Search Console “16 Months in the Past” Error: How to Keep More Than 16 Months of Data

If you request Google Search Console data through Windsor.ai, in Claude, ChatGPT, Looker Studio, Google Sheets or the API, and the request comes back with this message:

date_from cannot be more than 16 months in the past

the request asked Search Console for data older than 16 months. Google does not keep performance data that far back. To fix it, set the start date (date_from) to a day within the last 16 months and run the request again.

Data older than 16 months cannot be recovered. That applies to the Search Console interface, the Search Console API and every connector that uses the API, Windsor.ai included. To report on longer periods, store the data outside Google from now on, for example with a daily Windsor.ai export to BigQuery or Google Sheets.

Search Console keeps performance data for the last 16 months, and each day the oldest day drops out of that window. Google set the 16-month range in 2018 (Google Search Central). The Search Analytics API, which the Windsor.ai connector uses, has the same limit.

The connector checks the start date of each request. If date_from is more than 16 months back, it returns this error and no rows, even when most of the requested range is inside the window.

Move the start date to a day within the last 16 months. Where you change it depends on where the request comes from:

1. Looker Studio, the Google Sheets add-on or another report: pick a date range that starts within the last 16 months, for example the last 12 months.
2. API or connector URL: change date_from to a date within the last 16 months, or replace it with a preset such as date_preset=last_12m.
3. Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant: ask for a period within the last 16 months, for example “the last 12 months” instead of “all time”.

Year-over-year comparisons still work inside the window. Comparing this month with the same month last year asks for about 13 months of data.

You can build a longer history by storing Search Console data outside Google before it drops out of the 16-month window. The history starts from the data you store. Nothing older than 16 months can be added later.

1. In the Windsor.ai dashboard, create a destination task with Search Console as the source and Google Sheets or BigQuery as the destination.
2. Add date to the fields, together with the dimensions you report on, for example query and page.
3. Turn on backfill to load the 16 months Search Console still holds. Backfill is available from the Basic plan.
4. Set the schedule to daily.
5. For Google Sheets, enter date and the same dimensions in Columns to Match. On each run, a matching row is updated and a row with no match is added. Recent days refresh and older days stay in the sheet. Without Columns to Match, every run adds all rows again and the sheet fills with duplicates.

The free forever plan includes daily scheduled syncs for up to 5 destination tasks, but no backfill. On the free plan, the history starts on the day you set up the task. Backfill starts on the Basic plan at $19/month with annual billing (pricing).

Search Console can also export to BigQuery itself, once a day. It needs a Google Cloud project with billing, and only a property owner can start it. The first export includes only the day of the export; Google points to the API or the reports for data from before setup (Search Console Help).

Use the bulk export if you own the property and only need Search Console in BigQuery. Use a Windsor.ai task if you want the data in Google Sheets, want to load the 16 months you still have, or want Search Console next to GA4 and ad data in one place.

If the start date is inside the last 16 months and you still see the error, reach out to support with:

• The full error message, verbatim.
• The date range or preset you requested, and where the request came from (report, API, AI assistant).
• The Search Console property.

• Google Search Console API guide: fields, limits and real usage errors
• Search Console reporting: a complete guide
• How to integrate data into Google Sheets
• How to integrate data into Google BigQuery
• Google Search Console field reference