> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theaitracker.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Google Search Console

> Connect Search Console for search performance and to see how your AI-cited pages rank.

Search Console supplies the search half of the picture: clicks, impressions and
average position, plus the per-page and per-query detail that powers two of the
most useful sections on the Traffic page.

It is connected separately from Google Analytics and **can use a different
Google account** — useful when analytics and search access sit with different
people.

## What you need

* A verified Search Console property for the brand's domain.
* A Google account with at least **Restricted** access to it.

## Connect

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Integrations">
    **Brand Hub → Integrations**, with the right brand selected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Search Console">
    Sign in and approve access. You can reuse an already-connected Google
    account or add a different one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the site">
    Select the property for this brand. Both domain properties and URL-prefix
    properties work — AI Tracker tries the domain property first, then the
    `www` and bare-domain URL prefixes, since accounts differ in which was
    verified.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Let the backfill run">
    Around 400 days of history imports within minutes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What it adds

| Section | What Search Console provides |
| - | - |
| **Google search performance** | Daily clicks, impressions and average position. Position is impression-weighted, so a day with one lucky impression at position 2 doesn't distort the average |
| **Pages cited in AI answers** | Search performance for the pages that AI answers cited, so you can see whether a page the AI trusts is also ranking |
| **AI opportunity queries** | Non-brand queries with 200+ impressions and under 1% click-through over 90 days |

### Why opportunity queries matter

A query where you get impressions but almost no clicks is one where search
already considers you relevant and users don't choose you. That is exactly the
question worth putting to an AI assistant — which is why this list also feeds
prompt suggestions.

<Note>
  These use a fixed 90-day window regardless of the page's date filter.
  Impression and click-through thresholds mean nothing over seven days.
</Note>

## Reporting lag

Search Console reports roughly **two days behind**. AI Tracker re-collects the
most recent days on every nightly refresh so the recent window heals itself as
Google fills it in — expect the last day or two to firm up rather than being
final on first sight.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="No sites listed after signing in">
    That Google account has no Search Console access. Sign in with the account
    that can see the property, or get access granted first.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The site is listed but returns nothing">
    Usually a property-type mismatch: the verified property covers `www` while
    the brand domain is bare, or vice versa. Verifying a domain property in
    Search Console covers every variant and resolves it permanently.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Recent days are missing">
    Expected — Search Console lags about two days. They appear on subsequent
    refreshes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Opportunity queries are empty">
    Either the site doesn't yet have queries clearing 200 impressions over 90
    days, or the ones that do are branded. Branded queries are excluded by
    design.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Cited pages show no search data">
    The cited page may be too new or too low-traffic to appear in Search
    Console. It is still a genuine citation — the AI platform used it as a
    source regardless of how it ranks.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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