Howseen Academy › Module 4: Use Howseen step by step
Howseen Academy · Lesson 4.2
Connect Google Search Console
One Google sign-in, and Howseen can check that Google indexed each page you publish, show your Google clicks, and find questions Google already sends you.
By Raphaël Aubry, founder of Howseen AI · Updated By the end of this lesson, you can
- Prepare a verified Search Console property
- Connect it to Howseen and turn on auto-indexing
- Fix the common error messages on your own
Before you start
What do you need before connecting?
A Google account that owns, or is a user of, a verified Search Console property for your site. A Domain property is the best choice because it covers every version of your site.
“A Domain property requires you to verify ownership using DNS record verification, unless the property is on a Google product such as Blogger or Google Sites.”
- Open Google Search Console with the Google account you use for your site.
- If your site is not there yet, add a property. Choose Domain (yoursite.com) if you can edit your DNS, URL prefix otherwise.
- Follow Google's verification steps. For a Domain property, this means adding a DNS record at your domain provider.
- Submit your sitemap in Search Console, under Sitemaps.
Google explains both property types in Search Console Help, Add a website property. A Domain property covers all subdomains and both http and https, a URL-prefix property only the exact prefix you enter.
Tip. Once your site is verified in Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools can import it, with no second verification (Bing Webmaster Blog). That is lesson 4.3.
Step by step
How do you connect Search Console to Howseen?
From Settings, open Integrations, find the Search engine indexing card, and click the Google button. Pick the Google account that owns your property and accept.
- In Howseen, open Settings → Integrations.
- Scroll to the Search engine indexing card, below the publishing platforms.
- On the Google line, click Connect Google Search Console.
- Choose the Google account that has access to your Search Console property, then allow the access Google asks for.
- You come back to Settings. The Google line now shows Auto-indexing on.
Tip. Already connected Google from the Analytics page? Then the button reads Enable auto-indexing on Google. Click it to add sitemap submission: Google asks once more for Search Console access.
You can also connect from Analytics → Google Search Console tab → Connect Google Search Console. Only the account owner can connect Google: team members see a message instead of the button.
What you get
What does the connection unlock?
Indexing checks for every article, your Google clicks and queries inside Howseen, and new actions built from what Google already shows you for.
- Auto-indexing: after each publish, Howseen re-submits your sitemap to Search Console, then checks the real index status of the article on day 1, day 3 and day 7.
- Index badges in Content History: Pending, Indexed ✓ or Not indexed, with a Request indexing link.
- Search data in Analytics: impressions, clicks, CTR, average position and top queries.
- Google-confirmed actions in the Action Plan, for example a page stuck on page 2 of Google, or a query with no page that answers it.
- Google demand badges in the Content Plan, on questions people also search on Google.
Google offers no API for the Request indexing button. Howseen opens the page in your Search Console and you click Request indexing there (Search Console Help, URL Inspection tool). Indexing matters for AI because Google only shows indexed pages in AI Overviews and AI Mode (Google Search Central, AI features and your website).
Troubleshooting
What do the error messages mean?
Most errors come from the Google account used: it has no access to the property, or the property does not cover the URL. Each message says what to do.
| You see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not in Search Console | No property covers these URLs | Add and verify the site in Search Console with the connected account |
| No access | The connected account cannot read that property | Reconnect with an account that owns or is a user of the property |
| Reconnect | Your Google access expired or was revoked | Click Reconnect Google or connect again from Settings |
| Quota reached | Google's daily inspection limit is used up | Nothing to do: checks resume the next day |
| Rate limited | Too many checks at once | Try again in a minute |
Questions, answered
Is the Search Console connection included in my plan?+
Yes, it works on every plan. It needs the account owner to sign in with Google.
Domain or URL-prefix property: which one should I choose?+
Domain if you can add a DNS record: it covers all versions of your site. URL prefix otherwise, but then use the exact address of your site, with https and www if you use them.
Why does Howseen ask for Search Console write access?+
To submit your sitemap after each publish, which is what turns on auto-indexing. Without it, Howseen can still read index status and search data.
Can Howseen click Request indexing for me?+
No. Google offers no API for that button. Howseen opens the page in your Search Console so you can click it in one step.
I connected Google but see no data. Why?+
The Google account you used may not have access to the property for your site, or the property is new and Google has not collected data yet. Check the message on the Analytics page.
Connect Google and see what AI misses
Start the 3-day free trial, connect Search Console in two minutes, and let Howseen check that every page you publish is indexed and ready to be cited.
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