Bulk Import Keywords via CSV

When onboarding a new client with a long keyword list, adding prompts one at a time is slow. Outercite's CSV import lets you upload hundreds of prompts in a single step.

What you'll learn

• The required CSV format for bulk keyword import
• How to handle validation errors before they block your upload
• How to split a large keyword list across multiple intent types

When to use bulk import

Use CSV import when a client brings a keyword list from another tool, or when you are migrating from a spreadsheet-based tracking workflow. It is also useful after a site audit, when you may want to test 50 or more prompts at once.

For fewer than ten keywords, the manual Add prompt flow at /prompts is faster.

Step 1: Download the template

1. Go to /prompts inside the client workspace.
2. Click Import in the top-right corner.
3. Click Download template. Outercite gives you a CSV file with the correct column headers already in place.

Step 2: Fill in the CSV

Open the template in any spreadsheet editor (Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets). The file has four columns:

Writing good prompts

A prompt should match how a person actually asks an AI search engine. Use natural language:

• Good: "Which accounting firm in Perth handles small business tax?"
• Weaker: "Perth small business accountant"

The verification pipeline classifies each prompt by intent after import, but providing the correct intent type up front speeds up processing and improves accuracy.

Intent type reference

The intent values accepted in the CSV correspond to the intent types available in your account. Common examples include:

• local - Searches tied to a geographic area (suburb, city, region).
• buying - High-purchase-intent queries ("best", "cheapest", "where to buy").
• informational - How-to and explainer queries with no immediate purchase signal.
• comparison - "X vs Y" style queries. Outercite tracks competitor mentions heavily here.
• branded - Queries that include the client's own brand name.

Check the CSV template or the product for the current list of accepted intent values, as these may be updated.

Step 3: Validate before uploading

Common problems that fail validation:

1. Blank prompt cells. Every row needs a prompt value. Delete blank rows before saving.
2. Invalid intent value. The intent column only accepts the five values listed above. Capitalisation matters: Buying will fail, buying will pass.
3. Duplicate prompts. If the same prompt text appears twice in the file, Outercite imports only the first row and skips the duplicate.
4. Prompt too short. A prompt under 5 characters is rejected. This usually catches accidental tab or space entries.
5. File encoding. Save as UTF-8 CSV, not UTF-16 or Windows-1252. In Excel: File > Save As > CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited).

To pre-check your file before upload, run it through a free CSV linter, or open it in Google Sheets (which normalises encoding automatically).

Step 4: Upload the file

1. Go back to /prompts and click Import.
2. Click Choose file and select your CSV.
3. Outercite shows a preview of the first five rows. Confirm the column mapping looks correct.
4. Click Import prompts. A progress bar tracks the upload.

If the file contains errors, Outercite shows a validation report listing the row number and error type. Fix the flagged rows and re-upload. Successfully imported rows are not duplicated on re-upload.

Step 5: Review after import

After the import completes:

1. Go to /prompts and check that the count matches your CSV row count minus any skipped duplicates.
2. Spot-check three or four prompts to confirm intent types imported correctly.
3. Trigger a manual audit from the dashboard to start collecting data immediately.

Outercite checks prompts across six AI engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI, Grok, and DeepSeek. Each engine is queried separately, so the first run generates multiple checks per prompt.

Bulk import limits

Import limits vary by plan; check your account for the limits that apply to you. If you hit the per-file limit, split your CSV into batches and upload them one after the other.

Try this in Outercite

Go to /prompts inside any client workspace and click Import to upload your first CSV. The template download is on that same screen.

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