Blog Google: Google API Data for Blog Performance
Bundled paths below use host Markdown substitution of ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR};
it is not an exported shell variable. Resolve them before execution, quote
paths, and refuse nonabsolute overrides. Pass blog_reference_root resolved
from ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../blog/references, blog_template_root from
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../blog/templates, and needed sibling roots to agents.
Read the main reference orchestration-details.md before loading project
context; pass only its helper-fenced output to downstream agents.
Direct access to Google's SEO APIs for blog performance analysis. Provides real
Chrome user metrics, indexation status, search performance, entity analysis, YouTube
video discovery, keyword volumes, and PDF/HTML performance reports.
Most integrations have no usage fee within their documented quotas. Cloud
Natural Language requires billing and can incur charges after its free monthly
tier. Google Ads requires an eligible account and developer token. Never enable
billing or make a paid request without explicit user approval.
Cost and consent gate (mandatory, read first)
This skill uses the user's Google credentials, quotas, and sometimes billing.
- What it spends: API quota on the user's Google Cloud project (small
buckets: YouTube
search.list has its own bucket of 100 calls per day, URL
Inspection allows 2,000 per day per site, the Indexing API 200 publish
requests per day); Cloud Natural Language bills after 5,000 free units a
month; Keyword Planner needs a Google Ads account.
- What it writes externally:
index sends a notification to Google and
setup writes credential config under ~/.config/claude-seo/. Everything
else is read-only.
- Consent: before the FIRST call in a session that reads account data
(
gsc, inspect, ga4, keywords), spends a small bucket (youtube,
batch inspect), can bill (nlp), or writes (index, setup), name the
command, the property or URL, the expected call count, and the quota or cost
basis, then wait for an explicit yes. Free keyless-style reads such as
pagespeed and crux on a public URL only need the call named.
- No uncapped loops: batch files are limited to what the user approved;
stop on the first quota error instead of retrying through it.
- Skips: report each skipped or unavailable command in ONE line for the
orchestrator's "Fallbacks and skips" summary, such as "Google: no
credentials, skipped CrUX".
Persistent runtime directory
CLAUDE_BLOG_RUNTIME_DIR optionally selects one trusted absolute persistent
root. This integration uses <root>/blog-google/.venv; NotebookLM also
uses <root>/blog-notebooklm/data for its library, authentication and browser
state. Without this override, the existing skill-local defaults stay in use.
Google's shared credential config/token paths stay unchanged. No state is
copied or migrated automatically, and ordinary runs never perform setup.
Preserve an existing validated operator override. For a plugin without one,
explicitly pass the host-substituted ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/claude-blog-runtime
path on both setup and every later runner call. This is Markdown substitution,
not an exported shell variable. Execute only once it is an absolute resolved
path. Single quotes keep an unresolved placeholder literal so validation
rejects it instead of expanding it to a different shell path:
CLAUDE_BLOG_RUNTIME_DIR='${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/claude-blog-runtime' python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/setup_environment.py" --check --json
CLAUDE_BLOG_RUNTIME_DIR='${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/claude-blog-runtime' python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/run.py" google_auth --check --json
Only explicit setup without --check installs dependencies. Standalone users
keep the default unless they explicitly choose an absolute runtime root.
Relative, unresolved, or linked managed subdirectories fail closed. Changing
the root selects separate state; it never authorizes a migration or cleanup of
the old root. Plugin persistent data follows the host's uninstall retention
rules; preserve it explicitly when uninstalling if it is still needed.
Prerequisites
Always check credentials before running any command:
BLOG_SKILLS_DIR="${CLAUDE_BLOG_SKILLS_DIR:-${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/..}"
case "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR" in /*) ;; *) echo "ERROR: skills dir must be absolute" >&2; exit 1 ;; esac
python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" google_auth --check --json
Config file: ~/.config/claude-seo/google-api.json (shared with claude-seo)
{
"api_key": "YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY",
"oauth_client_path": "/path/to/client_secret.json",
"default_property": "sc-domain:example.com",
"ga4_property_id": "properties/123456789",
"ads_developer_token": "...",
"ads_customer_id": "123-456-7890",
"ads_login_customer_id": "123-456-7890"
}
If missing, read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/auth-setup.md and walk the user through setup.
