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Use HireOtto to answer two practical Search Console questions from your AI client:
  1. Which queries and pages deserve action?
  2. What does Google currently know about an important URL?
HireOtto can retrieve clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position; break results down by query, page, country, device, date, hour, or search appearance; export up to 25,000 rows; list submitted sitemaps; and inspect Google’s indexed version of a URL. Search Console access is read-only. HireOtto cannot change a property, submit or remove a sitemap, request indexing, run a live URL test, edit a canonical, or change your website.

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Before you start

You need:
  • HireOtto connected to an MCP-capable AI client
  • Search Console authorized separately through HireOtto
  • A Google login that can access the property you want to review
  • The exact Search Console property value, such as sc-domain:example.com or https://www.example.com/
Search Console tools currently use HireOtto’s Google Ads MCP endpoint:
Connecting that endpoint does not authorize Search Console automatically. Follow the Search Console quickstart if you have not completed the separate Google permission flow.

List the Search Console properties available to my default profile. Include the exact site_url and permission level for each property. Do not run a performance report or inspect any URLs.

Copy the returned site_url exactly. A domain property looks like sc-domain:example.com. A URL-prefix property looks like https://www.example.com/; its protocol, subdomain, and trailing slash matter.
Search Console is available on HireOtto Free, Starter, Pro, and Agency. The default connection uses the default profile. Current public plan guidance reserves additional named profiles for Agency.

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Choose the right workflow

Use performance data to identify where to investigate. Use URL inspection to check Google’s indexed information for a specific page. Neither result, by itself, proves what is happening in the browser right now or what caused a performance change.

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Workflow 1: Turn Search performance into decisions

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1. Define the question before the dimensions

Start with the decision you need to make. Then request only the dimensions required to answer it. Adding dimensions makes the result more granular. It can also fragment the data and increase Search Console query load. Begin with one or two dimensions, then drill into the rows that matter.

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2. Use a completed date range

For routine analysis, use finalized data and end the range at yesterday or earlier. Search Console interprets start_date and end_date in Pacific Time, and both dates are inclusive.

For property sc-domain:example.com, return the top 50 organic queries for the previous 28 complete days, ending yesterday. Include clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. Use finalized web-search data, show the rows inline, and identify only evidence-backed opportunities. Do not change anything.

Use fresh data only when the most recent activity matters more than completeness. Hourly reporting requires the hour dimension and hourly data. Treat fresh and hourly results as directional because recent data can be incomplete.

For property sc-domain:example.com, show web-search performance by hour for yesterday. Include clicks and impressions, use hourly data, flag that the result may be partial, and keep the output inline.

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3. Filter deliberately

Search Console filters are combined with AND logic. Supported filter dimensions are country, device, page, query, and searchAppearance. Supported operators are:
  • equals
  • contains
  • notEquals
  • notContains
  • includingRegex
  • excludingRegex
Country filters use three-letter country codes such as USA, IND, and GBR. Device values are DESKTOP, MOBILE, and TABLET. Regex filters use RE2 syntax.

For property sc-domain:example.com, analyze web-search queries in the United States for the previous 90 complete days. Exclude queries containing example or example.com, return clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position, and export up to 25,000 rows. Group the strongest opportunities by search intent, but preserve the exact raw query in the evidence.

Do not infer that a missing row has zero demand. Search Console may omit anonymized queries, and the API returns top rows rather than guaranteeing every possible row.

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4. Keep output appropriate to the job

Use summary for a quick review, summary_and_csv for most analysis, and csv_only when the export is the deliverable. No CSV is created when the report returns zero rows. Download signed exports before they expire; rerun the report if a link has expired. HireOtto makes one Search Console request per performance call and does not currently paginate beyond the first 25,000 rows. A CSV export is therefore a larger slice of the available top rows, not a promise of complete Search Console data.

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5. Separate evidence from interpretation

Search Console returns:
  • Clicks
  • Impressions
  • CTR as a decimal from 0 to 1
  • Average position
Rows are generally sorted by clicks in descending order. A report grouped by date is returned chronologically. Use the metrics as evidence, then add the commercial and editorial context Search Console does not contain:
  • What the page is meant to do
  • Whether the query is branded, commercial, navigational, or informational
  • Whether the page changed during the period
  • Whether seasonality, a launch, or a migration affected the comparison
  • Whether the site has another page serving the same intent
Do not treat average position as a fixed rank for every searcher. Do not treat high impressions and low CTR as an automatic title-tag rewrite. First check query intent, page relevance, search appearance, brand presence, and the size of the evidence.

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Compare two periods safely

Run the same property, search type, dimensions, filters, and aggregation for both periods. Use complete, equal-length periods and keep the raw values next to percentage changes. If a page launched midway through one period, or the comparison crosses a seasonal event, label that structural difference.

For property sc-domain:example.com, compare page-level web-search performance for the previous 28 complete days with the 28 complete days immediately before that. Use finalized data and identical settings for both periods. Show clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position for each period, plus absolute and percentage changes. Flag small denominators, new or missing pages, and any conclusion that needs another check. Export the underlying rows.

If the AI client runs two separate reports, verify that both used the same site_url, dimensions, filters, search type, and date conventions before accepting the comparison.

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Workflow 2: Inspect Google’s indexed version of a URL

Use URL inspection after performance analysis identifies an important page, or when a new, updated, or business-critical URL needs an index-status check.

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1. Select the correct property

The full inspection_url must belong to the selected site_url. A domain property can cover protocols and subdomains for the domain. A URL-prefix property covers only its exact prefix.

