Track keyword rankings with Zed
Tracking keyword rankings with Zed means asking the Agent Panel in the editor to add keywords to StoreSEO's Google rank tracker, read their positions and history and compare them with competitor domains, with Zed's own tool prompts running alongside.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Zed for StoreSEO
Skip this if Zed is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Zed page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO as a remote server
Open Settings, then AI, then MCP Servers and add a remote server, or add this to settings.json yourself. Leave out headers so Zed can sign you in.
JSON{ "context_servers": { "storeseo": { "url": "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" } } } - 2
Sign in and check the dot
Because the entry has no Authorization header, Zed prompts you to authenticate. Pick your Shopify store and approve in the browser. In Settings, AI, MCP Servers a green dot next to storeseo means the server is active. Then ask this in the Agent Panel.
PromptUse StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.
How does this work in Zed?
You open the Agent Panel in a Zed window that holds your theme project and ask which tracked keywords moved this month. The agent calls storeseo_start and then storeseo_list_keywords, and by default Zed asks before it runs each tool action, so you click allow for each call. That default is set by agent.tool_permissions.default, which is confirm unless you change it. The result is the latest Google position for each keyword, the change, SERP features and the positions of the competitors you track.
To follow a new keyword you describe the market, and the agent calls storeseo_list_rank_locations and storeseo_list_rank_languages to get the names the tracker accepts. It then states the rows it will add, with country, language and device, and asks for your yes before storeseo_add_keywords. Zed shows its own confirmation for that call too, so a write gets two prompts: the agent's question in the panel and Zed's tool approval. The check runs in the background, so a new keyword has no position until storeseo_list_keywords shows one.
For history, storeseo_get_keyword_history returns a dated trail for one keyword with competitor positions at each check, and storeseo_list_competitors shows the domains you track, up to five. Rank and competitor tracking are Pro plan tools and the tracker covers Google only. If your plan lacks them, the agent should explain the upgrade in the panel instead of calling the rank tools, and you can keep working on the theme in the same window while the first checks run. Because the Agent Panel sits next to your files, you can ask for the result as a note in the project. A request such as write the keywords that lost ground into rank-notes.md gives you a dated record you can compare against the next review, while the positions themselves always come from StoreSEO rather than from the agent's memory of an earlier chat.
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You: Which tracked keywords lost ground this month?
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_list_keywords read-only
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Zed: Two lost ground: linen shirt (9 to 14) and organic cotton tote (6 to 8). Want the history for linen shirt?
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You: Yes.
- storeseo_get_keyword_history read-only
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Zed: It slipped at the last three checks, and one tracked competitor moved up over the same period.
What to ask Zed
Use StoreSEO to list my tracked keywords and tell me which ones lost ground this month. Read only.
Read the rank history for linen shirt and summarize the trend in three sentences.
Find the exact rank tracker names for Australia and English, then ask me before adding organic cotton tote as a desktop keyword.
- 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 Zed 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 Zed
Zed asks before every tool action by default, reads included, so a ranking review with several lookups means several prompts. Allow only the read tools with per-tool keys such as mcp:storeseo:storeseo_list_keywords and mcp:storeseo:storeseo_get_keyword_history, and leave storeseo_add_keywords and storeseo_delete_keyword on confirm. Setting agent.tool_permissions.default to allow removes Zed's check entirely, which leaves only the yes StoreSEO asks the agent for, and deleting a keyword erases its whole rank history, so use allow sparingly.
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 Zed ask me to approve every StoreSEO keyword lookup?
Zed's agent.tool_permissions.default is confirm by default, so the Agent Panel asks before each tool action, reads included. You can allow specific read tools with per-tool keys and keep the write tools on confirm.
Which StoreSEO tools should I leave on confirm in Zed for keyword tracking?
Leave storeseo_add_keywords, storeseo_add_competitors, storeseo_delete_keyword and storeseo_delete_competitor on confirm. Deleting removes rank history for good, and adding counts against your plan's limits.
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 Zed guides