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glossary term

Domain vs. URL-Prefix Property

Two different ways to set up a site in Search Console — one covers every subdomain and protocol, the other covers just one exact URL pattern.

What it means

A Domain property covers your entire domain — every subdomain, and both http and https — all rolled into one property. A URL-prefix property covers only the exact prefix you specify, like https://www.example.com, so blog.example.com or the plain http version would need their own separate property.

Why it matters

If you only set up a URL-prefix property, you might be missing data from a subdomain or protocol variant you didn't realize was pulling in separate traffic. Domain properties give the fuller picture but require DNS verification, which is a slightly more involved setup step than the URL-prefix option.

ask datanephew

Am I missing search data from part of my site?

Ask datanephew to check which property type your Search Console connection uses — a URL-prefix property can miss subdomains or protocol variants that a Domain property would catch.

Which property type should I use?

datanephew can't set this up for you, but a Domain property is generally the more complete choice if you're able to verify it through DNS — ask about connecting Search Console for the specifics.