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Keywords (SEO Tracking) Documentation

Menu Location: Settings > Content & Marketing > Keywords (SEO Tracking)

Access Level: Manager and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The Keywords page allows you to track your website's search engine rankings for important keywords and search terms. Monitor how your site performs in Google search results, identify opportunities for improvement, and measure the impact of your SEO efforts over time.

Primary Functions:

  • Track keyword rankings in search engines
  • Monitor ranking changes over time
  • Identify ranking opportunities and declines
  • Track competitor keyword performance
  • Measure SEO campaign effectiveness
  • Generate ranking reports
  • Discover new keyword opportunities
  • Alert on significant ranking changes

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Add Keyword button: Add new keyword to track
  • Refresh Rankings button: Manually update all rankings
  • Date Range selector: View historical data
  • Export button: Download ranking data as CSV

Keywords Table

Displays all tracked keywords with columns:

  • Keyword - Search term being tracked
  • Current Rank - Position in search results (1-100)
  • Previous Rank - Last recorded position
  • Change - Rank movement (↑↓ with number)
  • Search Volume - Estimated monthly searches
  • URL Ranking - Which page ranks for this keyword
  • Last Checked - When ranking was last updated
  • Actions - Edit, Delete, View History

Ranking Graph

Visual chart showing:

  • Ranking trends over time
  • Multiple keywords comparison
  • Ranking volatility indicators
  • Historical performance

Adding Keywords to Track

Basic Keyword Addition

Steps:

  1. Click "Add Keyword" button
  2. Enter keyword or search phrase
  3. Select search engine (Google, Bing, etc.)
  4. Choose location/region to track
  5. Optional: Add notes about keyword
  6. Click "Save & Track"
  7. Initial ranking check runs automatically

Required Fields:

  • Keyword phrase
  • Search engine
  • Location/country

Keyword Selection Strategy

What Keywords to Track:

Priority 1 - Brand Keywords:

  • Your company name
  • Branded product names
  • Branded phrases
  • Example: "FarmBox delivery", "FarmBox organic"

Priority 2 - Money Keywords:

  • Direct purchase intent terms
  • High conversion potential
  • Example: "organic produce delivery [city]", "farm box subscription"

Priority 3 - Category Keywords:

  • Broader product/service categories
  • Medium competition
  • Example: "organic food delivery", "CSA box subscription"

Priority 4 - Informational Keywords:

  • Related to your content/recipes
  • Educational searches
  • Example: "how to store vegetables", "seasonal produce guide"

Priority 5 - Long-Tail Keywords:

  • Specific, lower competition phrases
  • Example: "organic vegetable box delivery chicago weekly"

Search Volume & Competition

Understanding Search Volume:

  • High volume (10,000+ searches/month): Very competitive
  • Medium volume (1,000-10,000): Moderate competition
  • Low volume (100-1,000): Easier to rank, but less traffic
  • Very low (<100): Niche opportunities

Competition Indicators:

  • High: Major brands, national competitors
  • Medium: Regional companies, local competitors
  • Low: Few competitors, opportunity

Strategy:

  • Mix of high and low competition keywords
  • Focus on achievable wins (long-tail, local)
  • Track branded keywords (should rank #1)
  • Monitor competitor keywords

Monitoring Rankings

Automated Rank Checking

How It Works:

  • System automatically checks rankings weekly
  • Updates displayed in dashboard
  • Change alerts for significant movements
  • Historical data preserved

Checking Frequency:

  • Weekly for most keywords (standard)
  • Daily for priority keywords (if enabled)
  • On-demand manual refresh available

Manual Rank Updates

Force Immediate Check:

  1. Select keywords to check
  2. Click "Refresh Rankings" button
  3. Check runs in background
  4. Results update within minutes
  5. Email notification when complete

Use manual checks for:

  • After major website changes
  • Following SEO optimization work
  • After content publication
  • Monitoring campaign impact
  • Investigating sudden changes

Ranking Change Alerts

Automatic Alerts When:

  • Keyword moves ±3 positions or more
  • Keyword enters/exits first page (top 10)
  • Keyword drops out of top 100
  • New keyword enters tracking

Alert Delivery:

  • Email notification to admin users
  • Dashboard alert badge
  • Weekly summary report

Responding to Changes:

  • Ranking Up: Analyze what worked, replicate
  • Ranking Down: Investigate cause, optimize content
  • New Competitor: Review their content strategy
  • Lost Ranking: Check for technical issues

Analyzing Ranking Data

Ranking History Charts

View Trends:

  1. Click keyword in list
  2. View ranking history graph
  3. See position over time (weeks/months)
  4. Identify patterns and volatility

Graph Features:

  • Zoom to specific date ranges
  • Compare multiple keywords
  • Overlay site changes/campaigns
  • Annotate significant events

What to Look For:

  • Steady improvements (SEO working)
  • Sudden drops (investigate immediately)
  • Seasonal patterns (plan content accordingly)
  • Correlation with content/optimization work

Competitive Analysis

Track Competitor Keywords:

  1. Research competitor websites
  2. Identify keywords they rank for
  3. Add to your tracking
  4. Monitor their ranking vs. yours

Competitive Insights:

  • Which keywords do they dominate?
  • Where are opportunities (they rank 4-10)?
  • What content are they creating?
  • How can you differentiate?

