Google Search Console integration
We read Google Search Console, and label what it told us.
We read your Search Console data to find opportunities and verify that published work actually gets indexed.
How it works
Search Console connects through Google OAuth with read-only scopes. The Search Analytics API gives us query, page, country, and device data, which feeds the Growth Map: the picture of where you already rank, where you almost rank, and where the gaps are. After we publish a piece, the URL Inspection API tells us whether Google has actually indexed the page, so verification is a checked fact rather than an assumption.
In the crawl, opportunity, write, publish, measure loop, Search Console sits at both ends. It supplies the ranking data that opportunities are chosen from, and it closes the loop by confirming index status and showing how new pages perform in search over the following weeks. It is the single most valuable connection for this product, which is why we ask for it first.
Best forEvery SearchHandled customer with a verified Search Console property, which should be all of them.
Setup, step by step
- Verify your site in Search Console if it is not already, ideally as a domain property.
- Click Connect on the Search Console card and sign in with a Google account that has access to the property.
- Approve the read-only scopes in Google's consent screen.
- Pick the property that matches your site, and we flag it if the property type does not cover the URLs we publish to.
- Wait for the first data pull, which backfills recent search analytics into your Growth Map.
Best practices
Prefer a domain property
A domain property covers every protocol and subdomain in one place, so the data we read matches everything we publish. URL-prefix properties can silently exclude pages that live outside the prefix.
Connect with an account that keeps access
If the connecting Google account loses access to the property, the data stops. Use an account that will stay on the property, and reconnect promptly if your team changes property permissions.
Let index verification queue
URL Inspection is quota-limited, so post-publish checks run through a queue rather than all at once. A verification that shows pending is the quota working as designed, not a failure.
Read trends, not yesterday
Search Console data arrives with a delay of roughly two days, so the freshest window is always incomplete. We judge content on multi-week trends, and we suggest you do the same.
Use it in the full SEO workflow
The connector is the last mile, not the strategy. Read the Google Search Console API automation workflow for the evidence gates, draft state, review rules, publish checks, and measurement loop that surround this integration.
Known issues
What practitioners actually report, from official docs, issue trackers, and community forums.
URL Inspection quotas limit bulk verification
The URL Inspection API is capped per site and per project, with per-minute and per-day limits, so checking many URLs at once is not possible.
How we handle itWe queue post-publish verification and work through it within quota, prioritizing newly published pages. Every page gets checked; the checks are just spread over time.
developers.google.com
Data delay and long-tail sampling
Search analytics data lags by about two days, and very long-tail queries can be sampled, so recent numbers look lower than reality and rare queries may not all appear.
How we handle itThe Growth Map treats the newest days as provisional and bases opportunity decisions on longer windows, so a reporting lag never triggers a false alarm about a page.
developers.google.com
Property-type mismatches at connect
Domain properties and URL-prefix properties carry separate permissions, so an account can see one and not the other, and the connect step fails or shows the wrong site.
How we handle itWe list the properties your account can actually read and flag mismatches between the property type and your site URLs during setup, with plain guidance on which property to pick.
support.google.com
Questions teams ask
- Can SearchHandled change anything in our Search Console?
No. The connection uses read-only scopes, so we can read search analytics and inspect URLs but cannot change settings, submit removals, or alter the property in any way.
- How soon after publishing do we see index verification?
Usually within a day or two. URL Inspection checks run through a quota-limited queue, so verification is spread out rather than instant, and the page's status updates in your dashboard as soon as its check completes.
- What if we cannot connect Search Console?
You can import CSV exports of your performance data instead. The Growth Map works with imported data, but index verification and automatic refresh need the live connection.
Connect Google Search Console
Your own numbers, not an estimate of them.
Connect Google Search Console and the Growth Map is built from what your site actually reports, with every measured figure labelled as measured.