Keyword rank tracking Track keyword rankings with Gemini CLI
Tracking keyword rankings with Gemini CLI means asking Google's terminal agent to call StoreSEO's rank tools so it can add keywords, read your Google positions and history and compare competitor domains for your Shopify store.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Gemini CLI for StoreSEO
Skip this if Gemini CLI is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Gemini CLI page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO to Gemini CLI
Run this in any terminal. The user scope writes the server to ~/.gemini/settings.json so every project sees it. Without --scope user the command writes to the current project's .gemini/settings.json.
Terminalgemini mcp add --scope user --transport http storeseo https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp
- 2
Sign in to your store
Start gemini. The first time it calls StoreSEO it opens your browser: pick your Shopify store and approve access. If the window does not open, type /mcp auth storeseo inside Gemini CLI. Then gemini mcp list should show storeseo as connected.
Prompt/mcp auth storeseo
How does this work in Gemini CLI?
You run gemini in a terminal and describe the job in a sentence: track organic cotton tote bag in Canada, English, on desktop. Gemini CLI calls storeseo_start, then storeseo_list_rank_locations and storeseo_list_rank_languages, because the tracker takes only the exact names in its lists. Gemini CLI asks for confirmation before it runs an MCP tool unless the server is trusted, and StoreSEO tells the agent to state the keyword, market and device and wait for your yes before storeseo_add_keywords. The keyword then counts against your plan's keyword limit.
Reading is the everyday use. Ask which tracked keywords moved and Gemini CLI reads storeseo_list_keywords for the latest position, change, SERP features and competitor positions, then storeseo_get_keyword_history for the dated checks behind any keyword you care about. Because the sign-in needs a browser on the same machine, a headless box or an SSH session needs the access token header instead. Ask for the summary to be saved in the folder you launched from, so a later session can compare against it.
Competitors and clusters work as in any client. storeseo_add_competitors takes up to five domains in total, with no edit: the old domain is deleted and the new one added, each after your yes, and each delete erases that competitor's comparison results. For a cluster, the agent states the estimated AI credit, waits, calls storeseo_generate_keyword_cluster and then polls storeseo_get_keyword_cluster until the background job completes. Rank and competitor tools need the Pro plan, and new keywords show a position only after their first background check.
-
You: Track organic cotton tote bag in Canada, English, on desktop.
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_list_rank_locations read-only
- storeseo_list_rank_languages read-only
-
Gemini CLI: Canada and English are both exact matches. I would add organic cotton tote bag for Canada, English, desktop, which counts against your keyword limit. Add it?
-
You: Yes, add it.
- storeseo_add_keywords needs approval
-
Gemini CLI: Added and queued. The first rank check runs in the background, so it will show as pending for now.
What to ask Gemini CLI
Use StoreSEO to list my tracked keywords with position and change, and save a summary to ranks.md here. Add nothing.
Track linen shirt for men in the United States on mobile. Show me the exact location and language you will use first.
Delete nothing, but tell me which tracked keywords have not left position 20 in their whole history.
- Track shopify linen shirts and linen shirt for men in the United States on mobile.
- How have my tracked keywords moved this month, and where do my competitors rank?
- Show the rank history for organic cotton tote since July.
- Add example-competitor.com as a competitor.
- Build a keyword cluster for my best seller and tell me the estimated credit first.
- Which tracked keywords dropped out of the top ten?
What StoreSEO does: keyword rank tracking
StoreSEO checks your Google rank for tracked keywords by country, language and device, records the history and compares competitor domains. Keyword clusters group related keywords around a product's focus keyword with search volume and difficulty.
Requires: Rank and competitor tracking are Pro plan tools. Keyword clusters spend AI Content Optimizer credit.
- 1
Pick the market
The agent looks up the exact country and language names the tracker accepts, because new keywords must use them verbatim.
- 2
Add keywords
After your yes it adds keywords with a country, language and device. Checks run in the background, so positions appear later.
- 3
Read ranks and history
It lists your keywords with the latest Google position, change, SERP features and competitor positions, and reads the dated history for any keyword.
- 4
Compare competitors
Up to five competitor domains are tracked alongside your keywords. To change one, it is deleted and the new domain added.
- 5
Build a cluster
For a product with a focus keyword, StoreSEO generates a cluster of related keywords in the background; the agent states the estimated credit first and polls until it is ready.
Keyword rank tracking reference
| Search engine | Google; AI search engines are not tracked |
|---|---|
| Locations | 213 countries, country level only |
| Languages | 127 languages |
| Devices | Desktop or mobile |
| Competitors | Up to five domains; no edit, delete and re-add |
| Keyword limit | Counts against your plan's keyword limit |
| Deleting a keyword | Removes its entire rank history; cannot be undone |
| Keyword cluster | Built around the product's existing focus keyword, sorted by search volume, with relevance and difficulty |
| Plan | Pro plan for rank and competitor tools |
Rules Gemini CLI follows
- On a plan without rank tracking, the agent explains the upgrade instead of calling the rank tools.
- Country and language names come from the lookup tools, never typed from memory.
- Deleting a keyword or competitor erases its history for good, so the agent confirms each one.
- A cluster needs a focus keyword set in the StoreSEO app; the agent states the estimated credit and waits for your yes.
In Gemini CLI
Do not set --trust or trust: true on the storeseo server. Trust skips every tool confirmation in Gemini CLI, so the confirmation StoreSEO asks for in chat would be the only check before storeseo_delete_keyword, which erases a keyword's whole rank history for good. If you want fewer prompts, trim the server with includeTools or excludeTools instead. Google's site also says Gemini CLI was replaced by Antigravity CLI on June 18th, 2026 for unpaid tier and Google One users, so check which agent your account can use.
What runs without asking. Reads such as SEO scores, store listings, settings and Google reports run straight away. Generating a preview spends AI credit but writes nothing, and StoreSEO tells the agent to say what a generation will cost before it runs one. Applying content, optimizing images, changing settings, publishing llms.txt or agents.md, writing a product description and deleting anything wait for your yes in the conversation. That yes is an instruction the agent follows, not a lock on the server, so your client's own tool-approval setting is the hard stop.
Questions
Why does Gemini CLI keep asking before it uses a StoreSEO rank tool?
Gemini CLI confirms MCP tool calls unless the server is marked trusted. Leave trust off for StoreSEO, so the prompt stands between the agent and any keyword add or delete, and use includeTools if you want a smaller tool list.
Can Gemini CLI track keywords over SSH?
Gemini CLI's browser sign-in needs a browser on the same machine, so over SSH without one use a personal access token from StoreSEO under Settings, AI Toolkit, sent with the --header option. Rank tools still need the Pro plan.
Which plan do I need for keyword tracking through an agent?
Rank tracking and competitor tracking are Pro plan tools. On other plans the agent should explain that instead of calling them. Keyword clusters work on plans with AI Content Optimizer credit.
Does StoreSEO track rankings in AI search engines?
No. The rank tracker checks Google results by country, language and device. AI visibility is handled by the GEO score, llms.txt and agents.md jobs instead.
Why are new keywords pending?
Rank checks run in the background. Adding a keyword queues the first check, and its position appears in the keyword list once that check completes.
What is a keyword cluster?
A group of related keywords built around a product's focus keyword, sorted by search volume and scored for relevance and difficulty. It shows which wider terms the product page can target.
Keep going
Keyword rank tracking with other agents
More Gemini CLI guides