Example: Competitor ranks #3 for "organic meal delivery chicago"

  • Your ranking: #12
  • Action: Optimize page, build links, improve content
  • Goal: Move into top 10 within 3 months

URL Performance

Track Which Pages Rank:

  • Homepage
  • Product/category pages
  • Blog articles/recipes
  • Landing pages

Insights:

  • Are the right pages ranking?
  • Should different page rank for keyword?
  • Multiple pages competing (cannibalization)?
  • Can optimize different page to rank?

Search Console Integration

Connect Google Search Console

Benefits:

  • Accurate ranking data directly from Google
  • Click-through rate metrics
  • Impression data (how often you appear)
  • Search query discovery
  • Performance trends

Setup:

  1. Go to Integration Settings
  2. Click "Connect Search Console"
  3. Authorize Google account
  4. Select property to connect
  5. Data syncs automatically

Search Console Metrics

Available Data:

  • Impressions: How often your site appeared in search
  • Clicks: Actual clicks from search results
  • CTR: Click-through rate (clicks ÷ impressions)
  • Position: Average ranking position

Using Search Console Data:

  • Discover keywords you rank for (but didn't know)
  • Identify low-hanging fruit (ranking 11-20, optimize to top 10)
  • Track CTR improvements from meta description optimization
  • Find pages with high impressions, low clicks (optimize titles)

Keyword Research Tools

Discover New Keywords

Built-in Keyword Suggestions:

  1. Enter seed keyword
  2. Click "Get Suggestions"
  3. System shows related keywords
  4. Review search volume and competition
  5. Add promising keywords to tracking

Suggestions Include:

  • Related searches from Google
  • "People also ask" queries
  • Long-tail variations
  • Seasonal variations
  • Local variations

Analyzing Keyword Opportunities

Opportunity Score:

  • Based on search volume, competition, current ranking
  • Highlights keywords worth pursuing
  • Prioritizes low-hanging fruit

Example Opportunities:

  • Ranking 11-20: Small optimization could reach page 1
  • High volume, zero ranking: New content opportunity
  • Competitor ranks, you don't: Target for optimization
  • Seasonal keyword: Plan content in advance

Local SEO Tracking

Location-Based Rankings

Why Track by Location:

  • Rankings vary by geographic location
  • Local search is critical for delivery businesses
  • Track performance in your service areas
  • Identify expansion opportunities

Adding Location Tracking:

  1. Add keyword
  2. Enable location tracking
  3. Enter city, state, or zip code
  4. Track separate ranking for each location

Example Multi-Location Tracking: Keyword: "organic produce delivery"

  • Chicago, IL: Rank #3
  • Milwaukee, WI: Rank #8
  • Madison, WI: Not ranking

Action: Create Madison-specific content to improve ranking

Google My Business Impact

Local Pack Rankings:

  • Track keywords that trigger map pack
  • Monitor your Google My Business listing position
  • Measure review and photo impact on rankings

Local Keywords to Track:

  • "[Service] in [City]"
  • "[Service] near me"
  • "[City] [Service]"
  • "[Service] [Neighborhood]"

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Launch New Content and Track Impact

Goal: Measure how new blog post affects rankings

Steps:

  1. Research target keyword for article
  2. Add keyword to tracking (record starting rank)
  3. Write and publish optimized article
  4. Check ranking weekly
  5. Track movement over 8-12 weeks
  6. Analyze: Did article improve ranking?

Typical Timeline:

  • Week 1-2: Little change (Google indexing)
  • Week 3-6: Movement begins
  • Week 8-12: Ranking stabilizes
  • Ongoing: Monitor and maintain

Use Case 2: Identify Ranking Opportunities

Goal: Find quick wins to improve SEO

Steps:

  1. Export all tracked keywords
  2. Filter for keywords ranking 11-20
  3. Identify keywords on "page 2" of results
  4. Review pages currently ranking
  5. Optimize pages:
    • Improve title tags
    • Enhance meta descriptions
    • Add more comprehensive content
    • Build internal links
    • Add images/media
  6. Track ranking changes weekly
  7. Aim to move into top 10 within 2 months

