Google Search Console (Manual Exports)

The most common way to get raw ranking data is directly from GSC. However, the interface has a strict limit: it only exports the top 1,000 rows of data.

• Navigate: Go to Performance > Search results.
• Filter: Apply any necessary filters (e.g., Date: Last 3 Months, Country: United Kingdom).
• Export: Click the Export button in the top right corner of the screen.
• Format: Choose Google Sheets, Excel, or CSV.
  • Tip: If you need more than 1,000 rows (e.g., for a large e-commerce site), you must use the GSC API or connect it to Looker Studio (see below).

Google Analytics 4 (Report Downloads)

GA4 allows you to export any standard report or custom exploration.

• Navigate: Open the specific report you want (e.g., Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition).
• Share: Click the Share icon (looks like a connected node) in the top right corner.
• Download: Select Download File.
• Format: Choose CSV (for analysis in Excel) or PDF (for sending to clients/managers).
  • Warning: PDF exports in GA4 often cut off columns if the table is too wide. CSV is safer.

Looker Studio (Automated Reporting)

Manual exporting is slow and prone to error. The professional standard is to connect your data sources to Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) for live, automated reporting.

• Connect: Create a blank report in Looker Studio and select Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 as your data sources.
• Visualize: Drag and drop charts (e.g., a Line Chart for “Total Clicks” or a Table for “Top Queries”).
• Schedule: Click the Share arrow and select Schedule delivery.
• Automate: Set it to email a PDF of the dashboard to you (or your client) every Monday morning automatically.

Using the Search Console API (For Big Data)

For enterprise sites with thousands of pages, the 1,000-row limit in GSC is a major blocker. You need the API to get the full picture.

The Strategy: You do not need to be a developer to use this.

• Tools: Use a Google Sheets add-on like “Search Analytics for Sheets”.
• Request: Open the add-on in Sheets, log in to GSC, and request “Everything” (grouped by Page and Query).
• Result: It will pull 25,000+ rows directly into your spreadsheet, bypassing the UI limit.