Google Search Console
Pull search performance data, index coverage, and Core Web Vitals from Google Search Console API.
Prerequisites
Requires Google OAuth credentials:
GOOGLE_CLIENT_IDGOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET- A valid OAuth access token with
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly scope
Set credentials in .env, .env.local, or ~/.claude/.env.global.
Getting an Access Token
# Step 1: Authorization URL (user visits in browser)
echo "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/v2/auth?client_id=${GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID}&redirect_uri=urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob&scope=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters.readonly&response_type=code&access_type=offline"
# Step 2: Exchange code for tokens
curl -s -X POST "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token" \
-d "code={AUTH_CODE}" \
-d "client_id=${GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID}" \
-d "client_secret=${GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET}" \
-d "redirect_uri=urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob" \
-d "grant_type=authorization_code"
# Step 3: Refresh expired token
curl -s -X POST "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token" \
-d "refresh_token={REFRESH_TOKEN}" \
-d "client_id=${GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID}" \
-d "client_secret=${GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET}" \
-d "grant_type=refresh_token"
Listing Available Sites
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites" \
| python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for site in data.get('siteEntry', []):
print(f\"{site['siteUrl']} | Permission: {site['permissionLevel']}\")
"
The site URL format is either https://example.com/ (URL prefix) or sc-domain:example.com (domain property).
1. Search Performance Report
The core report: queries, pages, clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position.
API Endpoint
POST https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/{siteUrl}/searchAnalytics/query
Note: The {siteUrl} must be URL-encoded (e.g., https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2F or sc-domain%3Aexample.com).
Top Queries
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["query"],
"rowLimit": 50,
"startRow": 0
}'
Top Pages
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["page"],
"rowLimit": 50
}'
Query + Page Combination
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["query", "page"],
"rowLimit": 100,
"dimensionFilterGroups": [{
"filters": [{
"dimension": "page",
"operator": "contains",
"expression": "/blog/"
}]
}]
}'
Available Dimensions
| Dimension | Description |
|---|
query | Search query |
page | URL |
country | Country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) |
device | DESKTOP, MOBILE, TABLET |
date | Individual date |
searchAppearance | Rich result type |
Response Parsing
curl -s -X POST "..." | python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print(f\"{'Query':<50} {'Clicks':>8} {'Impr':>8} {'CTR':>8} {'Pos':>6}\")
print('-' * 82)
for row in data.get('rows', []):
keys = ' + '.join(row.get('keys', []))
print(f\"{keys:<50} {row['clicks']:>8} {row['impressions']:>8} {row['ctr']*100:>7.1f}% {row['position']:>6.1f}\")
"
2. Search Performance by Date
Track daily trends for queries and pages.
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["date"],
"rowLimit": 1000
}'
To track a specific query over time:
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["date"],
"dimensionFilterGroups": [{
"filters": [{
"dimension": "query",
"operator": "equals",
"expression": "your target keyword"
}]
}]
}'
3. Index Coverage (URL Inspection API)
Check if a specific URL is indexed.
Endpoint
POST https://searchconsole.googleapis.com/v1/urlInspection/index:inspect
Example curl
curl -s -X POST \
"https://searchconsole.googleapis.com/v1/urlInspection/index:inspect" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"inspectionUrl": "https://example.com/page-to-check",
"siteUrl": "sc-domain:example.com"
}'
Response Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|
inspectionResult.indexStatusResult.coverageState | Submitted and indexed, Crawled - currently not indexed, etc. |
inspectionResult.indexStatusResult.robotsTxtState | ALLOWED or DISALLOWED |
inspectionResult.indexStatusResult.indexingState | INDEXING_ALLOWED or INDEXING_NOT_ALLOWED |
inspectionResult.indexStatusResult.lastCrawlTime | When Googlebot last crawled |
inspectionResult.indexStatusResult.crawledAs | DESKTOP or MOBILE |
inspectionResult.mobileUsabilityResult.verdict | PASS, FAIL, or VERDICT_UNSPECIFIED |
4. Sitemaps
List and check sitemap status.
List Sitemaps
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/sitemaps" \
| python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for sm in data.get('sitemap', []):
print(f\"URL: {sm['path']}\")
print(f\" Type: {sm.get('type','')} | Submitted: {sm.get('lastSubmitted','')}\")
print(f\" URLs discovered: {sm.get('contents',[{}])[0].get('submitted','?')} | Indexed: {sm.get('contents',[{}])[0].get('indexed','?')}\")
print()
"
Submit a Sitemap
curl -s -X PUT -H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/sitemaps/https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fsitemap.xml"
5. Opportunity Identification
Use Search Console data to find SEO opportunities.