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2. Ask for the fields that support a diagnosis

For Search Console property sc-domain:example.com, inspect https://www.example.com/pricing. Return Google's verdict, coverage state, robots.txt state, indexing state, page-fetch state, last crawl time, Google-selected canonical, and user-declared canonical. Explain what is confirmed, what is only suggested, and what needs a live-page check. Do not request indexing or change anything.

HireOtto can return:
  • Verdict and coverage state
  • Robots.txt and indexing states
  • Page-fetch state
  • Last crawl time
  • Google-selected canonical
  • User-declared canonical
  • Additional URL Inspection details returned by Google
URL Inspection reports the version currently known in Google’s index. It cannot test the live URL, request indexing, recrawl the page, or change robots and canonical settings.

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3. Complete the diagnosis outside the indexed report

An indexed-URL result is one layer of evidence. When a page looks wrong or stale, also check:
  1. The live HTTP response and redirects
  2. The rendered page and canonical tag
  3. Robots directives and robots.txt
  4. Internal links and sitemap inclusion
  5. Recent deployments, migrations, or URL changes
  6. Search Console’s live inspection tools when a live test is required
Label the conclusion carefully:
  • Confirmed: directly reported for Google’s indexed version
  • Likely: supported by the indexed result and another source
  • Needs live validation: cannot be established from the indexed result alone

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Review submitted sitemaps

HireOtto can list sitemaps submitted for a Search Console property. It does not submit, remove, edit, fetch, or validate sitemap XML on the live website.

For Search Console property sc-domain:example.com, list the submitted sitemaps. Summarize the sitemap path, status, last submitted and downloaded dates, warnings, errors, and content counts when Google returns them. Do not submit, remove, or modify any sitemap.

If a sitemap is missing from the list, check whether you selected the correct property and Google login before concluding that it was never submitted. Search Console and Google Ads describe different systems. Search Console reports organic visibility and clicks. Google Ads reports paid delivery, cost, and tracked conversions. Keep each dataset intact, align the date range, market, device, and query treatment, then compare them at the decision layer.

For the previous 90 complete days, compare Google Search Console queries for sc-domain:example.com with Google Ads search terms for the matching market and device scope. Preserve the raw query from each platform. Create four review queues: paid and organic overlap, paid-only converting demand, organic strength without paid coverage, and insufficient evidence. Keep paid cost and conversions separate from organic clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. Do not pause keywords, add keywords, or change campaigns.

Use the output to form hypotheses, not automatic budget decisions. Organic visibility does not prove paid search is non-incremental, and a paid-only query does not prove that a new SEO page should be created.

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Parameters and defaults

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Search performance

Leave aggregation_type unset unless you need a specific calculation. Do not use byProperty when grouping or filtering by page. byProperty is also unavailable for Discover and Google News reports.

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URL inspection and resources

See the Search Console MCP tools reference for tool-by-tool details and request shapes.

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Access, credits, and limits

  • Search Console is available now on Free, Starter, Pro, and Agency.
  • Search Console access is read-only.
  • Each successful property, sitemap, URL-inspection, or performance request uses 5 HireOtto credits. Agency includes unlimited credits.
  • Authentication starts the permission flow but does not retrieve Search Console data.
  • The default Google connection is default; current public plan guidance reserves additional named profiles for Agency.
  • Inline output is limited to 5,000 rows per performance request.
  • CSV output is limited to 25,000 rows per performance request.
  • Signed CSV links default to 30 minutes and can be set from 1 minute to 24 hours.
  • Google may return fewer rows than requested and does not guarantee every possible row.
  • Search Analytics and URL Inspection have separate Google quotas.
  • Large date ranges and queries grouped or filtered by both page and query consume more Search Console load.

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Common failures

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Search Console is not connected

Complete the separate Search Console authorization. A working HireOtto or Google Ads connection does not grant Search Console access.

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No properties appear

Confirm that the same Google login can open the property directly in Search Console. Successful authorization proves which identity was connected; it does not prove that the identity has property access.

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The property or URL is rejected

List properties again and copy the exact site_url. For a URL-prefix property, confirm the protocol, subdomain, and trailing slash. For URL inspection, confirm that the full URL belongs to the selected property.

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A named profile is blocked

Use the default profile or confirm that the account includes multiple-profile access. Current public plan guidance reserves additional profiles for Agency.

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A report returns no rows

Check the property, date range, search type, dimensions, filters, and selected profile. An empty result can mean there is no matching data, the filter is too narrow, recent data is not finalized, or the selected login cannot access the intended property.

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A parameter combination fails

Check for an unsupported dimension or search type, an invalid date, a filter with the wrong shape, or an incompatible aggregation. Avoid byProperty when a page dimension or page filter is present.

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A quota error appears

Wait before retrying. Then shorten the date range, remove unnecessary page or query grouping and filtering, and avoid repeatedly requesting the same large dataset. Rerun the report and download the new file before its expiry time.

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The result differs from the Search Console interface

Align the property, search type, dates, dimensions, filters, and aggregation. Search Console may omit anonymized or lower-volume rows, and its API returns top rows rather than guaranteeing a complete table.

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Practical checklist

Before acting on a Search Console finding:
  • Confirm the Google login and exact property
  • Use complete dates unless recent data is intentionally required
  • Keep dimensions and filters tied to the question
  • Preserve raw clicks, impressions, CTR, and position
  • Check sample size before interpreting a rate
  • Inspect important URLs under the correct property
  • Treat indexed information separately from live-page behavior
  • Bring in content, conversion, and commercial context
  • Keep Google Ads metrics separate in cross-platform analysis
  • Record what is confirmed, likely, and still unverified

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Sources