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What a visibility check tells you
A visibility check tells you whether Google has each URL in its index at the moment we check. That's the question underneath most SEO work: a page Google hasn't indexed can't rank, a backlink on a page Google hasn't indexed is unlikely to count for anything yet, and neither can be cited in AI answers built on Google's index.
Search Console's URL Inspection answers this for one URL at a time, on sites you own. A visibility check answers it for a whole list at once, on any public URL. If you want the background on how index checking works and its limits, see how index checking works.
Pages you own and links you don't
A visibility check works on any public URL, so you can check your own pages and pages on other people's sites in the same list.
- Pages you own: new posts, refreshed guides, pricing and comparison pages, programmatic pages after a launch.
- Links you don't own: guest posts, niche edits, citations and directory listings, where you have no Search Console access at all. Use it to check backlinks after a campaign, or before you report to a client.
Paste the list or upload a file. Duplicates and invalid lines are removed before you're charged, so you only pay for real, unique URLs. Lists go up to 10,000 links with any pack or Agency plan, and 50 on Free. For very large lists, our bulk index checker guide covers how to split and read them.
Seen by Google vs invisible, link by link
Every link comes back with one of three results:
Result | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Seen by Google | Google had the URL in its index when we checked | Nothing, for now. Re-check later if it matters |
Invisible | Google didn't have it when we checked | Fix the page if needed, then push it |
Unknown | The check couldn't get a clear answer | Re-check, or include it in a push |
The headline reads in plain words: "19 of 40 seen by Google" (illustrative). Both results can change over time, because Google adds and drops pages. That's why every push is re-checked on days 1, 3 and 7, at no extra cost.
One click: push the invisible ones
When a check finishes with invisible links, the next step is a single button: Push the invisible ones. FreshlyCited sends only the invisible links for indexing, so links Google already has never use an index credit. Because the check has already run, there's no second pre-check to pay for.
Each link you send reserves one index credit, used only if the link is indexed. If it still isn't indexed after the day-7 re-check, the credit comes back automatically: indexed or your credit back. Pages that can't be indexed (dead, noindex, blocked by robots.txt, redirected, or canonicalised elsewhere) aren't covered, and the check flags them so you can leave them out.
That turns a check into an action in one step, using smart push. You can also start from a push: every smart push begins with a visibility check automatically.
Before and after: your visibility lift
Visibility lift is the change between the first check and the latest one: how many links were seen by Google before you acted, and how many are now. After a push, FreshlyCited re-checks the pushed links on days 1, 3 and 7 (included, no check credits used), emails you the result, and shows the before-and-after count, for example "33 of 40 seen by Google (+14)" (illustrative).
Each link keeps its history, so you can see when it was first seen by Google. The same before-and-after view goes into client reports: a link your client can open without logging in, carrying your agency's branding on Agency plans.
Checks over API and MCP
With any pack or Agency plan, every visibility check you can run in the app, you can run over FreshlyCited's index checker API: send a list of URLs, get the result per URL, and trigger a push of the invisible ones from your own tools or scripts. On Free without a pack, the API is read-only, so you can read results but not start checks. On Agency Pro and Agency Scale, AI assistants that support MCP (Model Context Protocol, a standard way for assistants like Claude or Cursor to use a tool directly) can run checks for you with your API key.
Typical uses: a nightly check of your key pages, a check of every URL in a new sitemap batch, or a check of a supplier's link list before you pay the invoice.
Pricing: one check credit per link
A Standard visibility check costs one check credit per link, run in batches, whatever the size of the list. When you need an answer straight away, a Live check returns its result in seconds and costs 5 check credits per link. Check credits aren't refundable, because the check is the product.
| Standard check | Live check |
|---|---|---|
Check credits per link | 1 | 5 |
How it runs | In batches | Result in seconds |
Best for | Backlink lists, sitemaps, monthly audits | One page you need to confirm now |
Index checks start from $0.004 each in the larger check pack, and every pay-as-you-go index pack and Agency plan includes check credits too. You can start free: the free tier includes 100 Standard checks every month, no card. See pricing for packs and plans.
Doing this for client links every week? See visibility checks for link builders, or check your own links free.
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