# Google Search Console

> Connect Search Console so Seovyn can see each article's clicks, impressions and position, check whether Google has indexed it, and decide what to refresh and write next. Access is read-only.

Google Search Console is Google's own free record of how often your pages are shown in search and clicked. Connecting it is optional, and it's the last step of the setup checklist, but it's what turns Seovyn from a writer into something that learns.

## Connect it

:::steps
### Open Search Console on Publishing

On the **Publishing** page, find **Search Console** and choose **Connect Search Console**.

### Sign in with Google

Use the Google account that has access to your site in Search Console. Seovyn asks for **read-only** access: it can read your search data and can't change anything in Search Console.

### Pick your property

Choose the property that matches your website. Domain properties (`yourcompany.com`) and URL-prefix properties (`https://www.yourcompany.com/`) both work. Seovyn starts the first sync straight away.
:::

> [!WARNING] The property must contain the site you publish to
> A `www` property won't show data for articles on the bare domain, and the other way round. A domain property covers both.

## What Seovyn does with it

| With Search Console | What you get |
|---|---|
| **Results** | Every published article's clicks, impressions and average position over the last 28 days, compared with the 28 days before, and measured again at 30, 60 and 90 days. See [Results](/docs/results) |
| **Index checks** | For articles Google hasn't shown yet, Seovyn asks Google whether the page is indexed, and shows the answer |
| **Refreshes** | Articles that slip, or sit just off page one, are refreshed first. See [Updates and refreshes](/docs/article-updates) |
| **New snippets** | Pages that are seen but rarely clicked get a new title and description |
| **New topics** | Searches you already appear for without a strong page become keyword targets, labeled **From Google** |
| **Better sources** | Sources whose articles earn clicks are checked more often. See [Sources](/docs/sources) |
| **Cleanup** | Articles nobody searches for are flagged for you. See [Cleanup](/docs/cleanup) |

The draft's review drawer also shows a live article's clicks, impressions, click-through rate and position, and each article's top searches feed its next refresh.

## When data arrives

- **Once a day.** Seovyn syncs every day. Google's own numbers run about two days behind.
- **New articles need time.** A brand-new page has nothing to report for its first days, and usually appears in Google within two weeks. Don't judge an article in its first weeks.
- **Index checks** start once an article is three days old and Google hasn't shown it, up to 25 articles per sync, and each is checked again weekly until it appears.

If Search Console hasn't synced for three days, the activity feed on Overview tells you, so you can check the connection.

## Disconnect

Disconnect from the same card on Publishing, and Seovyn stops syncing. You can also remove Seovyn's access from your Google account at any time.

## Your sitemap

Search Console is also where you submit your sitemap, which is how Google finds new pages (Google doesn't use IndexNow). Seovyn-hosted sites and Next.js sites with Seovyn's routes have a sitemap; on a CMS, the CMS manages its own. The [Browser Agent](/docs/browser-agent) can submit it for you.