The 1 Thing Every Substack Writer Needs (But 90% Skip)
Most writers ignore this 10-min setup—then wonder why they’re invisible.
The most powerful growth tool for Substack writers is completely free—and wildly underused. It’s called Google Search Console.
Now, I get it—doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of sexy tool that’s going to blow up your content strategy. But make no mistake: it’s the single most powerful visibility lever you have. And if you’re not using it (like so many other blogs and newsletters aren’t), you’re flying blind.
Most people don’t realize this...
→ The gap between what’s obvious and what’s visible online?
That’s your leverage point.
And while others are sleeping on organic visibility, you could be building authority.
Learn to play the attention game, and it won’t be a level playing field—
It’ll be your home turf.
Start now.
Because the ones who win online?
Aren’t always the best.
They’re just the best at being seen.
Let’s get you set up on Google Search Console—so you can stop playing blind and start showing up 24/7/365 like the All-Star that you are.
I’ve created a step-by-step instructional guide for Substack writers so that you can get your Google Search Console account set up for better website insights. Access both the video instructional and the step-by-step tutorial on how to set up Google Search Console in Substack here:
You will also need a Google Analytics Account set up. That guide is also available here:
📅 May 2025 Update: If your Substack account was created before May 2025, you might still see an option to set up Google Search Console directly in your Analytics Settings via a slightly easier option than the one linked above. For reasons unknown, Substack has removed this specific option for newer accounts.
Either way, you can still set up Google Search Console using the instructions above, regardless of when your account was created. But, just in case the old option is still available to you, here are the original setup instructions:
Step 1:
Go to Google Search Console (free account required), and select “+ Add Property.”
Step 2:
Copy your Substack URL. If it’s a subdomain, it will look something like “https://sitename.substack.com”
If it’s a custom domain, such as SendTheSignals.com, it will be, “https://mysite.com”
Step 3:
Paste that URL into the Google Search Console pop up window that came up after you clicked “+ Add Property” under “URL Prefix.” Hit continue.
Step 4:
Select the “HTML Tag” option.
Step 5:
Follow the instructions on that box that tell you to copy the tag by hitting the “Copy” button.
Step 6:
Go to your Substack Analytics in your Settings menu, and paste that HTML Tag into that box.
Step 7:
Hit “Save"
Step 8:
Go back to your Google Search Console window and click “Verify”
Step 9:
The site should verify and you will be taken back to your dashboard. Keep in mind, you won’t see any data for a day or two (maybe more) because it won’t retroactively track organic search data for your site. It will only start doing that going forward.
If nobody is finding your content through organic search on Google, then you also won’t see any data populate on your dashboard until that happens.
Keep writing–eventually people will start finding it through keyword searches you probably didn’t even intend to write for and you’ll find a wealth of information to help you continue fine tuning your signal.
📡 Ready to build your signal?
As a paid subscriber to SendTheSignals.com, you’ll unlock every article I’ve ever published—practical, proven strategies to grow your brand and turn your content into a 24/7 growth engine.
Plus, you’ll get exclusive access to:
✅ Quarterly 1:1 strategy sessions with me
✅ Live AMA sessions to ask questions, get feedback, and stay sharp
I’m just getting started—and right now, you can lock in the launch price for life.
This is such a useful tip!!
👍👍👍👍👍