How to connect Google Search Console and pick the right property
Updated
Open Search Visibility > Overview, click Connect Search Console and approve read-only access on Google's screen. Back in SEOmatic, click Choose a property, pick your site and click Confirm. Your agents only use Search Console once a property is picked.
Before you start#
- Your site must be verified in Search Console for the Google account you use. If it is not there yet, add and verify it at search.google.com/search-console first.
- On a team, the workspace owner should connect. SEOmatic reads Search Console in the background through the workspace owner's Google connection. A teammate can only pick a property that the owner's Google account can also read.
- It is read-only and free. SEOmatic can view your Search Console data and nothing else. Reading it never uses credits. See what SEOmatic can and cannot do with Google.
Connect Search Console#
- In the sidebar, under Insights, click Search Visibility, then Overview.
- Click Connect Search Console. Google opens.
- Choose the Google account that has your site in Search Console.
- Leave the box View Search Console data ticked and continue. If you untick it, SEOmatic cannot read anything.
- Back in SEOmatic, the page says Choose your property. Click Choose a property.
- In Select Search Console Property, pick your site and click Confirm.
Your numbers appear right away. In the background, SEOmatic also loads up to 26 weeks of history, which takes a few minutes, and your agents re-plan their work around your real data.
Other places you can connect from
| Where | What to click | Asks for a property? |
|---|---|---|
| Setup, step 2 | Connect on the Google Search Console card | Yes. It picks the property that matches your domain, or opens the list. |
| Connections page, after your website is connected | Connect Search Console on the card One more connection makes your agents a lot smarter | Yes |
| SEO Copilot, Data Sources in the bottom left corner | Connect next to Search Console | Yes |
| Settings > Integrations (account owner only) | The switch on the Google Search Console row | No. After connecting here, go to Search Visibility and click Choose a property. |
Domain property or URL-prefix property?#
Search Console has two kinds of property. A Domain property covers your whole domain: http and https, with and without www, and every subdomain. A URL-prefix property covers only addresses that start with one exact prefix, such as https://www.example.com/.
- Pick the Domain property when you have one. It counts every click your site gets.
- Two rows with the same name? The list shows both kinds without a label, so a Domain property and a URL-prefix property for example.com both read "example.com". Pick one, then open Search Visibility and compare the clicks with the Domain property in Search Console. If they do not match, change the property (below).
- Greyed-out rows say Not verified for your Google account - verify it in Search Console first. Verify ownership in Search Console, then come back.
- Pick the right site. SEOmatic accepts any property you can read, even one for another website, and shows its data without a warning.
Change the property later#
- In the sidebar, click SEO Copilot.
- In Data Sources, bottom left, hover over Search Console. A pencil icon appears.
- Click the pencil (Change property), pick the new property and click Confirm.
Use a computer with a mouse
The pencil only appears when you hover, so this does not work on a phone or tablet. When you change the property, SEOmatic replaces the stored weekly history with history from the new property, which takes a few minutes.
Use a different Google account#
While you are connected, Connect reuses your current Google account. To switch, disconnect first (below), then connect again and choose the other account. Each SEOmatic user has one Google connection, so properties from several Google accounts must be shared with that one account in Search Console.
Reconnect or disconnect#
- Reconnect. If Google stops accepting the connection (access removed, password changed, or it aged out), you get an email titled Search Console disconnected for your site, and Settings > Integrations shows Reconnect. Click it and approve again. Each workspace keeps its property, so you do not pick again.
- Disconnect. Turn off the switch in Settings > Integrations, or click the X next to Search Console in SEO Copilot's Data Sources. There is no confirmation. It clears the property on every workspace you own, so after reconnecting you pick a property again for each one. Your stored history is kept.
- Remove SEOmatic from Google too. Disconnecting in SEOmatic deletes the stored access, but SEOmatic still appears in your Google Account's list of third-party connections until you remove it there.
Error messages and fixes#
Google errors show during setup, or on the connect page you open from an email or AI assistant link. If you connect from Search Visibility and the page still says Connect Google Search Console, click Connect Search Console again and leave the Search Console box ticked on Google.
| You see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Google did not grant access, so Search Console is not connected yet. | You clicked Cancel on Google. Connect again. |
| The Google step did not complete. Try connecting again. | Something went wrong on the way back from Google. Connect again. |
| The Search Console box was unticked on Google, so we can not read your data. Connect again and leave it ticked. | Connect again and leave View Search Console data ticked. |
| No verified properties found in your Search Console account. | This Google account has no verified site. Add and verify your site in Search Console, or connect with the Google account that has it. |
| Your Google account isn't verified for this property yet... | Verify ownership of that property in Search Console, or pick one you are verified for. |
| The workspace owner's Google account can't read this Search Console property... | In Search Console, add the owner's Google account as a user on the property, or ask the owner to connect. |
| Only workspace members can change the Search Console property | Viewers cannot pick a property. Ask a member, admin or the owner. |
| Failed to fetch sites | Google no longer accepts your connection. The owner clicks Reconnect in Settings > Integrations. |
| That Google link expired or was not started here. Start the connection again. | The Google step took more than 1 hour. Start again. |
- How long until I see data?
- Right away for a site that already gets traffic. Google's own numbers run 2 to 3 days behind, so the latest days are never shown. A brand-new site can have no data for days or weeks. See Search Console shows no data.
- I am on the Free plan. Do I get anything for connecting?
- Yes. The first time your organization picks a Search Console property, you get 10 bonus SEO Copilot questions, once.
- I connected, but the banner still says <strong>Your agent can only see part of the picture</strong>.
- That banner checks your own Google connection. If the owner connected for the workspace, it can still show for teammates. Check Search Visibility: if it shows numbers, you are set.
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