Google API

• 1. Steps to Create an Indexing API Project
  • 1.1 Go to the Google API Console and create a new project
  • 1.2 Now create a Service Account
  • 1.3 Add the Service Account as an owner of your Google Search Console Property
• 2. Configure the Plugin
  • 2.1 Insert your API Key in the plugin settings

1. Steps to Create an Indexing API Project

1.1 Go to the Google API Console and create a new project

Ensure that you’re creating a new Indexing API project which you can do automatically by clicking here. And then click continue.

If subsequent to clicking Continue, you see the following screen, then you’ve successfully created the project:

Please note: There is no need to click ‘Go to Credentials’ button. You can close this tab.

1.2 Now create a Service Account

Once you’ve created your project, create a service account by opening the service accounts page. You will first be prompted to select the API project you wish to create this service account in (the one created in the previous step).

After selecting the project you wish to create a service account for, you’ll be taken to the following page, where you simply need to click the Create Service Account button highlighted below:

On the Create service account screen, enter a name and description for the newly created service account.

Select and copy the whole Service Account ID (the one that looks like an email address) because you will need it later. Then, click on the Create button at the bottom:

Click Create and Continue to proceed to the next step, where you need to change the role to Owner and, as you might’ve guessed, click continue once again…

Once you’ve set the role to Owner as shown above, simply click continue to save that change and then click done.

You will then be able to download the file that contains your API key. To do so, simply click the three vertical dots in the Actions column, and then select Manage keys as shown below:

You will then be taken to the following page when you can click Add Key and then select the Create new key option, as shown below:

Choose the default JSON format when prompted in the overlay, and click Create:

Upon clicking Create the .json file will be automatically downloaded in your browser meaning you’ve successfully created the API key & can proceed to the next step…

1.3 Add the Service Account as an owner of your Google Search Console Property

To do this, you’ll need to register and verify your website with the Google Search Console (if you haven’t done so already) which is super easy: just follow the recommended steps to verify ownership of your property.

After verifying your property, open the Google Search Console, select your property on the left (if prompted), and then click on Settings near the bottom:

Click on Users and Permissions:

Click on the three dots next to your account, and then click on Add User.

A popup will now appear. Enter the Service account ID (the one you copied out earlier) in the Email address field. Ensure that you’ve provided Owner level Permission and then click Add.

Now in a few moments, you should see the Service account listed as a new Owner.

You can use a single Project, Service Account, and JSON API Key across multiple sites, just make sure that the Service Account is added as Owner for all the sites in the Search Console.

2. Configure the Plugin

2.1 Insert your API Key in the plugin settings