Documentation · Connections

Connect Search Console

Give Ivy Link your Google Search Console data: add its address as a user, sign in with Google, or upload an export. Change or remove access any time.

Search Console data is what makes your report and your agents' work specific to your site. It shows the searches people use to find you, how often your pages appear, and how often people click. Without it, reports and checks use public ranking data instead.

There are three ways to give Ivy Link your search data:

Way	Keeps numbers current	Sends sitemaps to Google	Best when
Add Ivy Link's address as a user	Yes, every day	Yes, with Full or owner permission	You can manage users on the property.
Sign in with Google	Yes, every day	Yes, if you choose Read search data and send sitemaps	You'd rather sign in than add a user.
Upload an export	No, it's a snapshot	No	You can see the property but can't add users to it.

Where to connect

The Search Console page is at app.ivyl.ink/search-console. It isn't in the top navigation. Get there from:

Settings > Connections. The Search Console card has a Connect, Reconnect or Manage button. See Settings.
Step 1 of onboarding, Add your search data. See Sign up. You can also click Skip there. Your report then uses public ranking data.

When you haven't connected yet, the page is headed Connect Search Console. The lead says Ivy Link uses your Search Console data to find the searches you're missing. If the page shows only the Google sign-in, with no address to add, sign in with Google as described below.

Ivy Link only accepts the Search Console property for your site's own address. One property can belong to only one Ivy Link site. If you see That property is already connected to another Ivy Link account., email hello@ivyl.ink and we'll sort it out.

Add Ivy Link's address as a user

This is the first way the page shows you. It takes about a minute, and you can remove the address any time.

Open app.ivyl.ink/search-console.
Click the Users and permissions link. It opens Search Console. Choose the property for your site.
In Search Console, click Add user. Back on the Ivy Link page, click Copy next to Ivy Link's address, then paste it into Search Console. Always copy the address from the page.
Set Permission to Full and click Add. Full access lets Ivy Link submit sitemaps for the pages it ships. It can't add users or change your settings.
Come back to Ivy Link and click Check access.

When it works, you see Connected. Your search data is loading now and will appear here in a minute or two.

If Ivy Link can't find the property, you see a message that it can't see a Search Console property for your site yet. Check that you added the address to the property for your site's address, then click Check access again.

You can give the address Restricted permission instead of Full. Ivy Link can then read your search data, but it can't send your sitemaps to Google.

On the Search Console page, open Or sign in with Google instead.

Under What Ivy Link can do in Search Console, choose one:
- Read search data and send sitemaps (Recommended, the default). Ivy Link reads your clicks, impressions and keywords, and sends Google your sitemaps when they change so new pages get crawled sooner.
- Read search data only. Ivy Link reads your clicks, impressions and keywords. It won't send sitemaps.
Click Connect with Google.
Choose the Google account that owns the property for your site.
On Google's screen, leave Search Console ticked and agree. Google shows what Ivy Link is asking for before you agree.

Ivy Link then finds the property that matches your site's address.

In onboarding step 1, Connect with Google works the same way. It always asks to read search data and send sitemaps, and it returns you to step 1. Once connected, step 1 shows Connected: and your property, and the button becomes Reconnect Google.

Finish signing in within 15 minutes, in the same browser you started in. Otherwise you see That sign-in expired or started in another tab. Connect again.

Message	What to do
Google sign-in was canceled, so nothing changed.	Click Connect with Google again when you're ready.
Google didn't give Ivy Link access to Search Console.	Connect again, and leave Search Console ticked on Google's screen.
A card headed *Add your site* to Search Console**	The account you chose doesn't have your site in Search Console. Follow the steps below.
A card headed Finish verifying your site	Your site is in Search Console, but Google hasn't confirmed you own it yet. Click Open Search Console, choose your site and follow Google's steps to verify it. Then click Connect with Google again.
Search Console didn't respond. Try again in a minute.	Wait a minute and try again.

To add your site to Search Console:

Click Open Search Console, then click Add property.
Choose Domain and enter your site's address. A Domain property covers every version of the address.
Verify that you own it. Google gives you a TXT record to add to your domain's DNS, and can add it for you at some DNS providers.
Come back to Ivy Link and click Connect with Google again.

If your site is already in Search Console, it's under a different Google account. Connect again and choose that account. You can also open Or add Ivy Link's address instead on the same page.

Upload an export

If you can't add users to the property, anyone who can see it in Search Console can export its numbers instead. On the Search Console page, open Or upload an export. In onboarding step 1, click Upload CSVs.

Open Performance in Search Console and choose the property for your site.
Set the date range to the last 3 months.
Click Export, then Download CSV. You get a zip file.
Upload the zip, or the CSV files in it, and click Upload export.

You see Export saved. Ivy Link uses these numbers until you upload a newer export or connect Search Console.

Upload limits: up to 20 files and 10 MB in total. A standard export has 7 files.

What the export needs

Export the site's plain totals. Ivy Link tells you what's wrong if the export doesn't fit:

Problem	Fix
The export is for another search type, not Web	Set Search type to Web and export again.
The export compares two date ranges	Turn Compare off, pick one date range, and export again.
The export is filtered to a page, search or device	Set Search type to Web, add no filters, and export again.
The export is for another domain	Export the property for your site's address.
The files aren't a Search Console export	Open Performance, then Export > Download CSV. Upload that zip.
The zip can't be opened or is damaged	Download the export again and upload the zip as Search Console gives it.
Too many files, or the files are too big	Upload one export: its zip, or the 7 CSV files in it.
The files hold two copies of the same table	Upload each export's zip as Search Console downloads it, not CSV files from more than one export.
The export has no days or searches	Export again with a date range that has clicks.