Credential Tiers
| Tier | Detection | Available Commands |
|---|
| 0 (API Key) | api_key present | pagespeed, crux, crux-history, youtube, nlp |
| 1 (OAuth/SA) | + OAuth token or service account | Tier 0 + gsc, inspect, index |
| 2 (Full) | + ga4_property_id configured | Tier 1 + ga4 |
| 3 (Ads) | + ads_developer_token + ads_customer_id | Tier 2 + keywords |
Always communicate the detected tier before running commands.
Machine-readable errors
Some legacy helpers emit an error JSON object with process exit 0 in
--json mode. Preserve those exit contracts when integrating existing
callers, but inspect the parsed result: any error is a failed operation.
Batch results also need per-item error checks; do not treat a zero exit
status alone as successful API work. A future exit-status migration needs
a separately reviewed compatibility change.
Quick Reference
| Command | What it does | Tier |
|---|
/blog google setup | Check/configure API credentials | : |
/blog google pagespeed <url> | PSI Lighthouse + CrUX field data | 0 |
/blog google crux <url> | CrUX field data only (p75 metrics) | 0 |
/blog google crux-history <url> | CWV trends, 25 weeks by default and up to 40 | 0 |
/blog google youtube <query> | YouTube video search (views, likes, duration) | 0 |
/blog google nlp <url-or-text> | NLP entity extraction + sentiment | 0 |
/blog google gsc <property> | Search Console: clicks, impressions, CTR, position | 1 |
/blog google inspect <url> | URL Inspection: index status, canonical | 1 |
/blog google index <url> | Notify the Indexing API (job or livestream pages only; blog posts are ineligible) | 1 |
/blog google ga4 [property-id] | GA4 organic traffic report | 2 |
/blog google keywords <seed> | Keyword ideas from Google Ads Keyword Planner | 3 |
/blog google report <type> | PDF/HTML performance report | : |
/blog google quotas | Show rate limits for all APIs | : |
PageSpeed + CrUX
/blog google pagespeed <url>
Combined Lighthouse lab data + CrUX field data for a published blog post.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" pagespeed_check <url> --json
Reference: ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/api-reference.md
Output merges lab scores (point-in-time Lighthouse) with field data (28-day
Chrome user metrics). CrUX tries URL-level first, falls back to origin-level.
/blog google crux <url>
CrUX field data only (no Lighthouse run). Faster.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" pagespeed_check <url> --crux-only --json
/blog google crux-history <url>
CrUX History trends use 25 weekly periods by default and accept up to 40 with
--periods. They show whether CWV metrics are improving, stable, or degrading.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" crux_history <url> --json
Search Console
/blog google gsc <property>
Search Analytics: clicks, impressions, CTR, position for last 28 days.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" gsc_query --property <property> --json
Default: 28 days, dimensions=query,page, type=web, limit=1000.
Includes quick-win detection: queries at position 4-10 with high impressions.
The dedicated Search Console generative-AI reports are a gradual, subset
rollout in the Search Console UI. They have separate Search and Discover views;
the Search view covers AI Overviews and AI Mode. Do not promise clicks, queries,
or API retrieval from these dedicated views. Until Google documents an API,
report that capability as SKIPPED or unavailable and point the user to the UI.
Google's July 29 Search Central announcement says Search Console platform
properties for Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube are globally available. The
current Help Center still says gradual rollout. Report this as a Google-source
conflict, verify availability in the user's account, and do not claim that
/blog google gsc retrieves these platform reports through the current API.
