Once Search Console is connected, every post’s stats screen lists the Google searches it appeared for, with clicks, impressions and average position. The Overview shows the landing page beside each search.
Vireo connects with a Google service account rather than a Google sign-in, so there’s nothing to re-authorise later.
Get the key file
- In Google Cloud Console, create a project or open one you already have.
- Under APIs and services, enable the Google Search Console API.
- Under IAM and admin, then Service accounts, create a service account. Its address ends in
.iam.gserviceaccount.com. - Open the service account, go to Keys, add a key, and choose JSON. The file downloads once, and Google won’t give it to you again, so keep it safe.
Give it access in Search Console
- In Search Console, open Settings, then Users and permissions, and add the service account’s address with Restricted access.
- Copy the property exactly as Search Console lists it. A domain property looks like
sc-domain:example.com. A URL-prefix property is the full address, includinghttps://and any trailing slash. They’re different properties, and the wrong one returns nothing.
Paste it into Vireo
- In WordPress, go to Vireo Analytics, Settings, and open the Search Console & API tab.
- Open the key file in a text editor and paste all of it, braces included, into “Service account key (JSON)”. Put the property in “Property”.
- Click “Save Search Console settings”.
The first sync runs a minute later.
How it syncs
- Vireo syncs once a day and re-reads the last seven days each time.
- Google’s numbers aren’t final for about three days, so the newest data ends three days before today.
- To fill in older data, click “Fetch the last 90 days”. The last week arrives straight away and the rest follows in the background.
- “Disconnect” stops the daily sync.
If your posts are read on a headless front end, connect the Search Console property for the front end’s address.