Google’s John Mueller recently announced on Google+ that the tech giant will be ending support for CSV download scripts. The Python script, used to download search query data from Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) will be discontinued from 20^th October this year.

Webmaster Tools

Google first launched the download option for Google Webmaster Tools as long ago as the end of 2011, meaning that the Python script has now been used for almost four years. For any type of software this represents a good run, however, the new Search Console API from Google will now provide a more efficient way of grabbing the same data.

Official API

The new official API was recently announced by Google when it unveiled the Search Analytics API, whose aim is to allow developers to gain easy access to data from the Search Analytics feature in Google Search Console. The company has said that the idea is to help people use search performance data as an integral part of their own apps and tools.

Blog post

John Mueller, a Webmaster Trends analyst, wrote in a post on the Google Webmaster Central blog about the changes. "These download scripts have helped various sites and tools to get information on queries, impressions, clicks, and rankings over the years. However, they didn’t use the new Search Analytics data, and relied on the deprecated Client Login API" he explained.

Mueller believes that users of any of Google’s other APIs or one of the existing Search Console APIs will find it easy to get to grips with the new Search Analytics API.

Goodbye CSV

As many people have already said their goodbyes to the old CSV and have started using the new API, the way information on content, queries and rankings is being gathered has already begun to change. As well as being used to verify the presence of data, the new API can also handle information such as top ten queries by click count, top ten pages or top ten queries in a particular location, adding new functionality for analytics users.