Low-Hanging Fruit: High Impressions, Low CTR
Queries with many impressions but low CTR suggest the title/description needs optimization.
# Pull queries, then filter for: impressions > 100 AND ctr < 0.03 AND position < 20
curl -s -X POST \
"https://www.googleapis.com/webmasters/v3/sites/sc-domain%3Aexample.com/searchAnalytics/query" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"startDate": "2024-01-01",
"endDate": "2024-03-31",
"dimensions": ["query", "page"],
"rowLimit": 1000
}' | python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print('== Low CTR Opportunities (High impressions, low CTR, good position) ==')
print(f\"{'Query':<40} {'Page':<40} {'Impr':>6} {'CTR':>7} {'Pos':>5}\")
for row in data.get('rows', []):
if row['impressions'] > 100 and row['ctr'] < 0.03 and row['position'] < 20:
print(f\"{row['keys'][0]:<40} {row['keys'][1][-40:]:<40} {row['impressions']:>6} {row['ctr']*100:>6.1f}% {row['position']:>5.1f}\")
"
Striking Distance: Position 5-20
Queries ranking on page 1-2 that could be pushed to top 5 with content optimization.
# Filter for position between 5 and 20 with decent impressions
curl -s -X POST "..." | python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print('== Striking Distance Keywords (Position 5-20) ==')
opps = [r for r in data.get('rows',[]) if 5 <= r['position'] <= 20 and r['impressions'] > 50]
opps.sort(key=lambda x: x['impressions'], reverse=True)
for row in opps[:30]:
print(f\"{row['keys'][0]:<50} Pos: {row['position']:>5.1f} Impr: {row['impressions']:>6} Clicks: {row['clicks']:>4}\")
"
Cannibalization Detection
Find queries where multiple pages compete for the same keyword.
# Pull query+page data, then group by query to find duplicates
curl -s -X POST "..." | python3 -c "
import json, sys
from collections import defaultdict
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
query_pages = defaultdict(list)
for row in data.get('rows', []):
query_pages[row['keys'][0]].append({
'page': row['keys'][1],
'clicks': row['clicks'],
'impressions': row['impressions'],
'position': row['position']
})
print('== Keyword Cannibalization (multiple pages for same query) ==')
for query, pages in sorted(query_pages.items(), key=lambda x: -sum(p['impressions'] for p in x[1])):
if len(pages) > 1:
total_impr = sum(p['impressions'] for p in pages)
if total_impr > 100:
print(f\"\nQuery: {query} ({total_impr} total impressions)\")
for p in sorted(pages, key=lambda x: -x['impressions']):
print(f\" {p['page'][-60:]} Pos: {p['position']:.1f} Impr: {p['impressions']} Clicks: {p['clicks']}\")
"
Workflow: Full Search Performance Audit
When asked for a complete GSC audit:
- Overall Metrics: Total clicks, impressions, avg CTR, avg position for last 90 days vs previous 90 days
- Top 30 Queries: By clicks, with CTR and position
- Top 20 Pages: By clicks, with CTR and position
- Device Breakdown: Desktop vs mobile performance
- Low-Hanging Fruit: High impressions + low CTR opportunities
- Striking Distance: Position 5-20 keywords with optimization potential
- Cannibalization: Queries with multiple competing pages
- Index Coverage: Spot-check important URLs
- Sitemap Health: Verify sitemaps are submitted and indexed
Report Format
## Search Console Audit: {domain}
### Period: {date range}
### Summary
| Metric | Current | Previous | Change |
|--------|---------|----------|--------|
| Clicks | X | Y | +Z% |
| Impressions | X | Y | +Z% |
| Avg CTR | X% | Y% | +Z pp |
| Avg Position | X | Y | +Z |
### Top Queries
| Query | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Position |
|-------|--------|-------------|-----|----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Optimization Opportunities
#### Title/Description Optimization (High Impressions, Low CTR)
1. "{query}" - {impressions} impressions, {ctr}% CTR, position {pos}
- Page: {url}
- Recommendation: ...
#### Content Optimization (Striking Distance)
1. "{query}" - position {pos}, {impressions} impressions
- Action: Add {query} to H2, expand section on {topic}
#### Cannibalization Fixes
1. "{query}" appears on {n} pages
- Consolidate to: {best_url}
- Redirect/noindex: {other_urls}
Rate Limits
- Search Analytics API: 1,200 queries per minute
- URL Inspection API: 2,000 inspections per day per property
- Data freshness: Search data is typically 2-3 days behind
Common Errors
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|
| 403 | No access to this property | Verify ownership in GSC |
| 400 | Invalid date range | Dates must be within last 16 months |
| Empty rows | No data matching filters | Broaden date range or remove filters |