Get my site into Google
Being findable on Google comes down to three things: Google can read your site's table of contents (the sitemap), nothing is telling it to stay away, and Google knows your site exists. bernard handles the first two; the third is a one-time, ten-minute step that Google insists the owner does personally.
What bernard already does
Your AI can generate and maintain your sitemap and robots file — see Does my site have a sitemap? — and after every publish it can instantly notify Bing, Yandex and partner engines (Tell search engines my site changed). Everything lands as a draft you approve; nothing changes behind your back.
The one step only you can do: Google Search Console
Google doesn't accept instant notifications and doesn't let anyone register a site on your behalf. The one-time setup:
- Open Search Console. Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with any Google account.
- Add your site. Choose "URL prefix" and enter your site's address exactly as it appears in the browser.
- Verify you own it. If your domain is connected through bernard, the simplest route is the HTML-tag or DNS method — ask your AI "walk me through Google Search Console verification" and it will give you the exact values to paste, or make the site change for you (as a draft you approve).
- Submit your sitemap. In Search Console, open Sitemaps and enter your sitemap address — yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Your AI can tell you the exact URL for your site.
- Wait a little. Google typically starts showing data within a couple of days. Re-crawls after changes take 24–48 hours or more — that's normal.
After that
You never need to touch Search Console again unless you're curious — though it's worth a look: it shows the real searches people used to find you, which pairs well with making your pages use the words people actually search for (Use the words people actually search for).
The prompt
“Check my site's findability, fix anything missing, and then walk me through registering my site with Google Search Console step by step — with my actual sitemap address.”
The [bracketed] parts are yours to fill in. First time? Connect bernard to your AI over MCP — a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI — then paste the prompt above.
Questions people ask
- How long does it take Google to index a new website?
- Anywhere from a day to a few weeks. Registering in Google Search Console and submitting your sitemap is the single biggest accelerator — it tells Google your site exists instead of waiting for it to be discovered. After changes, allow 24–48 hours (sometimes more) for Google to re-crawl.
- Why isn't my site showing up on Google?
- Usually one of three things: Google hasn't discovered it yet (fix: Search Console + sitemap), the site is new and still being crawled (fix: patience), or something is telling engines not to index it. Ask your AI to run a findability check — it spots all three.
- Can bernard register my site with Google for me?
- Not the Search Console step — Google requires the site owner to create the account and verify ownership themselves. bernard does everything around it: the sitemap, the robots file, and instant notifications to Bing and partners — each landing as a draft you approve before it goes live. Your AI will walk you through the Google step with your actual details pasted in.
- Is Search Console free?
- Yes — it's Google's free dashboard for site owners. Beyond submitting your sitemap, it shows you which searches surface your site, which pages get clicks, and any indexing problems Google finds.