Backups, export and import settings

RankKit SEO can back up everything it owns, restore it in one click, and export it to a file you can import on another site. Backups are taken automatically before risky operations (imports, bulk AI, agent bulk edits), so you always have a way back.

Both tools are in RankKit SEO → Tools: the Backups card and the Export & import card.

What a backup contains

• All RankKit SEO settings and the Role manager permissions
• The SEO fields of every post and term (titles, descriptions, focus keywords, robots settings, canonicals, social fields, schema)
• The alt text of every image in the media library
• All redirects

Your AI provider API key is never included, so a backup is safe to download.

Backups are stored in your WordPress database. They are not off-site copies of your whole site, so keep your regular hosting or WordPress backups as well.

Back up now

1. Go to RankKit SEO → Tools and find Backups.
2. Optionally type a Label (optional), for example "Before redesign".
3. Click Back up now.

The list shows each backup with its label, an auto or manual badge, its age, who took it, the number of posts with SEO data and redirects ("SEO data on N posts, N redirects") and its size. The backup you restored most recently has a restored badge.

Automatic backups

RankKit SEO takes a backup by itself before:

Label in the list	When
Before importing from another SEO plugin	An import from Yoast SEO, Rank Math and others
Before importing a settings file	A settings file import
Before importing a RankKit SEO export	An import from Export & import
Before a bulk AI change	Bulk AI titles, descriptions or alt text, including Fix with AI in the audit
Before an agent bulk edit	An AI agent's bulk tool call (not a dry run)
Before restoring a backup	Any restore

If an automatic backup of the same kind was taken in the last two minutes, RankKit SEO reuses it instead of taking another.

RankKit SEO keeps the newest 5 manual and the newest 5 automatic backups. Older ones are deleted when a new one is taken.

Restore a backup

1. In Backups, click Restore next to the backup.
2. Read the confirmation: "All RankKit SEO settings, SEO fields, alt text and redirects go back to" the backup.
3. Click Restore.

What a restore does:

• Settings and role permissions are replaced with the backed-up ones. Your current AI API key stays.
• SEO fields of posts and terms that existed when the backup was taken go back to the backed-up values. Posts and terms created after the backup keep their SEO fields.
• Alt text goes back to the backed-up values, including removing alt text added since.
• Redirects are replaced: redirects added after the backup are removed.

The current state is backed up first, and the restore appears in the Change Log. To undo the restore, click Revert on that entry, which puts back the backup taken just before.

Download or delete a backup

• Click the download icon to save a backup as a JSON file. You can import it later on this or another site with Import a file… (see below).
• Click the trash icon to delete a backup.

Export to a file

Use Export & import to move RankKit SEO to another site, or to keep a copy outside the database.

1. Go to RankKit SEO → Tools → Export & import.
2. Choose what to include:
   • Settings and role permissions
   • SEO fields of every post and term
   • Redirects
3. Click Export. A JSON file downloads.

Your AI provider API key and your agent tokens are never exported, and neither is your Google connection. Other settings travel as they are, including an optional PageSpeed Insights API key and your IndexNow key if you set them.

Import a file

1. On the destination site, go to RankKit SEO → Tools → Export & import.
2. Click Import a file… and choose a RankKit SEO export or a downloaded backup.
3. Review the Import preview. Nothing has changed yet. You see:
   • Settings: how many settings will change.
   • SEO fields: how many fields on how many matched posts, and how many posts in the file do not exist here and are skipped.
   • Redirects: how many new redirects, how many already exist and how many are not supported here.
4. Turn off any part you do not want to import.
5. Leave Overwrite SEO fields that are already set on this site off to only fill empty fields, or turn it on to replace existing values.
6. Click Import.

RankKit SEO takes a backup first, and the whole import is one batch in the Change Log, so you can undo it with Revert whole batch.

How posts are matched

Posts and terms are matched by ID when the ID still points at the same content (same post type and slug). Otherwise they are matched by URL path or slug, so an export from a staging site or another domain lands on the right posts.

Note "Not supported here" redirects are usually regex or prefix redirects imported into the free plugin. Those redirect types are part of RankKit SEO Pro. See Advanced redirects.

Who can use these tools

Backups and export/import need the Tools & backups permission, which only administrators have by default. See Role manager.

FAQ

Is there a "reset all settings" button?

No. To go back to an earlier state, restore a backup. The Role manager has its own Reset to defaults button for permissions.

Are backups kept if I uninstall RankKit SEO?

No. Backups are stored as RankKit SEO options and are deleted when you delete the plugin. Download the ones you want to keep first. See Deactivate or uninstall RankKit SEO.

Can I move my SEO data from another SEO plugin with this?

No. Use Import from another SEO plugin on the same Tools page. See Switch from another SEO plugin.

Does a restore touch my post content?

No. It restores RankKit SEO's own fields, image alt text, settings and redirects. Post content and titles are not changed.