# Google Search Console Connection

RankWiz imports search performance data from Google Search Console (GSC) to power its traffic analysis. The connection uses Google OAuth with read-only access.

## Prerequisites

- A Google account
- A verified Search Console property for your website (verify at [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console))

## Connecting

1. On your site's onboarding page, click **Connect Google Search Console**
2. You'll be redirected to Google's consent screen
3. Select the Google account that owns the Search Console property
4. Grant RankWiz **read-only** access to your Search Console data
5. You'll be redirected back to RankWiz

After connecting, RankWiz automatically starts importing your historical search data. This backfill covers the last 90 days and runs in the background.

## What Data Is Imported

RankWiz imports the following metrics from GSC:

- **Clicks** — how many times users clicked your pages in search results
- **Impressions** — how many times your pages appeared in search results
- **CTR** — click-through rate (clicks / impressions)
- **Average position** — your average ranking position in search results

Data is broken down by:

- **Page** — individual URLs on your site
- **Query** — search terms users typed
- **Device** — desktop, mobile, or tablet
- **Country** — where the searcher is located

## Data Freshness

GSC data lags 2-3 days behind real-time. This is a Google limitation — RankWiz cannot access data more recent than this.

The analysis page shows the latest available date so you know how current your data is.

## Automatic Sync

After the initial backfill, RankWiz syncs new data once daily (at 3 AM UTC). No manual action is required.

**Limit:** 1 sync per site per day.

## Data Retention

Imported data is retained for 90 days. Older data is automatically cleaned up.

## Disconnecting

1. Go to your site's onboarding page
2. Click **Disconnect** on the Google Search Console card
3. Confirm the action

Previously imported data is retained until the site is deleted.

## Troubleshooting

**"Failed to connect Google Search Console"**
- Ensure you selected the correct Google account that owns the Search Console property
- Verify that your site's property is verified in Google Search Console
- Try disconnecting and reconnecting

**No data appearing after connection**
- The initial backfill may take a few minutes — check back shortly
- If the site is new to Search Console, there may not be enough data yet
- GSC data lags 2-3 days, so very recent activity won't appear immediately

**"Property not found" or empty data**
- Confirm the domain in RankWiz matches your verified GSC property exactly
- GSC properties can be domain-level (`example.com`) or URL-prefix (`https://example.com/`) — ensure they match