Ranking Data

How it works

Google Search Console (GSC) tracks every query that brings your site an impression or click. ZensInk connects to the GSC API to pull this data — which queries rank, what position, what CTR.

This is your own data, not estimates. It’s the most accurate picture of how Google sees your site.

Setup

1. Verify your site in Google Search Console

Add your domain at search.google.com/search-console. Verify ownership (DNS TXT record is easiest for domain properties).

2. Create OAuth credentials

ZensInk needs read-only API access. Create a Desktop OAuth client in Google Cloud Console, then run the one-time setup script:

python3 -m zens_ink.setup_gsc

This opens a browser to authorize and saves credentials to ~/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json.

3. Configure your site URL

In .env:

GSC_SITE_URL=sc-domain:example.com

Use sc-domain: for domain properties, or https:// for URL-prefix properties.

Usage

Top queries

See which search queries bring you the most impressions:

python3 -m zens_ink.search_performance --queries

Top pages

See which pages get the most search traffic:

python3 -m zens_ink.search_performance --pages

Filter by page path

Zoom into a specific section:

python3 -m zens_ink.search_performance --page /blog/

Date range

python3 -m zens_ink.search_performance --start 2025-01-01 --end 2025-06-30

Country breakdown

python3 -m zens_ink.search_performance --country

Output format

================================================================================
  sc-domain:example.com | query | 2025-01-01 - 2025-06-25
  47 rows | 3402 impressions | 89 clicks
================================================================================

  seo tools free                        imp=  420  clk= 12  CTR=2.9%  pos= 12.4
  keyword research tool                 imp=  310  clk=  8  CTR=2.6%  pos= 15.1
  best ai seo tool                      imp=  180  clk=  5  CTR=2.8%  pos= 18.7