You Want to Create a Situation So That You Can Monitor
On January 31, Google released the URL Inspection API, enabling you to programmatically check the status of URLs in bulk (based on backdrop you have access to in GSC). Although you could always inspect ane URL at a fourth dimension in GSC to see if a URL was indexed, this is the first fourth dimension y'all can check the indexing status of URLs in bulk (based on data straight from Google).
The API opens up many opportunities to understand how Google handles your URLs. Too, it has been smashing to see the diverse SEO tool providers move quickly to add the URL Inspection API to their products.
Monitoring indexing condition via the URL Inspection API and Analytics Edge
Regularly checking the indexing status of important URLs tin help nip SEO issues in the bud. For example, using the API, you lot tin check on a daily or weekly basis whether your virtually important URLs are notwithstanding indexed. And you definitely want to know if important URLs driblet out of the index, whether it's a outcome of technical problems, quality bug, or Google'due south finicky indexing organisation. That'southward versus identifying that problem downwards the line after y'all've experienced lost rankings and traffic every bit URLs drop out of the index. And that's if you selection up the drops quickly enough.
As soon as the API was released, I started thinking about a solution to periodically bulk-check important URLs. In addition, I started thinking virtually checking URLs across different sites. And going even further, I wanted to motion across the 2,000 requests per day limitation (per property), which can be severely limiting for many larger-scale sites. In this article, I'll cover the solution I've been using. Information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to set up and extremely cost-effective.
Analytics Border, your SEO Swiss Army Pocketknife
I've written heavily most using Analytics Edge for a number of scenarios in the past. Information technology's an Excel add-in that enables y'all to work with several APIs directly in your spreadsheets (and provides a ton of functionality for working with that data once exported). For example, it's a great style to export your top queries and landing pages from GSC, create Delta Reports after major algorithm updates, and more. And now, you can employ Analytics Edge to majority cheque URLs via the URL Inspection API.
But it tin can do more than that.
By creating several macros, which can be grouped, you can link API tasks together to create a powerful recipe for checking the status of many URLs across websites (or GSC properties from the same site). I'll cover more about moving beyond the 2,000 URL limit per mean solar day before long.
What you lot can reach via the URL Inspection API using Analytics Edge
In this mail service, you'll learn how to check the indexing status of your nigh important URLs, beyond dissimilar websites, all at one time. Instead of just checking one GSC property in bulk, we're going to do that across several websites automatically (without having to trigger each macro on its own).
The goal is for yous to open a spreadsheet, click the "Refresh all" button, and have Analytics Border check all your top URLs across multiple sites. It tin relieve yous a ton of time, while also providing critical intelligence about important URLs that are no longer indexed.
Overcoming the 2,000 requests per twenty-four hour period limit
You can only process ii,000 requests per mean solar day via the URL Inspection API (per GSC holding). But there'due south an important stardom between "website" and "GSC property." Recall, you can set up multiple GSC properties per website by adding directories and subdomains, which can give you lot more than information (because the reporting will focus on but those directories or subdomains).
For our situation today, having directories or subdomains set upward every bit properties will enable you to process ii,000 requests per day for each of those properties. That means you can check many more URLs per site if you accept those additional properties set up. And using Analytics Edge, y'all tin check the indexing status of URLs across those properties in 1 shot (using the process in this tutorial).
If you lot don't need to check multiple websites, just desire more requests for the 1 site you manage, and then this can notwithstanding aid you become more data. And so ready your meridian directories and/or subdomains. It'due south piece of cake, and more data awaits.
Tutorial: How to set upwards a multi-site indexing monitoring organization using the URL Inspection API and Analytics Border
Footstep 1. Download and install the Analytics Edge core add-in. I have covered how to set up Analytics Border several times in previous posts, and yous can check those posts to learn how to do it. You should exist up and running in no time. Once yous install the core add-in, you can quickly add the Google Search Console connector. You lot will need both to achieve what I am covering in this mail service. License-wise, there are costless trials for both the core add-in and the GSC connector. After which, it's $99 per year for the core add-in and $fifty per year for the GSC connector.
Step 2. Now it'south time to connect to your Google account that has access to the GSC properties you want to monitor. In Excel, click Analytics Edge in the top menu. Next, click Google Search. And so Accounts in the dropdown menu. Become through the procedure of connecting your Google account and authorizing admission. This should only take a few seconds.
Footstep 3. Create a worksheet that contains the height URLs from the beginning website you want to monitor. You lot can include up to 2,000 URLs per worksheet. For this tutorial, I would only add the top 10 or 20 URLs for the site (so you don't have to wait besides long for the API to process your requests while building the system). After which, you lot tin can add up to 2,000 URLs per worksheet. Make sure the column has a header. I would employ "folio" as the header in this example so you can follow along. You can proper name the worksheet whatever you want, but I used "site1" for this tutorial. You could name each worksheet based on the site proper noun.
Step iv. Adjacent, we'll create our outset macro to check the URLs via the URL Inspection API. We'll go to the 2d site later on that (and then you'll be able to run all the macros at ane time). But for at present, permit'due south focus on using the URL Inspection API to bank check indexing for the first list of URLs. Analytics Border provides a ton of functionality you tin use when crafting macros. Y'all can explore the diverse menus to run across everything y'all can attain.
