Connect Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

This gives your Social Catnip dashboard read-only access to your search data from Google and Bing, so clicks, impressions, top queries and top pages show up alongside everything else. It takes about 15 minutes for Google and 2 minutes for Bing. At the end you hand over one key file (Google), and for Bing you just add one email address as a user on your site. Neither one lets us change your site or your search settings.

What you need

	Google Search Console	Bing Webmaster Tools
Who can do it	Someone who can create a Google Cloud project and is an Owner of your Search Console property	An Administrator of your site in Bing Webmaster Tools
Time	~15 minutes	~2 minutes (Bing data can take up to 48 hours on a new site)
What you hand over	One JSON key file	Nothing. You add sgowing@socialcatnip.com as a user
Access it grants	Read-only Search Console data. It cannot change settings or remove URLs.	Read-only Bing Webmaster data

The Google key file is a password. Don't email it or paste it into a ticket, chat, or shared doc. Send it through the secure share link your Social Catnip contact gives you (a password manager's "secure send"). The Bing route involves no secret at all.

Google Search Console

Google grants access through a service account — a robot Google account your dashboard signs in as. You create it in Google Cloud, then add it as a user on your Search Console property, exactly like adding a colleague.

1. Create or choose a Google Cloud project

Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with your company Google account. Use the project picker (top left) → New project, name it something like yoursite-seo, and Create it. If you already have a project, reuse it. There's no cost — the Search Console API is free.

2. Turn on the Search Console API

Go to APIs & Services → Library, search for Google Search Console API, open it, and click Enable. (Skip this and your dashboard will later say the API "has not been used… or it is disabled.")

3. Create the service account

Go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts → Create service account. Name it something like seo-reader. Click Create and continue, then skip the "Grant this service account access to project" step (it needs no roles), and click Done. Copy the account's email address — it looks like seo-reader@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com. You'll need it in step 5.

4. Download its key

Open the service account → Keys → Add key → Create new key → JSON → Create. A .json file downloads. That file is the credential — store it like a password.

"Service account key creation is disabled"? Your Google Workspace has an organization policy blocking it. A Workspace or Cloud admin can allow it for this one project: IAM & Admin → Organization policies → Disable service account key creation → Manage policy → Override parent's policy → Off, scoped to your project.

5. Give it access in Search Console

Go to search.google.com/search-console and select your property (use the Domain property if you have one — it covers www, http and https together). Then Settings → Users and permissions → Add user, paste the service-account email from step 3, set Permission: Full, and click Add.

Only an Owner can add users. "Full" is read access to all reports, not ownership — the service account still can't change anything.

6. Hand the key over

Send the downloaded JSON file to your Social Catnip contact through the secure share link they give you. Once it's confirmed working, delete the file from your computer (or keep it only in your password manager).

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing's index also feeds ChatGPT search, Microsoft Copilot, and DuckDuckGo, so it's worth connecting even if Bing's own traffic is small.

1. Make sure your site is in Bing Webmaster Tools

Go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in. If your site is already listed, skip ahead. Otherwise choose Import your sites from Google Search Console (the fastest route — it verifies the site and brings your sitemaps over). A newly added site can take up to 48 hours before Bing has data.

2. Give Social Catnip read-only access

Select your site, then go to Settings → User management → Add user. Enter sgowing@socialcatnip.com, set the role to Read-only, and click Add.

That's it. Our dashboard reads your data through our own Bing account, so there's no key to create or hand over. Read-only means we can see your reports but can't change your settings, sitemaps or URLs.

3. If your site is listed twice

If Bing lists both https://yoursite.com/ and https://www.yoursite.com/, add the user on the one you actually use, or on both, and tell us which one to report on.

Prefer to use your own key instead?

If your company would rather not add an outside user, you can generate an API key yourself: click the Settings (gear) icon top-right → API access → API Key → Generate API key, and send it through the secure share link. Use a shared company Microsoft account if you can, because the key belongs to whoever creates it. Each user has one key, generating a new one switches the old one off immediately, and the key can read every site that account can see.

If your dashboard shows an error

Google panel:

The panel says	What it means	Fix
Search Console is not connected	The key isn't set, or isn't valid	Re-send the key file (step 6); it must be the whole file
…has not been used in project … or it is disabled	The API isn't enabled	Do step 2
the service account can see no property	It wasn't added in Search Console, or was added to a different property	Do step 5 on the property you actually use
403 / permission	Added with less than Full	Do step 5, set to Full
invalid_grant / invalid JWT	The key was deleted or rotated	Do step 4 for a new key, then re-send it

Bing panel:

The panel says	What it means	Fix
Bing Webmaster Tools is not connected	Access hasn't been set up yet	Do step 2
…no site for this account	sgowing@socialcatnip.com hasn't been added to your site, or was added to the other www/non-www entry	Do step 2 on the site entry you actually use
401 / InvalidApiKey	(Own-key route only) the key was regenerated or mistyped	Generate the key again, then re-send it
ThrottleUser	Too many calls in a short time	Wait a few minutes
Numbers all zero	The site was added recently	Give Bing up to 48 hours

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to give a service account access? Yes. A service account is a read-only robot account. It can see your Search Console reports and nothing else — it can't change settings, remove URLs, or touch your site.

Can it change my site or remove pages? No. The access is read-only. Even "Full" permission in Search Console means read access to all reports, not the ability to make changes.

Why "Full" instead of a lower permission? Search Console's "Restricted" role hides several reports the dashboard needs. "Full" is still read-only for a service account — it just sees everything.

How do I revoke access later? For Google, remove the service-account email in Search Console → Settings → Users and permissions, or delete the key in Google Cloud. For Bing, remove sgowing@socialcatnip.com in Bing Webmaster Tools → Settings → User management. If you used your own key instead, generate a new API key (which disables the old one).

What happens when someone on my team leaves? Nothing breaks on the Bing side, because the access belongs to our account, not to anyone on your team. If you used your own key and it was made under a personal Microsoft account, generate a fresh one under a shared company account.

Rather we set it up with you?

Book 15 minutes and we'll walk through it on a call. ModPass clients get this set up for them.