If you’re a big-time numbers-cruncher who loves to dive deep into historical data, then you might want to grab some of your older AdSense analytics while you still can.
That’s because the platform is removing data older than three years, and it will also remove YouTube and AdMob data.
In this article, I’ll share what you need to know about the AdSense change.
It’s a Permanent Change
The first thing you should know is that it’s a permanent change. That means, going forward, you’ll only see at most three years worth of analytics.
Why? Well, that’s where the story gets interesting.
Google says that it made the change to improve the accuracy of its reports. However, the company’s support page says the new updates improve speed and usability.
Specifically, here’s the AdSense announcement: “In order to make reports more accurate, we’re limiting reporting data to three years for all AdSense products such as Adsense for content, AdSense for search, etc.”
And here’s the support page on the same subject: “To improve the speed and usability of the new AdSense reporting page, we’ve made some changes to reporting data in AdSense.”
So which statement is correct? Well, maybe they both are.
I can see how older data can distort trend analysis if it’s based on different algorithms. Also, I can see how eliminating older data can improve the speed of the web app.
YouTube and AdMob Data Removed
You’ll also no longer see YouTube and AdMob data in your AdSense reports.
And, once again, the announcement and the support page give two different reasons for the change. The same reasons that you saw above.
If you’d like to check your YouTube and AdMob analytics, go to the respective platforms from now on.
Ease of Use
In addition to the changes mentioned above, AdSense is also adding contextual help throughout the app.
For example, you can now hover over an info icon next to a data point and view a popup that gives you additional details about the metric.
Of course, you can’t hover over anything on a mobile platform. But Google says that all of its desktop enhancements will be available on mobile as well.
You’ll likely have to tap an info icon to see the popup about specific metrics.
How to Download Historical Data Before It’s Too Late
The data that’s older than three years hasn’t yet been deleted. You still have a window of opportunity to grab it and download it. Then, you can use that data in whatever third-party tools you rely on for aggregating and analyzing data.
According to Google, your old data will remain available until the end of September 2020.
Here are the steps you need to follow to get that legacy data:
- Log into AdSense as you normally would
- Click Reports
- Verify that you’re using the new version of the Reports page
- Find the report with old data that you’d like to download
- Next to Save as, click More
- Select Download legacy data
- Save the CSV file to your workspace wherever you need it
Wrapping It Up
Google AdSense will soon only allow you to access data that’s at most three years old. That’s to improve the accuracy of the data or enhance the user experience, depending on who you listen to.
If you’d like to keep your old data for historical purposes, you’d better download it before the end of September 2020.
Also, you should download your old data periodically as you’ll never have access to it again once it hits the three-year mark.
