Connect Google Search Console

Connect Google Search Console to ProjectHQ to see your real Google clicks, impressions, queries and positions.

Google Search Console is Google's own record of how your site appears in search: which searches show your pages, how often people click, and where you rank. Connect it to ProjectHQ and you get that data in the Search Console module, plus up to 16 months of history — and the rest of ProjectHQ starts using real Google numbers instead of estimates.

The connection is read-only. ProjectHQ never changes anything in your Search Console or on your site, and you can disconnect at any time.

Before you start

Your site must already be verified in Google Search Console, and you need to sign in with a Google account that can see it. If Google doesn't list your site after you sign in, ProjectHQ shows No properties found — verify the site in Search Console first, or connect a different Google account.

Connect Google Search Console

  1. In the menu, click Integrations, then Google Search Console.

  2. Connect Google — click Connect Google Account and sign in with Google. Approve the access Google asks for, otherwise the connection can't be completed.

    Step 1 of the Google Search Console integration, Connect Google, with the Connect Google Account button

  3. Choose Property — back in ProjectHQ you see the Search Console properties of that Google account. The one that Matches your domain is already selected. A Domain property covers all subdomains and both http and https; a URL prefix property covers only the address shown. If yours isn't listed, click Not the right one? Show … other(s) in this Google account. Then click Use This Property.

    Step 2, Choose Property: the projecthq.pro domain property is selected and marked Matches your domain, with the Use This Property button

  4. Import Data — ProjectHQ starts importing up to 16 months of clicks, impressions and positions in the background. You can close the panel. Once the history is in, ProjectHQ adds a fresh day every day.

    Step 3, Import Data: Search Console connected for projecthq.pro, importing historical data, with the Disconnect button

You can also connect from the Search Console page itself: before Google is connected it shows See how Google sees your site with the same three steps and a Continue with Google button. And the setup guide has a step for it.

Tip: Rather not do it yourself? Under the connect button, click We'll set it up for you, free and leave your email — the team gets in touch to connect Google for you.

Read your search performance

Open Search Console in the menu. The page is called Search performance.

The Search performance page: Google and Bing switch, period tabs, Clicks, Impressions, Avg CTR and Avg position tiles above a chart, and the Queries table
  • Google / Bing — once Bing Webmaster Tools is connected, switch between the two engines. Their numbers are counted differently, so they are never mixed.
  • Period — 7 days, 28 days, 90 days, 6 months or 16 months. Each tile compares the period with the one before it.
  • Clicks, Impressions, Avg CTR and Avg position — click a tile to show or hide it on the chart. A lower position is better, so a falling average position counts as an improvement. CTR changes are shown in percentage points (pp).
  • Queries, Pages, Countries, Devices — the table below breaks the period down. Click a column header to sort. The CTR badge turns green when a row clicks well above your site's average and amber when it's well below; the dot next to the position is green for positions 1–3, lime for 4–10 and amber for 11–20.

On the Pages tab, click a page to see its own numbers and the Queries driving this page:

The panel for the /features/content-planner page with its clicks, impressions, CTR and position and the queries driving this page

Google reports with a delay of about two days; the line at the top right says Data through which date. While the history is still importing, the comparisons wait until the import finishes.

Where else Google data shows up

  • Rank Tracker adds the GSC Impr., GSC Clicks and Google Pos. columns to your keywords.
  • Webpages gets a Google Index column that tells you which pages Google has indexed.
  • Insights can spot queries that rank but don't get clicked, pages close to page one, pages Google hasn't indexed, and content that is slipping.
  • In the article editor, the Performance section of a published article shows its Google clicks, impressions and top queries for the last 28 days, and whether Google has indexed it — click Check now to ask. See Edit and review an article.

Disconnect

Open Integrations → Google Search Console and click Disconnect, then confirm. ProjectHQ's access is revoked at Google and the daily sync stops. Data you already imported is kept, so reconnecting later doesn't need a full import.

If something goes wrong

What you see What to do
Google connection was cancelled. You closed the Google window or declined. Click Connect Google Account again.
Search Console access was not granted. Please approve all requested permissions. Connect again and leave the Search Console permission ticked.
The connection to Google stopped working (access may have been revoked). Someone removed ProjectHQ's access in the Google account. Connect again to resume syncing.
The data import hit a snag. It retries on its own. If it keeps showing, disconnect and connect again.
Connect Google Search Console — ProjectHQ Docs