What you see with an export

The page lead says Ivy Link is using the export you uploaded and the date, followed by Connect Search Console to keep these numbers current. Below it:

Tiles: Clicks a month, Impressions a month and Searches in the export.
Top searches: your 15 top searches by clicks, with Clicks, Impressions and Position.
Upload a newer export, to replace it.
Delete export. You're asked to confirm, then you see Export deleted. Ivy Link no longer uses it.
Keep it current, with the ways to connect.

An export lists up to your top 1,000 searches, but not which page Google showed for each.

An export is a snapshot. Ivy Link uses it for your SEO plan and gives it to its agents until you upload a newer one or connect. The weekly keyword review and the daily search checks need a connection. Once you connect, Ivy Link uses your live data instead of the export.

Once you're connected

The page shows your property at the top. The lead says one of:

Your search data is loading. Refresh in a minute or two. This shows right after you connect.
Connected as your Google account, and when it was last updated, if you signed in with Google.
Connected with owner, Full or Restricted access, and when it was last updated, if you added the address.

Below that you see:

Clicks, last 28 days and Impressions, last 28 days, compared with the 28 days before.
Clicks per day, a chart covering up to 90 days.
Sitemaps: see Sitemaps.
Keywords: your top searches (up to 100) by clicks over the last 28 days, against the 28 days before. Columns are Search, Clicks, Impressions, Position and Change. Change shows how far the position moved up or down, or New. Google finalizes each day's numbers two to three days later.
Access: how Ivy Link reaches the property. See Change access or disconnect.

On Settings > Connections, the Search Console card shows Connected and your property. It also says whether Ivy Link sends Google your sitemaps.

Sitemaps

With Full or owner permission, or a Google sign-in with Read search data and send sitemaps, Ivy Link checks your sitemaps about every hour while your agents are on. It sends Google any that changed, so new and updated pages get crawled sooner. It uses the sitemaps your robots.txt lists, or /sitemap.xml if it lists none.

The Sitemaps table has these columns:

Column	What it shows
Sitemap	The sitemap's address.
Lists	How many pages, or sitemaps, it lists.
Sent to Google	When Ivy Link last sent it, or Not yet.
Google read it	When Google last read it, or Not yet.
Google's report	What Google found: pages, errors and warnings, or Waiting for Google to read it.

Right after you connect, the table may say The first check runs in the next few minutes.

If Ivy Link can't send sitemaps, the section shows a notice instead of the table:

Read-only Google sign-in: click Give full access and approve on Google's screen.
Restricted permission: in Search Console, change Ivy Link's permission (or your Google account's) to Full. Then click Check access.

Change access or disconnect

Open app.ivyl.ink/search-console and go to Access.

Change what Ivy Link can do

If you signed in with Google: open Change what Ivy Link can do, choose Read search data and send sitemaps or Read search data only, and click Update with Google.
If you added Ivy Link's address: change its permission in Search Console under Users and permissions, then click Check access if the page shows it. To switch to a Google sign-in, open Connect with Google instead.

Disconnect

Click Disconnect Search Console.
Confirm. You see Disconnected. Ivy Link stopped reading Search Console and deleted the search data it copied.
If you connected by adding Ivy Link's address, also remove that address from the property's users in Search Console.

When you disconnect, Ivy Link:

Stops reading Search Console, and its agents stop using your search data.
Deletes the search data and sitemap checks it copied.
Deletes the 7, 28 and 56-day search checks of finished work. They wait until you connect again.
Removes its access from your Google account, if you signed in with Google. If another Ivy Link site uses the same Google account, Ivy Link keeps that access so the other site stays connected.

You can also remove Ivy Link from your Google account's settings at Google. If you uploaded an export too, Access shows a separate Delete export button.

If Ivy Link loses access

If you remove Ivy Link in Search Console or at Google, the Search Console card in Settings > Connections shows Access removed and a Reconnect button. The Search Console page says Ivy Link can't read your property anymore:

If you signed in with Google, connect with Google again to pick up where it left off.
If you added the address, add it again, then click Check access.

If you click Check access on a Google sign-in that you removed at Google, you see Google says Ivy Link no longer has access. Connect with Google again.

What Ivy Link reads and why

What it reads	Why
Daily clicks and impressions for your site, Web search only	To show your traffic and measure how it changes.
The searches you appear for, with clicks, impressions and position	To find the searches you're missing and plan keywords and content.
For each page it changed: whether Google has indexed it, and that page's clicks, impressions and position	To check that Google indexed the page 7 days after the change ships, and to compare the page's 28 days before the change with the 28 days up to day 28 and day 56 after it. See Results.
Your sitemaps and Google's report on them	To send changed sitemaps so new pages get crawled sooner.

When you first connect, Ivy Link reads about 120 days of totals and 56 days of searches, so changes show at once. After that it updates every day. It keeps up to 16 months of search data.

With Full permission, Ivy Link can submit sitemaps. It can't add users or change your Search Console settings. With Read search data only or Restricted permission, it only reads.

If you sign in with Google, Ivy Link keeps an encrypted sign-in tied to your site, not your password.

Ivy Link uses your data to find opportunities. It can't promise rankings. See Terms and Privacy.

Last updated October 31, 2026

Something here not match what you see? Email hello@ivyl.ink and we'll fix the page.