More Query Data From the Newly Expanded Google Search Console API

Last week, Google launched support for query data in their Google Search Console API. With this launch, we have access to data that wasn’t available before, which provides even more insight into how sites are performing in Google organic search and what audiences are searching for. We took part in the beta test of the new API and integrated it as soon as it launched.

Here’s what we know so far:

  • This API provides up to 5,000 results per request, which in some cases provides access to significantly more query data. (Side note: if you’re implementing the API and are finding that only 4,999 results are returned, try adding a filter to get the full 5,000. This quirk seems to be a minor glitch.)
  • You can request filtered data (by adding a dimension like country or device or page), but unfortunately that ultimately reduces the number of results returned. (In other words, if you request data by each filter and then aggregate everything returned, you end up with less data than if you made the request with no filters. This may be because some query data isn’t associated with a dimension and there’s currently no way to return that data separately.) Because of this, Keylime is requesting the data without filters to ensure that we get back the most data possible, but are working on ways to get the dimensions associated with the data as well.

Keylime Toolbox is storing this newly expanded data beginning with May 2015 and will begin using this data source in graphs and charts shortly. We’ll give all of our customers a heads up before we do, so that everyone will know when the data switch happened. The trends and percentages that Keylime Toolbox calculates will remain fairly consistent for most sites, but the number of keywords available will generally increase.

If you’re not a Keylime Toolbox customer and want an easy way to check out the data from the API, try a trial of Keylime Toolbox Light! As part of the Light Edition, you have access to all raw data available through the Google Search Console API as a downloadable link or emailed to you as a compressed file. As a bonus, you also get access to an awesome traffic dashboard and query data segmented by branded and unbranded traffic.

Traffic Dashboard

 

Traffic Dashboard

Or try out the Complete Edition, which provides access to all of that along with graphs and reports that provide tools and analysis for understanding trends over time for query data segmented in any way you’d like.

SEO Trends Over Time

SEO Trends Over Time

 

Comparing Dates:

SEO Comparing Dates

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