Read Search Console and Analytics with Windsurf
Reading Search Console and Analytics with Windsurf means asking the Cascade agent in your editor for clicks, impressions, queries, pages and traffic sources, which StoreSEO pulls from your connected Google Search Console and GA4 property while your Shopify theme stays open beside the answer.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Windsurf for StoreSEO
Skip this if Windsurf is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Windsurf page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO to mcp_config.json
In the Cascade panel, open the ... menu and click the Open MCP config file icon in the MCPs section. Add the entry under mcpServers and save. Remote servers use serverUrl.
JSON{ "mcpServers": { "storeseo": { "serverUrl": "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" } } } - 2
Sign in to your store
Windsurf supports OAuth for remote servers. When it asks you to sign in to storeseo, a browser window opens: pick your Shopify store and approve access. Then ask this to confirm the connection.
PromptUse StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.
How does this work in Windsurf?
You are in Windsurf with the theme repository open and the Cascade panel docked on the side. Once StoreSEO is listed under MCPs, you type a question the way you would ask a colleague, for example which search queries brought the most clicks in the last 28 days. Cascade calls storeseo_start first, because every StoreSEO tool needs the conversation id it returns, then storeseo_get_search_console_insights with the query dimension. The result is the top rows ranked by clicks, the range totals and the previous period of the same length with the change per metric, all printed in the chat as a table.
Analytics questions use the second tool. Asking where purchases came from makes Cascade call storeseo_get_analytics_report with the traffic_source report type, and a question about organic growth uses search_traffic, which returns rows by date. Both calls are reads, so there is nothing to accept before they run, but your editor still shows each call in the panel and you can expand it to see the arguments Cascade chose. Because the answer lands next to your code, it is easy to follow a finding into a file: pages with many impressions and few clicks can lead straight to the product template or the meta fields you are about to edit.
Windsurf keeps the whole session in context, so you can narrow in place. Ask for the same report by device, then by country, then by page, and Cascade makes one more call each time rather than rebuilding the picture from scratch. If Google is not connected in StoreSEO, the tool says so and gives a link to finish setup in the app, since the agent cannot connect Google for you. You can then paste a summary into a pull request description or a comment in the theme file.
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You: Which queries brought the most clicks from Google in the last 28 days?
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_get_search_console_insights read-only
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Windsurf: Clicks are up compared with the previous 28 days. Your top query is linen shirt women, followed by two brand searches. Four queries sit at an average position near 11, so they are close to page one.
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You: Now show me where my GA4 users came from last month.
- storeseo_get_analytics_report read-only
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Windsurf: Organic search is the largest channel, then direct. Do you want the page_performance report for the pages behind those organic visits?
What to ask Windsurf
Use StoreSEO to show my top 15 Google queries by clicks for the last 28 days, with the change against the previous 28 days.
Which of my pages have lots of impressions but few clicks? List them with CTR and average position so I can open the matching templates.
Pull the GA4 traffic_source report for last month and tell me which channel brought the most users.
- Which queries brought the most clicks from Google in the last 28 days, and how does that compare with the month before?
- Which product pages have high impressions but a CTR under two percent?
- Show organic search traffic from GA4 for the last three months.
- Which countries send the most visitors, and on which devices?
- Which traffic sources led to purchases last month?
What StoreSEO does: search console and analytics reports
StoreSEO connects to your Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 property. The agent reads Search Console performance by date, query, page, country, device or search appearance, and curated GA4 reports, each compared with the previous period by default.
Requires: A paid StoreSEO plan with Google connected in the app, and a GA4 property selected for Analytics reports.
- 1
Pick the question
Search Console answers how you appear in Google: clicks, impressions, CTR and average position. GA4 answers what visitors do: users, engagement, pages, sources and key events.
- 2
Read the report
The agent reads the last 28 days by default, or the range you name, broken down by the dimension that fits the question.
- 3
Compare periods
Both reports include the previous period of the same length and the change per metric unless you ask otherwise.
- 4
Turn it into actions
The agent can link what it finds to the other jobs, for example pages with impressions but a low CTR are candidates for new meta.
Search Console and Analytics reports reference
| Search Console metrics | Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position |
|---|---|
| Search Console dimensions | Date, query, page, country, device, search appearance |
| GA4 reports | Search traffic, user activity, demographics, page performance, traffic source, key events |
| Default range | Last 28 days |
| Comparison | Previous equal-length period with per-metric change, on by default |
| What it writes | Nothing. Both tools are read-only and never connect or configure Google |
| Plan | Paid plan with Google connected; GA4 property selected for Analytics |
Rules Windsurf follows
- Both tools are reads and run straight away.
- Connecting Google or choosing the GA4 property is done in the StoreSEO app; the agent hands you the link when it is missing.
- Numbers are reported as Google returns them; the agent does not project outcomes from them.
In Windsurf
Windsurf's MCP page says the mcp_config.json setup applies to the legacy Cascade agent, while the Devin Local agent, the default for new tabs, reads Devin CLI configuration files instead. If the report tools are missing, check which agent the tab is using before you debug the server. Cascade also allows 100 tools in total across every MCP server, and StoreSEO takes 44 of them, so a crowded setup may leave the two Google tools switched off. Open the MCPs section and confirm both are enabled.
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 Windsurf say Google is not connected?
The two report tools need a paid StoreSEO plan with Google connected, and Analytics reports also need a GA4 property selected. Connecting Google is done in the StoreSEO app, and the tool returns a link to it, because Cascade cannot connect Google for you.
Does Cascade change anything when it reads these reports?
No. storeseo_get_search_console_insights and storeseo_get_analytics_report are read-only, so they only fetch figures. Windsurf's own approval behavior for MCP tools is not described on its MCP page, so watch the panel to see each call as it runs.
Can the agent connect my Google account?
No. Connecting Search Console and Google Analytics, and choosing the GA4 property, is done in the StoreSEO app. If Google is not connected, the tool returns a link telling you what to set up.
Can these reports change anything?
No. Both Google tools are read-only. They never connect, configure or write anything in Google or in your store.
Which plan includes Google reports over MCP?
A paid StoreSEO plan with Google connected. Analytics reports also need a GA4 property selected in the app.
How far back can the agent look?
You can name any date range the report supports. When you do not, both tools default to the last 28 days and compare it with the 28 days before.
Keep going
Search Console and Analytics reports with other agents
More Windsurf guides