/blog google inspect <url>
URL Inspection: real indexation status from Google.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" gsc_inspect <url> --json
Returns: verdict (PASS/FAIL), coverage state, robots.txt status, indexing state,
page fetch state, canonical selection, mobile usability, rich results.
After a canonicalization fix, Google may retain the URL in a duplicate cluster
for up to two weeks. If the implementation is now correct and the fix is within
that window, report PENDING_REEVALUATION rather than an immediate failure.
Search Console's Request Indexing feature is quota-limited; reserve it for
important URLs.
For batch inspection: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" gsc_inspect --batch <file> --json
Indexing API
/blog google index <url>
Notify Google of a URL update through the Indexing API.
Eligibility: Google's Indexing API documentation says it "can only be used
to crawl pages with either JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a
VideoObject" (https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quickstart,
read 2026-10-12). Ordinary blog posts are NOT eligible. Do not run this
command for a blog post, and do not offer it as a way to speed up indexing of
articles. For a blog post, use /blog google inspect <url> and, if needed,
Search Console's Request Indexing in the UI (quota-limited).
If the user names a URL anyway, first ask whether it is a JobPosting page or
a livestream (BroadcastEvent in VideoObject) page. Only if the user confirms
that explicitly, say what will be sent and get a second explicit yes, then run:
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" indexing_notify <url> --confirm-eligible --json
Reference: ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/api-reference.md
The script refuses to submit without --confirm-eligible; never add that flag
on your own. Daily quota: 200 publish requests. Do not present this as a
replacement for URL Inspection's Request Indexing feature.
For batch (same eligibility confirmation, applies to every URL in the file):
python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" indexing_notify --batch <file> --confirm-eligible --json
GA4 Traffic
/blog google ga4 [property-id]
Organic traffic report: daily sessions, users, pageviews, bounce rate, engagement.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" ga4_report --property <id> --json
Default: 28 days, filtered to Organic Search channel group.
For top landing pages: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" ga4_report --property <id> --report top-pages --json
YouTube (Video Discovery)
YouTube research can add useful, relevant media and distribution context. Any
third-party visibility correlation is observational, not a Google ranking or
citation requirement. Free, API key only. Used by blog-write and blog-rewrite
for video embedding.
/blog google youtube <query>
Search YouTube for videos relevant to a blog topic.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" youtube_search search "<query>" --json
Quota: search.list has its own quota bucket: by default 100 calls per day at 1 unit per call (Google's quota-cost page, read 2026-10-12). Other YouTube endpoints share a separate 10,000 units per day. Run one search per distinct need and stop at the first quota error.
Returns: title, channel, views, likes, duration, description, tags.
For video details + comments: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" youtube_search video <video_id> --json
NLP Content Analysis
Google's entity and sentiment analysis can support topic and editorial review.
It does not expose ranking-system scores, and E-E-A-T is not a numeric Google
ranking factor.
/blog google nlp <url-or-text>
Full NLP analysis: entities, sentiment, content classification.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" nlp_analyze --url <url> --json
Free tier: 5,000 units/month. Requires billing enabled on GCP project.
For entity extraction only: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" nlp_analyze --url <url> --features entities --json
Keyword Research (Google Ads)
Gold-standard keyword volume data. Requires Google Ads account (Tier 3).
/blog google keywords <seed>
Generate keyword ideas from seed terms for blog topic research.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" keyword_planner ideas "<seed>" --json
For volume lookup: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" keyword_planner volume "<kw1>,<kw2>" --json
Reports
/blog google report <type>
Generate a PDF/HTML report with charts and tables.
