4 SEO Tools On The New Google Search Console URL Inspection API
Updated on: 7 April 2022
Last January 31, 2022, Google developers announced that they are launching the new Google Search Console URL Inspection API, which has the main responsibility of giving you access to data (down to the URL-level) for the properties you manage on GSC.
What the Search Console API does is find a way to access data outside of the console by using external products and applications. SEO tools and developers have already been using the APIs to develop bespoke solutions to add, remove, and view properties and sitemaps, as well as to run advanced queries. And with the new URL Inspection API, developers will have a new tool to optimize and debug pages. Any data about an indexed version of a URL can be requested and the API will retrieve the information that’s currently available in the inspection tool.
The new Inspection API has a quota per Search Console property of 600 queries a minute and 2,000 queries a day, which can include subdirectories or subdomains, as well as domains. This opens up new opportunities to SEO platforms and tools to integrate index coverage information, including the following:
- Last crawling time
- Crawlability and indexability status
- Mobile usability status
- Sitemaps inclusion
- Identified structured data for rich results eligibility
- Google selected canonical URL
These will also include other useful data that helps with technical SEO debugging and analysis – all of which are crucial techniques to boost organic traffic to your website.
Free SEO tools to quickly validate specific URL status
SEO experts have already started leveraging this new opportunity, especially those who have shared scripts and developed new free tools. Even established crawlers have also integrated such data with their own insights.
Here are some of those tools.
1. Google Bulk Inspect URL
Providing vital information on the easiest way to obtain URL Inspection API data, what’s great about this free tool is that it doesn’t require you to register and use complex configurations. All you need is to authorize access to the account that’s linked to Google Search Console, choose the desired property to validate, and paste the URLs that need validating. The tool will then show the status of the different fields from the API in a table, allowing you to export the values in Excel or CSV.
2. URL Inspection API in Sheets
Mike Richardson developed a free template using App Scripts for those who prefer to use Google Sheets instead of a new tool. This tool lets you copy and follow instructions shared directly in the tool to help you create a Google Service Account to run it. Once the required key, email, property information, and client ID are added, you need to paste the URLs to validate and obtain the relevant data.
3. Google Index Inspection API Node.js script
Jose Luis Hernando developed this free script via Github, which comes with step-by-step instructions. You will need to have Node.js installed in your machine and the OAuth 2.0 Client IDs credentials that you can find in your Google Cloud Platform account.
4. FandangoSEO
This SEO crawler announced its integration into the URL Inspection API. This will help you retrieve the inspection data to let you view each page’s Google Index Status. It will also notify you whenever there are changes in the pages’ indexing status.
Final thoughts
Take advantage of the new Google Search Console URL Inspection API to programmatically add the inspection details to your content management system, third-party tools, dashboards, and internal tools. And with the rate of adoption of the URL Inspection API, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see many other SEO tools and platforms integrating the new insights.
If you are still confused about how technical SEO works and the nitty-gritty details involved, get in touch with our digital marketing agency and let us take over today!