RankNest

Client Setup Wizard

The guided setup flow for a new client: Google connections, the first crawl, site structure, page types, and optional quick starts.

The setup wizard takes a brand-new client from an empty record to a fully configured workspace: Search Console connected, the site crawled, pages organized into topic clusters, and every page classified by type. It opens automatically after you create a client, and you can rerun it later at any time.

Several steps are optional, so you can skip them and come back later. The more of the wizard you complete, the less manual configuration the individual tools need afterwards.

Where to find it

  • New clients: the wizard opens as an overlay immediately after you click Add Client.
  • Existing clients: open the client, click Client Settings in the sidebar, and on the Profile tab click Reopen Setup Wizard. The client's saved configuration is loaded into the wizard, so you can re-run a step without starting from scratch.

How the wizard works

  • A progress indicator across the top shows every step and which are done.
  • Use Back and Continue in the footer to move between steps. Optional steps also show a Skip for now button.
  • The X in the top-right corner closes the wizard and discards your in-progress wizard draft: the categories, clusters, and page assignments you haven't submitted yet. Anything already saved (the Search Console connection, the crawl results) is kept.

Warning: Closing the wizard with X does not save the step you were on. Finish the Classify Pages step and click Complete Setup before you exit, or you'll have to redo the structure work.

The steps

1. Welcome

A short introduction to what the wizard will set up. Click Let's Get Started to begin.

2. Google Search Console (optional)

Connect Search Console so SEO tests, the Pages inventory, and the Linking Plan get real click and ranking data.

  1. Click Connect Google Search Console. A Google sign-in popup opens; the wizard updates automatically once you authorize. The same sign-in also grants Google Analytics access, so the next step won't ask you to sign in again.
  2. Choose the property that matches the client's domain from the GSC Property dropdown. Matching properties are labeled "(matches client domain)".
  3. Click Confirm Property.

You can skip this and connect later; see Google Search Console. If your Google account is already connected, the step goes straight to property selection, and if this client already has a property, it shows the connection so you can review it.

3. Google Analytics (optional)

Connect Google Analytics 4 so session, engagement, and key event data appears alongside search data on the client overview and in the Pages inventory.

If you connected Search Console in the previous step, that sign-in already covered Analytics, so this step opens directly on the property picker. Choose the client's GA4 property and click Confirm Property. Otherwise, click Connect Google Analytics first; one sign-in grants both Analytics and Search Console access.

Key events and excluded paths are configured later, in Client Settings. See Google Analytics 4.

4. Google Business Profile (optional)

For local businesses: connect the client's business listing so you can schedule posts and photos from GBP Management. Skip this step if the client has no business listing.

  1. Click Connect Google Business Profile. Business Profile uses a separate Google authorization from Search Console and Analytics, so Google asks you to approve access again even on the same account.
  2. Choose the Google account, then pick the client's business location from the list.

The location's website must match the client's domain. If it doesn't, the wizard explains the mismatch so you can pick a different location or fix the client's domain. See Google Business Profile.

5. Site Connection (optional)

An overview of two more ways to connect the client beyond Google. The Site Connector lets the client's site report data to RankNest directly instead of being crawled as a third party, and enables automatic link implementation; the actual install (including your site key) happens after the wizard, in Client Settings > Site Connector. The step also introduces the MCP server and developer API, which let you drive RankNest from an AI assistant or the command line. This step is informational. See Site Connector & WordPress Plugin.

6. Crawl Website

The first crawl discovers the client's pages and powers everything downstream: structure suggestions, page classification, and the link map.

  1. Confirm the URL (pre-filled from the client's domain).
  2. Optionally click Show advanced settings to adjust Crawl Depth, Max Pages, and the Skip category pages / Skip tag pages toggles.
  3. Click Start Crawl. Progress displays while it runs; most sites take a few moments. When it finishes, the footer button becomes Continue with N pages.

7. Understanding Structure

A short explainer on topic clusters, covering how grouping related pages helps search engines understand what the site is about. No input needed.

8. Suggested Structure (optional)

Click Generate Suggestions and AI proposes a set of topic categories and clusters for the crawled pages. Review and edit the draft, then click Continue & Apply to accept it, Regenerate for a fresh proposal, or the Skip button to build the structure yourself in the next step.

9. Organize Structure

Create and adjust topic categories and topic clusters by hand. Anything the AI suggestion applied is already here, so this step is your chance to rename, recolor, add, or delete groups before assigning pages.

The wizard skips this step, in both directions, once categories exist, which is the normal case after applying an AI suggestion. To edit the structure later, use the client's link map.

10. Understanding Page Types

An explainer on the eight page types (Money, Pillar, Supporting, Service, Location, Company, Archive, Product) and how classification drives linking recommendations. See Page Types & Clusters for the full reference. Tick Don't show this step again if you don't need the refresher on future clients, then click I understand, let's classify pages.

11. Classify Pages

Assign a page type and a topic cluster to each crawled page. You can search, filter by type, select ranges, and apply types or clusters in bulk.

Each row also has a checkbox that marks the page for import. Nothing is marked by default, so tick the pages you want in the client's link map. The header shows "N of M pages will be imported", and the checkbox above the list marks or unmarks every visible page at once. Complete Setup stays disabled until at least one page is marked.

When you're done, click Complete Setup. The wizard saves your structure and builds the client's link map in the background while you continue.

12. SEO Testing Quick Start (optional)

Pick from the client's top pages (pulled from Search Console) and create SEO experiments for them in one batch. See SEO Testing for how tests work.

13. Message Mining (optional)

Enter an Industry / Keyword and a Location, and RankNest searches Google Maps for customer reviews from businesses in that niche. The search runs in the background and results appear in Message Mining when ready.

14. AI Profile (optional)

Build an AI profile of the client's business from the crawled site and the details you entered. It's used to personalize AI-generated content such as Google Business Profile posts. The Continue button waits until the build finishes.

15. Complete

A confirmation screen. Click Go to Dashboard to land on the client overview.

Tips

  • Connect Search Console before the later steps. The SEO Testing Quick Start selects pages from its data.
  • Skipped a step? Everything in the wizard has a permanent home: the Google connections and the Site Connector live under Integrations, structure and classification live in Link Mapping, and the AI profile lives in Client Settings.
  • Re-running the wizard on an established client is a convenient way to redo a single step like the crawl. Be careful on Suggested Structure, though: generating a fresh suggestion replaces the client's existing categories and clusters once you apply it, and the step warns you before it does.

Troubleshooting

The crawl fails or finds very few pages. Check that the domain is reachable and spelled exactly as the live site serves it. Sites that block third-party crawlers work best with the Site Connector installed.

The Google popup closed but the wizard still says "Waiting for Google authorization...". The wizard detects the connection automatically, but it can take a moment. If it doesn't update, click the connect button again and complete the sign-in in the new popup.

"No GSC properties found for this account." The Google account you authorized has no verified Search Console properties. Verify the client's site in Search Console first, or click Continue Without GSC and connect later.

"Search Console access was not granted." Google lets you untick individual permissions on its consent screen, and Search Console was unticked. Click the connect button again and leave both permissions checked. The same applies to "Google Analytics access was not granted" on the Analytics step.

Complete Setup shows "Preparing Link Map...". The client's link map is still being created in the background. Wait a moment. The button enables itself once it's ready.

Last updated 2026-07-31