Skip to main content
You need a Chromium browser and a Surfer account, signed in to the app in that browser. The extension has no sign-in form of its own. The guidelines panel the extension adds belongs to a Content Editor, the document Surfer builds around your target keywords, holding the guidelines and the Content Score. The Content Score, from 0 to 100, grades the text against the guidelines.

​
Availability

Google Docs needs a plan that includes the Google Docs integration. The Google Docs integration is included in the Standard, Pro, Peace of Mind, and Enterprise plans and in the trial; some older plans include it too. The check happens in the panel, for the organization selected there. In a Google Doc with no linked Content Editor, a plan without the integration shows Google Docs integration is not available on your plan in place of the dashboard. Plans on the guidelines panel page covers the panel’s own rules.

​
Which extension does what

Surfer ships two Chrome extensions. This page sets up Surfer for Google Docs. Keyword Surfer is a separate extension built around keyword research.

​
Before you start

You need a supported browser and a Surfer account.
  • Chrome 102 or newer, or another Chromium browser that installs extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
  • A Surfer account, signed in to the app in the same browser profile as your documents.
With the extension installed, the panel signs in through it, so the browser’s cookie settings do not matter. Sign in and cookies covers the panel without an extension.

​
Install the extension

Install Surfer for Google Docs from the Chrome Web Store. Its toolbar icon becomes active only on pages the extension works on, such as a Google Doc.
1

Open the listing

Open Surfer for Google Docs on the Chrome Web Store.
2

Add it to Chrome

Select Add to Chrome.
3

Confirm

Select Add extension in Chrome’s confirmation dialog.
4

Pin the icon (optional)

In Chrome’s toolbar, select Extensions → Pin next to Surfer for Google Docs. The popup is then one click away.
The extension's popup on a Google Doc, with the Surfer logo, the OPEN SIDE PANEL button, and the Show Surfer button in Google Docs toggle turned on.

​
Sign in

Sign in to Surfer in the browser profile you use for your documents. The extension signs the panel in.
  1. Open app.surferseo.com in the same browser profile as your documents.
  2. Sign in.
On an unlinked document, Connect Content Editor to this document in place of your Content Editors means the panel is signed out. Troubleshooting below covers the causes. The connect screen explains that screen’s controls.

​
Verify it is working

In Chrome with the side panel, a Surfer button in the Google Doc’s title bar confirms that the extension is running. Other Chromium browsers use the extension’s popup. In Chrome with the side panel:
  1. Open a Google Doc you can edit.
  2. Select Surfer in the title bar, at the left of Google’s own buttons. The panel opens in Chrome’s side panel.
In a Chromium browser without the side panel, the title bar gets no button:
  1. Open a Google Doc you can edit.
  2. Select the extension’s icon in the toolbar.
  3. Select LOAD SURFER. The panel opens inside the page.
Auto load Surfer in that popup opens the in-page panel by itself on a doc that already has a Content Editor. In-page panel covers that mode. On a linked document the panel shows the Content Score and the guidelines. On an unlinked one it shows the dashboard with your Content Editors. What to do next is on Google Docs.

​
What the panel offers in Google Docs

The panel guides and scores. Editing the text, AI articles, and share links stay in the app. The guidelines panel page covers what the panel shows in detail and what stays in the app.

​
Troubleshooting

These fixes cover the page you are on, the extension’s version or state, the browser profile, the plan, and the delay before the panel re-reads your text.
The button needs three things:
  • The document is open for editing, at an address under docs.google.com/document/d/ with /edit after the document id. Anything may follow /edit.
  • The browser is Chrome with the side panel.
  • Show Surfer button in Google Docs is on in the extension’s popup.
  1. Check the address of the document.
  2. Select the extension’s icon in the toolbar.
  3. Turn on Show Surfer button in Google Docs.
  4. Check under chrome://extensions that Surfer for Google Docs is turned on.
In a browser without Chrome’s side panel, no button is added. Open the panel with LOAD SURFER, as under Verify it is working.
The connect screen with Update your Chrome extension beneath its heading means two things at once. The extension is older than 1.2.1, and the browser allows neither third-party cookies nor storage access for Surfer. The connect screen covers its other branches.
  1. Select Go to Extensions. The Chrome Web Store listing opens.
  2. Restart Chrome, which updates extensions on its own.
  3. If the panel still asks, remove the extension with Manage extensions → Remove.
  4. Install it again from the listing.
  5. Select Refresh page in the panel.
The panel signs in through the extension, so the extension has to be installed and turned on in the profile and window you write in.
  1. Check under chrome://extensions that Surfer for Google Docs is turned on.
  2. Sign in to app.surferseo.com in the same window and profile as the document.
  3. Select Refresh page in the panel.
With Surfer for Google Docs installed, Grant access or Add to Chrome in place of Log in to Surfer means the panel does not see the extension. Repeat step 1, then reload the document.Incognito windows and cookies are on the guidelines panel page under Troubleshooting.
The message quoted under Availability means the organization selected in the panel is on a plan without the Google Docs integration.
  • If you own that organization, an upgrade button appears.
  • If someone else owns it, ask the owner.
  • If you belong to more than one organization, the organization switcher at the top of the panel lets you pick another.
The panel reads your text again about a second after you stop typing.
  1. Wait a moment after typing.
  2. Check that the text is in the scored area. What the score sees lists what the score leaves out.
  3. If the score still does not follow, reload the page. The panel reads the text again.