RankNest

Client Integrations

Assign a Search Console property, brand terms, Site Connector, GBP location, and GA4 property to a specific client.

The Integrations tab in Client Settings assigns agency-level connections to one specific client: which Google Search Console property, Google Business Profile location, and Google Analytics property belong to this client, plus the brand terms that separate brand searches from real keywords and the Site Connector that links RankNest to the client's website.

The underlying Google accounts are connected once at the agency level, in Agency Settings. This tab only decides which property or location belongs to this client.

Where to find it

Open a client from your client list, click Client Settings at the bottom of the client sidebar, then open the Integrations tab.

The dot next to the tab name summarizes connection status at a glance: green when Search Console, Google Business Profile, and Google Analytics are all set for this client, yellow when some are, and gray when none are.

Google Search Console property

Requires a connected Google Search Console account. See Google Search Console. If the card says the account isn't connected, connect it in Agency Settings first.

  1. Open the property dropdown and select the GSC property that matches this client's site.
  2. Click Save. The card shows a Connected badge and the property URL.

Click Refresh to reload the property list after adding a new property in Search Console.

Brand terms

Brand terms tell RankNest which search queries are brand searches, meaning people searching for the client by name. Queries containing a brand term are excluded from keyword cannibalization detection and from the search-query data that linking recommendations draw on, so brand traffic doesn't distort either. See Working with Issues for how cannibalization findings appear.

  • Type terms into the Brand Terms field, separated by commas, then click Save. Terms are matched as whole words, so "es" matches "es equipment" but not "sizes".
  • Leave the field empty to auto-detect brand terms from the client's name and domain.
  • Click Suggest with AI to have RankNest propose terms. Each suggestion shows how many of the client's real search queries it would match, with sample queries, so you can judge it on evidence. Click a suggested term to add or remove it from the field, then click Save. Nothing is saved until you do.

Warning: A suggestion flagged with a red "% of traffic" badge would filter out a large share of the client's search traffic. That usually means it's a real keyword rather than a brand term, so think twice before adding it.

Site Connector

The Site Connector card creates a connection between RankNest and the client's WordPress site for reliable data collection and automatic link implementation. The full installation walkthrough is in Site Connector & WordPress Plugin; the short version:

  1. Click Connect Site (or Add Connector if one already exists).
  2. Confirm the Domain and click Create Connector.
  3. Copy the Site Key shown on the confirmation panel.
  4. Click Download WordPress Plugin, upload the ZIP in WordPress admin (Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin), activate it, then paste the Site Key into RankNest Connector in the WordPress sidebar and click Save.
  5. Back in RankNest, click Verify on the connector row.

Warning: This is the only time RankNest shows this key. Copy it somewhere safe before you close the dialog. If you lose it, you will need to create a new connector.

To enable auto-implementation of Linking Plan recommendations, enter a WordPress username and an Application Password under WordPress REST Credentials and click Save Credentials (create the Application Password in WordPress under Users → Profile → Application Passwords). See Implementing Recommendations.

Each connector row shows its status, the number of pages synced, and icon buttons to deactivate or reactivate the connector, expand its setup details, or permanently revoke it.

Google Business Profile location

Requires a connected Google Business Profile account. See Google Business Profile. If the card says the account isn't connected, connect it in Agency Settings.

  1. Open the account dropdown and select the GBP account that manages this client's listing.
  2. Wait for the location list to load, then click the client's location to assign it. The card shows an Assigned badge with the location name and address.

Each client can have one assigned location. To switch locations, click Remove on the current one first. Once assigned, you can schedule posts and photos from GBP Management.

Google Analytics property

Requires a connected Google Analytics account. See Google Analytics 4.

  1. Open the property dropdown and select the client's GA4 property.
  2. Click Save. The card shows a Connected badge and the property name.

Click Remove to unassign the property. Assigning a different property clears any key-event selection, since event names belong to a property.

Once a property is assigned, two more settings appear on the card:

Key Events. By default, every key event on the GA4 property counts toward this client's key-event totals. If the property marks low-value events like scroll as key events, that total is misleading. Click Edit, check only the events that represent real outcomes for this client, and click Save. Click Count all to go back to counting every key event. The selection applies from the next data sync.

Excluded paths. If the client's app and marketing site share one GA4 property, app routes like /dashboard show up as landing pages. Click Edit, type a path such as /admin, and click Add, then Save. A path excludes itself and everything under it, so /admin excludes /admin and /admin/quotes, but not /administration. Matching is not case-sensitive. You can exclude up to 20 paths. This affects the client's per-page Google Analytics data only; the property-level Sessions total on the overview doesn't change.

Tips

  • Assign the Search Console property early. Most RankNest features (SEO testing results, page traffic, cannibalization detection) depend on it.
  • Review brand terms after the first cannibalization report. If the report is full of searches for the client's own name, your brand terms need work. Suggest with AI shows you exactly what each term would filter.
  • After changing key events or excluded paths, expect the numbers to update on the next data sync rather than immediately.

Troubleshooting

The Search Console or Google Business Profile card says "Not connected." The agency-level Google account isn't connected yet. Go to Agency Settings, connect the account, then return here and click Refresh.

Assigning a GBP location fails with a domain mismatch. The selected location's website doesn't match this client's domain. Check that you picked the right location, or that the client's domain is correct.

"This client already has a connected Google Business Profile." Each client supports one location. Click Remove on the current location, then assign the new one.

The Key Events list is empty. Either the GA4 property has no events marked as key events (mark one in Google Analytics, then click Refresh), or the request to Google Analytics failed. The picker tells you which. Try refreshing in a moment if it was a failed request.

A saved key event shows "(no longer a key event in GA4)." The event was unmarked as a key event in Google Analytics after you selected it. It stays listed so your selection isn't dropped silently. Uncheck it and click Save to clear it.

Excluded paths didn't change the Sessions number. That's expected. The Sessions total on the client overview is a property-level figure; exclusions apply only to per-page data.

Last updated 2026-07-31