Step 5. When you lot create a macro in Analytics Edge, y'all combine a series of instructions that will run together (similar a recipe). For our purposes, we desire to starting time read in the list of URLs from our worksheet, then use the URL Inspection API to check those URLs, and then write the results to a new worksheet (then you can analyze the information).
Step half dozen. In the Analytics Edge card, click the File carte, and then Read Worksheet. This will pull the consummate list of URLs you accept in that worksheet. In the dialog box, the workbook will exist the current workbook, and the worksheet should exist the current worksheet. You shouldn't take to alter annihilation. Just click OK to read the worksheet. Too, notice how the Task Pane in Analytics Border adds each part of our macro as we execute them. After each step, you lot will see the new instruction added to the macro.
Step 7. Analytics Edge creates a temporary worksheet named "Step Results" containing the listing of the URLs y'all will process with the URL Inspection API. Next, allow's use the API. In the Analytics Edge menu, click Google Search, so URL Inspection. In the dialog box, select the Account you prepare up earlier and and then the GSC property you lot want to work with. And so yous must tell Analytics Border where the URLs are in the worksheet by calculation the cavalcade name to the URL field. To add together the column name, surround the name with brackets. Then, if yous used "folio" equally I did before, add [page] in the field. Then click OK.
Step 8. Adjacent, let the URL Inspection API process all the requests (which shouldn't have too long since nosotros're only testing a scattering of URLs). Once that's done, the Step Results worksheet will contain a sample of the results highlighted in green. Side by side, let'south write the results to a new worksheet where you can analyze and piece of work with the information.
Step 9. Write to Worksheet – In the Analytics Edge bill of fare, click the File menu and and then "Write to Worksheet." Give your new worksheet a name like "site1 Results" and click OK. You now have a new worksheet containing the URL Inspection results for the listing of URLs you want to monitor.
Footstep 10. We want to bank check multiple GSC backdrop in one fell dive (across different websites). So, let's create a second macro to do that (and so we'll run them together via Analytics Edge).
Step 11. Create a new worksheet with URLs from a second website (or second GSC property for the same site you ran earlier). You can name this worksheet "site2" for this tutorial. And over again, yous can name it by site if you lot desire in the future. Add the height URLs from the second site you want to monitor. Again, I would add just x to 20 URLs. You can use "page" as the cavalcade proper name again.
Step 12. Create a new macro that will work with this second list of URLs. The first macro is already fix up and will piece of work with the commencement worksheet of URLs. This second macro will use the new list of URLs. In the Job Pane for Analytics Edge, you will see your current macro. Click the dropdown and select "new macro." Name is any you want. I called it "Check Site 2". Likewise, if the Task Pane isn't showing for some reason, you can reveal it past clicking the Analytics Border card and then Task Pane on the left side. It's a big icon next to the File card.
Step 13. Side by side, go through the same process nosotros did earlier to create the instructions for reading the worksheet, using the URL Inspection API, and writing the results to a new worksheet named "site 2 Results". You will take two macros that process URLs from 2 different worksheets when you lot're done. And each macro writes the results to a fresh worksheet to analyze and work with the data.
Step fourteen. How to monitor the URLs regularly – At present that you've created the two macros, you can always open up the spreadsheet and run them at i time (to check the URLs you lot want to monitor across GSC properties). To exercise this, click the Analytics Border carte and click the "Refresh All" button in the upper left corner. Analytics Edge will run both macros (in alphabetical order). Once the macros are complete, y'all'll have fresh data to analyze. Relieve each spreadsheet with a new proper name so you can monitor your results over time.
Congratulations! You at present have a multisite URL Inspection monitoring system.
Yous can add together more sites to monitor by adding additional macros to the spreadsheet. And once again, if you lot have a large site, so calculation multiple directories or subdomains as properties in GSC will enable you to motion beyond the 2,000 requests per 24-hour interval limit. So, you could add multiple GSC properties (from the same site) versus checking different sites.
Summary – Start with a elementary URL Inspection monitoring system and expand from in that location
Set up to create your own system based on this tutorial? And so download Analytics Edge (the core add-in and the Google Search Console connector) and get a simple example working. One time you do, and then expand your efforts by adding more GSC properties.
I think you'll dig working with Analytics Border, how versatile information technology can exist, how fast it tin work, etc. It's a bang-up way to monitor of import URLs (beyond sites or properties). And feel free to ping me on Twitter if you lot have any questions while working through your first macros! Happy monitoring.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest writer and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed hither.
About The Author
Glenn Gabe is an SEO consultant at K-Squared Interactive (GSQi) and has over 24 years of experience in digital marketing. Glenn currently helps clients with algorithm update recovery, technical SEO audits, SEO for website redesigns and migrations, and SEO training. During his career, Glenn has helped companies across a wide range of industries including publishing, e-commerce, health and medical, finance, startups, war machine, didactics, not-profits, real estate, affiliate marketing, and more.
Source: https://searchengineland.com/how-to-create-a-multi-site-indexing-monitoring-system-using-the-url-inspection-api-and-analytics-edge-380212
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