A DNS TXT record is a piece of text attached to your domain name. When Google Search Console asks you to add one to prove you own the domain, add the value exactly as Search Console gives it. Then leave it in place. If someone else manages your domain’s DNS settings, hand them the value and ask them to add it unchanged.

Google says to keep that record in place to stay verified. It keeps checking for it, and if it can’t confirm the record, your permissions on the property can expire. A business that loses its verification can eventually lose owner access to its own Search Console property. What follows covers what the record is, how to add it and what to keep.

What Is a DNS TXT Record?

A TXT record is one entry in your domain’s settings, and it holds plain text. It’s defined in the original DNS specification, RFC 1035, which says TXT records hold descriptive text and that the meaning of that text depends on the domain where it’s found. That’s the whole definition. Text, and a domain it sits on.

In plain words, DNS is the internet’s lookup system, and it connects a web address to the place that serves it. That’s the short version, not the full picture. Each entry in that system is called a record. A record has a type, a name and a value. TXT is the type that carries text. And because the meaning depends on where the text sits, you read a TXT record alongside the service that asked for it.

Your domain can carry TXT records for other jobs too. Spilt Media’s post on email deliverability says an SPF record is a TXT record added to the domain’s DNS, and it describes SPF as the record that lists the servers authorized to send email for the domain. Same record type. Different job. The verification record Google wants is one text entry among whatever else sits there.

Why Does Google Ask You to Add a TXT Record?

Because Google wants proof the domain belongs to you. According to Google’s Search Console help page, ownership verification means proving to Search Console that you own a specific website, and a verified owner holds the highest degree of permissions there. The record it asks for is a name/value pair provided by Search Console.

Spilt Media’s post on setting up Google Search Console says Google provides a TXT record to add to your domain’s DNS settings, and that verification tends to complete within minutes to hours.

Those two timings don’t fight each other. Spilt Media’s post gives the shorter window. Google allows more room: its help page says that for manually installed records, it can take up to two or three days for your provider to start serving the record. It also says that if verification fails, wait a day or two and try again. Neither is a promise. Give the record the longer window before you decide it failed.

How Do You Add the Verification Record?

Search Console supplies the text and the label that goes with it. The record itself goes into the DNS settings for your domain, and those settings live with whoever manages it. So your first job is finding out who that is. It might be the company you bought the domain from, your web host or another provider.

The steps below are habits, not rules from Google or from the specification. The last one is the exception, and it comes from Google.

  • Ask who manages your domain’s DNS settings.
  • Paste the value exactly as Search Console gives it.
  • Write down the date you added it and who added it.
  • Leave every record you didn’t add as it is.
  • If someone else has already verified the domain, add yours alongside theirs. Google says don’t overwrite the verification tokens of any other owners.

Then go back to Search Console and verify. If it fails, wait a day or two and try again, as Google’s help page says.

Why Does the TXT Record Have to Stay in Place?

Because Google keeps looking for it. Its help page puts it plainly: “To stay verified, don’t remove the DNS record from your provider, even after verification succeeds.” Verification isn’t a one-time stamp on your account. It lasts as long as Google can confirm the record is there and valid.

Google says Search Console checks from time to time that your verification token, the value you added, is present and valid. If it can’t be confirmed, Google says you’ll be notified. If the issue isn’t fixed, your permissions on that property expire after a grace period. And Google says that if all verified owners lose access to a property, all users lose access to it. That’s the sharp end of it. A record nobody is watching can cost you the access you set up in the first place.

Here’s a habit, not a rule. Before anything changes about who runs your domain’s DNS, such as a move to a different host or provider, ask in writing whether the verification record will come across. Then check afterward that it’s still there.

What If You Can’t Add the Record Yourself?

Then you have another route. Google says that if you’re unable to verify site ownership, you can ask a current owner to grant you access to the property in Search Console. That gets you into the property without touching DNS at all. The owner has to be willing, of course.

If nobody on your team can reach the DNS settings, send the exact value to whoever manages them. Two habits help here, and they are habits, not rules. Ask them to confirm in writing when the record is in. And keep at least one verified owner on an email address the business controls, because access that depends on one outside person isn’t access you hold.

Frequently Asked Questions About TXT Records

What is a TXT record used for?

RFC 1035 says TXT records hold descriptive text, and that the meaning of the text depends on the domain where it’s found. So the job depends on who asked for it. Google uses one to verify that you own a website. Spilt Media’s post about getting email delivered says an SPF record is a TXT record in the domain’s DNS.

How long does Google verification take?

Spilt Media’s own post about Search Console setup says verification tends to complete within minutes to hours. Google allows more time. Its help page says that for manually installed records, it can take up to two or three days for your provider to start serving the record, and that if verification fails you should wait a day or two and try again. Neither is a promise.

Can I delete the verification record after Google confirms it?

Google says not to. Its help page says that to stay verified, you shouldn’t remove the DNS record from your provider, even after verification succeeds. It also says Search Console checks from time to time that your verification token is present and valid, and that verification lasts as long as it can confirm that. Leave the record where it is.

Can two people verify the same domain?

Yes. Google says multiple people can verify ownership of the same website property, using the same or different verification methods. If you’re using the same method as an existing owner, Google says to be sure you don’t overwrite the verification tokens of any other owners. Add yours alongside theirs and leave theirs untouched.

Next Steps Before You Touch Your DNS Settings

Spilt Media’s technical SEO services page says its team audits crawl efficiency, fixes indexation issues, optimizes Core Web Vitals and implements structured data.

Whenever someone asks you to add a DNS TXT record, ask what it proves, who needs it and who will keep it in place. If you’d rather work that out with someone, the conversation is about who holds ownership of your Search Console property and how the technical side of your site is looked after.

You can book a consultation with Spilt Media to talk it through.