Google updates user management and rights in Google Search Console

Google announced some important changes to how user management and rights work within the Google Search Console. Here are the important changes happening now and in the near future:

1. All users, no matter if they only have the lowest level of permissions or the highest, will be able to see critical site messages.
2. Google added better history tracking to show which individual performed which significant property-affecting modifications. These modifications include changes such as changing a setting, validating an issue or submitting a new sitemap.
3. The new Search Console enables you to share a read-only view of many reports, including Index coverage, AMP, and Mobile Usability.
4. A new user management interface enables all users to see and manage (if they have rights to do so) user roles for all property users.
5. A simpler permission model where Google will limit the “restricted” user role to read-only status.
6. Read-only users will no longer be able to perform any state-changing actions, including starting a fix validation or sharing an issue.

Google has not yet rolled out all the permission changes, specifically the updated user management that enables “the ability of restricted and full users to easily see a list of other collaborators on the site,” Google said.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.