Preparing for SEO Changes: How to Export Your Google Search Console Keywords Before the Update
In the ever-evolving landscape of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), staying ahead of platform updates is vital for maintaining and refining your content strategy. Recent developments from Google indicate a significant change that will impact how webmasters and SEO professionals access and interpret keyword data. Specifically, Google Search Console (GSC) will soon discontinue support for the &num=100 parameter, which previously allowed tools and users to retrieve the top 100 search queries in a single request.
Understanding the Upcoming Change
Previously, many SEO tools integrated with Google Search Console could efficiently fetch detailed insights by utilizing this parameter, enabling comprehensive analysis of the most prominent keywords driving traffic. However, with Google’s removal of the &num=100 parameter, gathering extensive search query data directly from GSC will become more challenging. This transition has already started to reflect in noticeable declines in impression counts within Search Console—an expected consequence as data availability diminishes.
Why Exporting Your Keyword Data Matters
To mitigate the impact of this change and preserve valuable insights, it is highly recommended that website owners and SEO professionals proactively export their historical search query data. Specifically, exporting all keywords from Google Search Console covering the past 16 months can serve as a crucial reference point for future content strategizing.
Maintaining an archive of your keyword data offers several benefits:
– Historical Analysis: Understand long-term performance trends of specific keywords.
– Content Optimization: Identify high-performing topics to prioritize in upcoming content creation.
– Competitor Benchmarking: Compare your historical data with competitors who may have retained more comprehensive records.
– Strategic Planning: Inform your long-term SEO and content marketing strategies amidst reduced data access.
How to Export Your Keyword Data
To effectively download your keyword history:
1. Log into Google Search Console.
2. Select the relevant property (website).
3. Navigate to the “Performance” report.
4. Set the date range to cover the last 16 months.
5. Use the filtering options if needed to narrow down specific queries.
6. Export the data as a CSV or Google Sheets file.
Repeat this process periodically to ensure your keyword repository remains comprehensive and up-to-date.
Preparing for the Future of SEO Data Access
As platform updates continue to evolve, adaptability is key. While Google’s removal of the &num=100 parameter limits direct, bulk data retrieval, alternative methods such as third-party APIs