Google Ads Announces 11-Year Data Retention Policy

SEO October 13, 2024

0 5 1 minute read

Google Ads is preparing to implement a new data retention policy, limiting historical data access to 11 years.

As data privacy concerns continue to grow, tech companies may need to adjust their data retention policies. This move by Google aligns with broader industry trends towards more defined data lifecycles.

Details: The policy goes into effect on Nov. 13 and:

Applies to data accessed via Google Ads API using GoogleAds.Search or GoogleAds.SearchStream.
Data older than 11 years from the date of the API request will not be returned.

Why we care. This change affects all account data, including performance metrics, billing information, and historical reports, which could impact long-term trend analysis and reporting for advertisers.

What to watch. Advertisers and agencies with needs for longer historical data should act before the implementation date.

What they’re saying. Google advises users who need data older than 11 years to retrieve and store it before Nov. 13.

Bottom line. Most users won’t need to take any immediate action, but this change could affect long-term reporting and analysis strategies for some advertisers.

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About the author

Anu Adegbola has been the Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video, and more. In 2008, Anu began her career delivering digital marketing campaigns, primarily focused on Paid Search, by building strategies, maximizing ROI, automating processes, and bringing efficiency to marketing departments through inspiring leadership across agency, client, and marketing tech roles.

Outside of editing Search Engine Land articles, she is the founder of the PPC networking event PPC Live and the host of the weekly podcast PPCChat Roundup.

She is also an international speaker, having presented at various stages including SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, and AdWorld Experience (Bologna) among others.