How the Rank tracking of the core keywords is calculated

In short

Rank tracking follows the 100 most-searched relevant, non-branded keywords from your latest SEO measurement more closely than the monthly measurement does. Actavero checks Google's top 10 for each of them every morning on the Scale plan and every Monday on Starter and Growth, records where each tracked brand ranks, and turns important changes for your brand into signals: entering or leaving the top 3 or top 10, and a competitor moving ahead of you into the top 3.

Formula

Core keywords = the 100 most-searched keywords of the latest measurement that are relevant (not Not your market) and non-branded
Left the top 3: position ≤ 3 at the previous check and > 3 (or not in the top 10) now; likewise for entering, and for the top 10
Overtaken: a competitor is in the top 3 and ahead of you now, and wasn't ahead of you at the previous check
Impact: high for top-3 changes on keywords with 1,000+ searches a month; medium for other changes with 500+; low otherwise

How it is calculated, step by step

1. Take the core keywords from the latest SEO measurement (refreshed every month).
2. Every morning (Scale) or every Monday (other plans), queue a Google results check for each keyword in its language, desktop, top 10.
3. About ten minutes later, collect the results and record each tracked brand's position (their website or a subdomain).
4. Compare with the previous check and create signals for the ten biggest changes for your brand; high-impact ones go out as instant alerts (Scale) and all appear in the weekly digest.

What goes into it

Core keywords

Your 100 most important keywords with their language and search volume.

Brand websites

The websites of you and your tracked competitors.

Data sources

• DataForSEO SERP API (Google organic, standard queue) in the workspace's market.

How often it is updated

Daily (Scale) or weekly on Mondays (Starter, Growth and trial).

How to read it

• A drop out of the top 3 on a high-volume keyword costs the most clicks: the top 3 positions get most of them.
• A competitor overtaking you on several keywords at once often follows a site or content change worth looking at.
• Single-day moves of one or two positions are normal; look at the trend over several checks.

Example

Yesterday you ranked 2nd for a keyword with 8,000 searches a month, today 5th: 'You dropped out of Google's top 3', about 8,000 × (5% − 15%) = −800 visits a month, high impact.

Limitations

• Desktop results in one location; mobile and personalised results can differ.
• Only the top 10 is checked; positions beyond 10 show as not ranking.
• The core keywords change when the monthly measurement finds new important keywords.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• SEO share of voice — Your share of the estimated search clicks of all tracked brands: monthly search volume × expected click-through rate of each brand's Google position, per keyword.
• Traffic value — What a brand's estimated organic search visits would cost as Google Ads: estimated visits per keyword × the keyword's cost per click, summed, per month in USD.
• Google results page: AI Overviews and special blocks — For your 100 most-searched relevant non-branded keywords: which special blocks Google shows (AI Overview, People also ask, map, …), which brands its AI Overview cites, who else takes the top 10, and where to focus.
• Ranking changes since the last measurement — Keywords each brand gained or lost in Google's top 3 and top 10 since the previous measurement, and your biggest position changes with their effect on estimated visits.