, or use a URL-prefix method Google offers. For an HTML tag, your developer places the exact tag inside the public homepage’s head. For an HTML file, publish Google’s exact file at the location it specifies. Keep the verification method in place after verification. Ask the developer or CMS provider for your sitemap URL; a custom website does not automatically have a sitemap.
2. Already verified? Check access first
- Open Search Console and check the Google account shown in its account menu. Confirm the website appears in that account’s property selector.
- If another person owns the property, ask them to open Settings → Users and permissions → Add user and grant access to your Google account. You do not need their password or owner access just to read performance reports.
- Return to Maple Orbit and continue with the same Google account. In an existing browser workspace, sign out before switching accounts. Another Google account currently creates a separate Maple Orbit browser identity; it does not merge saved reports.
- Approve Search Console read access on Google’s consent screen, select your property and apply the report dates.
Verifying a property does not guarantee it has search impressions. A new property or recent dates can have no final report rows.
Google’s user-access instructions ↗
3. Find and submit your sitemap
A sitemap helps discovery; it is not a requirement for signing in to Maple Orbit or a promise of indexing.
- Find the sitemap in your platform settings, SEO plugin or the Sitemap line in
https://your-domain.ca/robots.txt. Common locations above are examples, not confirmed URLs for your website. - Open the sitemap on your own domain and check that it is a public XML sitemap or sitemap index.
- In Google Search Console, select the correct property, open Sitemaps, enter the sitemap address and select Submit. Check the processing status there.
- If you use Bing, check its Sitemaps section. An imported Google sitemap may already be listed; otherwise submit the sitemap there.
Optional: set up Bing Webmaster Tools
Open Bing Webmaster Tools ↗, sign in and choose the option to import from Google Search Console. Approve the access Bing requests, choose your verified sites and confirm the import. Eligible verified properties and their sitemaps can be imported, avoiding a second manual ownership verification. If import is unavailable, follow Bing’s Add site and verification instructions.
This is a separate Bing setup, not a Maple Orbit integration. You can skip it and use Maple Orbit’s Google reports. Maple Orbit does not read Bing data or send your Google credentials to Bing.
Bing import and verification guidance ↗
Match the next step to the problem
- No properties returned
- Check the Google account and property access first. Add or verify a property only if needed; then retry sign-in.
- Permission not granted
- Check the consent choices and your Search Console property access. Ask the owner for access if needed. If consent and access are correct, contact support; an app-side API configuration problem may also need attention.
- Expired or revoked authorisation
- Reconnect with Google. Creating another property will not fix an expired grant.
- Temporary Google/API problem
- Retry shortly. If it persists, contact support with the ORBIT reference shown. Do not change DNS or recreate a property because of a service error.
- No report rows
- Check dates, filters and the selected property in Search Console. No rows is not proof that a URL is unindexed.
Return to Maple Orbit → · Contact support
Guidance checked against official provider documentation on 18 October 2026. Never send passwords, OAuth codes, access tokens or client secrets to support.