How Ranking Alerts Work
Ranking alerts notify you when your tracked keywords have significant position changes. But not every ranking fluctuation is worth an email. A 3-position move at position 5 is a big deal. The same move at position 45 is just noise.
That's why the alert system uses tiered thresholds and importance scoring to surface the changes that actually matter and skip the ones that don't.
Tiered alert thresholds
The minimum position change required to trigger an alert depends on where the keyword currently ranks. Keywords closer to page 1 get tighter thresholds because small changes there have a much bigger impact on your traffic.
| Position Range | Threshold | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Positions 1-10 | 3+ positions | Page 1 rankings are critical. A drop from #3 to #6 can cut your clicks in half |
| Positions 11-30 | 5+ positions | Page 2-3 keywords matter, but small fluctuations are common and rarely actionable |
| Positions 31+ | 10+ positions | Deep rankings are inherently volatile. Only large moves signal a real trend |
| Keyword | Position change | Alert? | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| "best crm software" | #3 to #6 (dropped 3) | Yes | Top 10 keyword, threshold is 3 |
| "crm comparison guide" | #15 to #18 (dropped 3) | No | Position 11-30, threshold is 5 |
| "project management tips" | #40 to #48 (dropped 8) | No | Position 31+, threshold is 10 |
| "team collaboration tools" | #22 to #14 (gained 8) | Yes | Position 11-30, threshold is 5, change is 8 |
All-devices aggregate only
Alerts only fire for the all-devices aggregate, not for individual device types (desktop, mobile, tablet). This prevents you from getting 2-3 alerts for the same keyword change. If "best crm software" drops 3 positions, you get one alert rather than separate desktop and mobile alerts about the same event.
One alert per keyword per day
Each keyword can trigger at most one alert per day. If a keyword moves 5 positions in the morning and another 3 in the afternoon, you'll see a single alert for the net change, not two separate alerts.
Importance scoring
When you have many alerts, which ones should you look at first? The system calculates an importance score for each alert to sort the most impactful changes to the top of your email.
This formula rewards alerts that involve:
- Large position changes: Bigger moves score higher
- High-traffic keywords: Keywords with more clicks and impressions score higher because the impact on your traffic is bigger
- Valuable keywords: Higher CPC keywords represent more commercial value, so changes are more important
- Higher-ranking keywords: A change at position 5 scores higher than the same change at position 50, because page 1 visibility matters more
Two keywords both dropped 5 positions:
| Keyword | Change | Clicks | CPC | Impressions | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "best crm software" | #3 to #8 | 45 | $12.00 | 2,000 | High |
| "free task app" | #25 to #30 | 2 | $0.50 | 150 | Low |
Both dropped 5 positions, but the CRM keyword scores much higher because it has more traffic, a higher CPC, and was at a more valuable position. It appears first in your alert email.
Daily and weekly alerts
You can choose between two alert frequencies in your Settings:
| Frequency | When it sends | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Every morning at 8 AM | Position changes from the previous day compared to the day before |
| Weekly | Monday mornings at 8 AM | Position changes over the past 7 days, providing a broader view of trends |
Alert email format
Each alert email has two sections:
- Needs Attention: Up to 10 keywords that dropped in ranking, sorted by importance score. These are the ones to investigate first
- Improving: Up to 10 keywords that gained in ranking. Good news that confirms your SEO efforts are working
Each row shows the keyword, domain, current position, position change, and search volume so you can quickly assess the situation without opening the app.
The email subject line gives you a quick summary: "Ranking Alert: 5 up / 3 down" for daily, or "Weekly Ranking Report: 8 up / 4 down" for weekly digests.