📋 Overview
If you see an error when you try to view or download a full report from Report Builder, the most common cause is a disabled or disconnected Rank Tracker. Report Builder pulls keyword ranking data directly from your Rank Tracker project. When that connection is turned off, expired, or missing, the report cannot finish loading and the download fails.
This article explains why the error happens and walks you through restoring the connection so your reports generate normally.
🤔 Why This Error Happens
Your reports depend on an active data source. The error usually appears for one of these reasons:
- The Rank Tracker for the project was paused or disabled.
- The report is linked to a Rank Tracker project that was deleted or renamed.
- Keyword tracking for the project ran out of available quota or was never set up.
- The project was recently created and has not yet collected ranking data.
- The Rank Tracker project is still processing and is stuck in an Updating state, so the latest ranking data has not finished syncing.
- A temporary backend error on the Rank Tracker reporting endpoint prevented the report from loading. These service-side errors are typically resolved by our engineering team.
✅ Step 1: Confirm the Rank Tracker Is Enabled
- Log in to your Search Atlas dashboard.
- In the left sidebar, open Keywords.
- Go to Rank Tracker (Keyword Rank Tracker) and select the project tied to your report.
- Check the status indicator. If it shows as Disabled or Paused, select Enable to turn it back on.
- Confirm that keywords are listed and actively being tracked.
If keywords are present and the tracker is active, allow a few minutes for the data to sync before returning to Report Builder.
If the project stays in an Updating state for an unusually long time (for example, several hours) and never finishes, the data refresh may be stuck. Allow more time for it to complete, and if it does not, contact support so we can investigate the project's sync.
🔍 Step 2: Verify the Report's Data Source
If the Rank Tracker is enabled but the error continues, the report may be pointing to the wrong project.
- Open Report Builder.
- Select the report that is failing to download.
- Open the report settings and review the connected project and Rank Tracker source.
- If the linked project is incorrect or no longer exists, choose the correct active project from the dropdown.
- Confirm the report is set to the correct location. Report Builder pulls rankings per location, so a report tied to the wrong location can show missing keywords or rank positions that don't match your Rank Tracker.
- Save your changes.
If a keyword's rank position or location in the report does not match what you see in the Rank Tracker, double-check the location associated with that keyword — this is especially important when the same keyword is tracked across multiple locations.
📊 Step 3: Check Keyword Quota
Rank Tracker connections can be automatically disabled when your plan's keyword limit is reached.
- Go to Settings and open the Usage or Subscription section.
- Review your tracked keyword usage against your plan limit.
- If you are at your limit, remove unused keywords or upgrade your plan to free up capacity.
- Return to the Rank Tracker and confirm it is now active.
🔄 Step 4: Regenerate the Report
Once the connection is restored, refresh the report data:
- Open the report in Report Builder.
- Select Refresh or Regenerate to pull the latest data.
- Wait for the report to finish loading completely.
- Choose View report to confirm the error is resolved.
💡 Tip: Allow Time for New Projects
If you just enabled the Rank Tracker or created a new project, ranking data can take up to 24 hours to populate. Reports built before data is available may still show the error until the first tracking cycle completes.
🆘 Still Seeing the Error?
If you have completed all the steps above and the report still will not download, the cause may be a backend service error on the report's Rank Tracker connection rather than a setting on your end. Contact our support team and include the following details so we can help faster:
- The name of the affected report.
- The project and Rank Tracker it is connected to.
- A screenshot of the exact error message.
- The date and approximate time you encountered the issue.
Our team can then check the connection on the backend and restore your report access.