Script: python3 "$BLOG_SKILLS_DIR/blog-google/scripts/run.py" google_report --type <type> --data <json> --domain <domain> --format pdf
| Type | Input | Output |
|---|
cwv-audit | PSI + CrUX + CrUX History data | Core Web Vitals audit with gauges, timelines |
gsc-performance | GSC query data | Search Console report with query tables |
indexation | Batch inspection data | Indexation status with coverage donut |
full | All data combined | Comprehensive Google SEO report |
Note: PDF generation needs WeasyPrint and its system libraries (Pango and
Cairo). The explicit setup script installs only the Python packages, and no
run installs system packages. If they are missing, the report falls back to
HTML; tell the user and let them decide whether to install the libraries.
Rate Limits
| API | Per-Minute | Per-Day | Auth |
|---|
| PSI v5 | 240 QPM | 25,000 QPD | API Key |
| CrUX + History | 150 QPM (shared) | Unlimited | API Key |
| GSC Search Analytics | 1,200 QPM per site and per user; 40,000 QPM per project | 30M QPD per project | Service Account |
| GSC URL Inspection | 600 QPM per site | 2,000 QPD per site (10M per project) | Service Account |
| Indexing API | 380 RPM | 200 publish/day | Service Account |
| GA4 Data API | 10 concurrent (50 for 360) | 200K Core Tokens/day (2M for 360) | Service Account |
| YouTube Data | : | search.list: 100 calls/day (own bucket); other endpoints 10,000 units/day | API Key |
| NLP API | : | 5,000 units/month | API Key (billing) |
Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/rate-limits-quotas.md for detailed quota management.
Blog Workflow Integration
This skill is both user-invocable (/blog google pagespeed) and callable
internally by other blog sub-skills:
- blog-seo-check: Runs PSI + CrUX on published post URL for live CWV data
- blog-rewrite: NLP entity analysis to identify E-E-A-T entity gaps
- blog-geo: GSC performance data for real search appearance insights
- blog-audit: Batch CWV + indexation checks across all published blog URLs
- blog-write / blog-rewrite: YouTube search for video embedding
Falls back gracefully when credentials are not configured.
Report Templates
Use the bundled templates when a workflow requests a durable human-readable
report. Keep unavailable account data marked SKIPPED; never fill an empty
section with estimated metrics.
assets/templates/cwv-audit-report.md for PageSpeed and CrUX evidence.assets/templates/gsc-performance-report.md for Search Analytics exports.assets/templates/indexation-status-report.md for URL Inspection evidence.
Technical Notes
- INP replaced FID on March 12, 2024. Never reference FID.
- CLS values from CrUX are string-encoded (e.g., "0.05"). Scripts handle parsing.
- CrUX 404 = insufficient Chrome traffic, not an auth error.
- Search Analytics data has 2-3 day lag.
- Indexing API is officially for JobPosting and BroadcastEvent-in-VideoObject pages only; blog posts are ineligible.
- Most integrations have no usage fee within quota. Cloud Natural Language
requires billing and can incur charges; Google Ads requires account and
developer-token access.
- Read
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/search-currentness.md before diagnosing a named update,
canonical change, Discover visibility, Google generative-AI reporting,
platform properties, Preferred Sources, AMP, or crawler byte-limit issue.
- A named update's dates do not prove what caused an individual site's change.
Wait one full week after rollout before comparing data, and separate Web,
Image, Video, and News performance.
- Googlebot processes only the first 2MB of supported files and first 64MB of
PDFs. Keep critical metadata and primary content before the cutoff.
Error Handling
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| No credentials configured | Run /blog google setup. List Tier 0 commands (API key only). |
| Service account lacks GSC access | Add client_email in GSC > Settings > Users and permissions > Add user, at the minimum level that works (Restricted for Performance data, Full for URL Inspection); do not grant Owner. See references/auth-setup.md. |
| CrUX data unavailable (404) | Insufficient Chrome traffic. Use PSI lab data as fallback. |
| GA4 property not found | Find property ID in GA4 Admin > Property Details. |
| Indexing API quota exceeded | 200/day limit. Stop; only eligible job or livestream URLs belong here. |
| Rate limit (429) | Wait and retry with exponential backoff. |