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Give us read-only access to Search Console

Search Console is Google’s record of which searches bring people to the site, and whether Google can find the pages.

Why we need it

We need that record to say which searches bring people in, and whether Google can find the pages. That goes in the tracking section of a Teardown+.

The address to add

Add this address, and only this address. It’s the one we use to read. It isn’t a person, and it has no inbox.

reader@soberread.iam.gserviceaccount.com

It ends in gserviceaccount.com. That’s the right address. Copy it. Typing it is easy to get wrong.

We can’t change anything

Make us a Restricted user. A Restricted user can see the reports. A Restricted user can’t add other people or change the settings. We can’t change the site with this access.

How to add us

  1. Sign in to Search Console with the Google account that manages the site.
  2. Select the property for the site we’re reading. A Domain property is the site name on its own, with no https and no slash. A URL-prefix property is one full address, starting with https. Either kind is fine.
  3. Open Settings.
  4. Open Users and permissions.
  5. Choose Add user.
  6. Paste the address above.
  7. Set the permission to Restricted.
  8. Add the user.

How to remove us after we deliver

When the report is in your inbox, take the address off.

  1. Open the same property, then Settings, then Users and permissions.
  2. Find the address.
  3. Open the menu on that row and remove the user.

You can remove it sooner if you want. We can’t remove it ourselves.

If something goes wrong

The email wasn’t found

Google sometimes says this address wasn’t found, or that it isn’t a Google account. That happens because the address isn’t a normal inbox. Paste the whole address, with no space before or after it. Don’t pick a different address from a list of suggestions. If you see a tick for emailing the new user, leave it off, then add the user again. If the message stays, wait a minute and use the same steps again. If it still fails, email hello@soberread.com. Don’t add a different address to get past the message.

The wrong property

Open the property for the site you asked us to read. A Domain property and a URL-prefix property are both fine when they are that site. A property for a different address won’t help. You don’t need to add us to every property you own. If you have both kinds for the same site, either one lets us read. The Domain property is the one that covers the whole site name.

Restricted is enough

Restricted is the permission we need. Full and Owner can change the property and add other people. Leave those off.

If Search Console isn’t set up

You don’t need to create it for us. We still write the Teardown. If we can’t read the tracking, you choose a refund of the £30 difference, or a free follow-up later. The Teardown+ page sets out that choice.

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