How to Add a User to Google Search Console

Do you need to add a user to Google Search Console? Common reasons include sharing data with an agency and troubleshooting indexing issues. This guide walks through it step by step.

Prerequisites: you have a Google Search Console account set up, and you are a verified Owner of the property. You may also want to grant access to your Google Analytics account so the same partner can see traffic alongside search data.

How to add a user to Google Search Console

1. Go to search.google.com and sign in.
2. Select the correct property from the search property drop-down. Search Console matches the domain exactly, so pick the property that matches the prefix you use (for example, https://www.yoursite.com/ must include both the https and the www). A Domain property covers every prefix at once. Mismatched domains cause most access errors.
3. Open the property Settings.
4. Select Users and permissions.
5. Click Add user.
6. Enter the user's email address and choose a permission level.
7. Click Add.

That is it. The user gets access immediately.

Full vs Restricted access

When you add a user, you pick one of two levels:

• Full: sees all reports, can submit sitemaps, and can view settings, but cannot manage other users.
• Restricted: can view data only.

Only a verified Owner can add or remove users and change configuration. Grant Restricted for view-only reporting and Full for a partner who needs to act on the data.

RELATED: How to Grant Someone Access to Your Google Ads Account

What to do next

Once your SEO partner has Search Console access, they can read your real query, click, and indexing data and start fixing what holds the site back. If you want a team to run that work, our SEO team handles technical SEO, content, and reporting end to end.

For a wider primer on how Google's tools fit together, see how Google Search Console works.

Owner, Full, and Restricted access explained

Search Console has a stronger permission model than many people expect. Owners control the property and can manage users. Full users can see all reports and take several actions, such as submitting sitemaps. Restricted users can view data but have less ability to make changes.

For most reporting-only relationships, Restricted access is enough. For an SEO partner who needs to submit sitemaps, inspect URLs, request indexing, or review settings, Full access is usually more practical. Owner access should be reserved for people who are responsible for the site or the client relationship.

Agency access checklist

• Confirm the email address is a Google account before inviting it.
• Pick the exact property the agency needs, especially if you have both Domain and URL-prefix properties.
• Use Full access for active SEO work and Restricted access for reporting-only visibility.
• Pair Search Console with Google Analytics and Google Ads access when the partner needs complete performance reporting.
• Review user access after audits, migrations, and major website projects.

How to remove or change access

Go to Settings -> Users and permissions, find the user, and open the menu beside their name. From there, you can change their permission level or remove them. If someone has owner access through a broader Domain property, you may need to review the parent property rather than only the URL-prefix property.

Good Search Console access hygiene matters because the tool exposes real queries, pages, indexing issues, and site performance data. Treat it like operational data, not a casual reporting screen.

Sources checked: support.google.com, support.google.com.