Why This Works: Already on page 2 = Google sees you as relevant Small improvements can push you to page 1

Use Case 3: Monitor Seasonal Keywords

Goal: Prepare and track seasonal content performance

Steps:

  1. Identify seasonal keywords:
    • "summer grilling recipes" (May-Aug)
    • "thanksgiving meal delivery" (Sep-Nov)
    • "new year healthy eating" (Dec-Jan)
  2. Add keywords to tracking
  3. Create seasonal content 2 months before season
  4. Monitor ranking as season approaches
  5. Track peak season performance
  6. Deactivate tracking in off-season
  7. Reactivate next year

Strategy:

  • Plan content calendar around seasonal keywords
  • Publish content early (time for Google to index)
  • Update content annually (freshness signal)
  • Build authority in seasonal topics

Use Case 4: Competitive Analysis

Goal: Understand and outrank competitor

Steps:

  1. Identify main competitor
  2. Research keywords they rank for
  3. Add competitor keywords to tracking
  4. Note which keywords they dominate (1-3)
  5. Note keywords where they rank 4-10 (opportunities)
  6. Create content targeting their weakness keywords
  7. For their strong keywords:
    • Analyze their content
    • Create better, more comprehensive content
    • Build more authoritative links
    • Track progress monthly
  8. Measure: How many keywords did you win?

Use Case 5: Measure Overall SEO Campaign

Goal: Track effectiveness of 3-month SEO initiative

Baseline (Month 0):

  1. Add 20-30 target keywords
  2. Record all current rankings
  3. Export baseline report

During Campaign (Months 1-3):

  1. Implement SEO improvements
  2. Check rankings weekly
  3. Adjust strategy based on movement

Results Analysis (Month 3):

  1. Export final rankings report
  2. Compare to baseline
  3. Calculate improvements:
    • How many keywords improved?
    • Average position change
    • Keywords entered top 10
    • Keywords entered top 3
  4. ROI: Traffic increase × conversion rate × avg order value

Reporting

Ranking Reports

Generate Reports:

  1. Select keywords to include
  2. Choose date range
  3. Select report format
  4. Click "Generate Report"
  5. Download PDF or CSV

Report Types:

  • Summary Report: Overview of all keywords
  • Trend Report: Ranking changes over time
  • Competitive Report: You vs. competitors
  • Opportunity Report: Keywords to target next

Report Frequency:

  • Weekly snapshot for active campaigns
  • Monthly executive summary
  • Quarterly SEO review
  • Annual year-over-year comparison

Metrics to Track

Key Performance Indicators:

  • Average ranking: Overall position across all keywords
  • Top 3 rankings: Count of keywords in positions 1-3
  • Top 10 rankings: Count in positions 1-10
  • Page 1 rankings: Count in top 10 (page 1)
  • Visibility score: Weighted ranking metric
  • Rank movement: Net change (up vs down)

Tracking Over Time:

  • Month-over-month changes
  • Quarter-over-quarter trends
  • Year-over-year growth
  • Correlation with traffic increases

Troubleshooting

Keyword Showing "Not Ranking"

Symptoms: Keyword shows no ranking position (not in top 100)

Possible Causes:

  1. Page not indexed by Google yet
  2. Very competitive keyword (need time)
  3. No relevant content on site
  4. Technical SEO issues
  5. Penalty or de-indexing

Solutions:

  1. Verify page is indexed (Google "site:yoursite.com page-url")
  2. Check Search Console for indexing issues
  3. Create/optimize content for keyword
  4. Build authoritative backlinks
  5. Be patient (some keywords take months)

Rankings Fluctuating Wildly

Symptoms: Keyword rank changes dramatically day-to-day

Common Reasons:

  1. New website (Google testing your rankings)
  2. Competitive keyword (many sites vying for position)
  3. Personalized search affecting results
  4. Google algorithm update in progress
  5. Technical issues (site speed, mobile-friendliness)

What to Do:

  1. Focus on weekly/monthly trends, not daily
  2. Ensure technical SEO is solid
  3. Continue creating quality content
  4. Build quality backlinks
  5. Fluctuations often stabilize after 3-4 weeks

Different Ranking Than Shown

Symptoms: You manually search and see different ranking than tool shows

Explanations:

  1. Personalization: Google customizes results for you
  2. Location: Rankings vary by location
  3. Device: Mobile vs desktop rankings differ
  4. Timing: Rankings checked at different times
  5. Search history: Your past searches influence results

Solutions:

  1. Use incognito/private browsing
  2. Disable location services
  3. Use VPN for neutral location
  4. Trust the tracking tool (uses neutral search)
  5. Check Search Console for accurate data

Keyword Rankings Dropped Suddenly

Immediate Actions:

  1. Check if website is online and accessible
  2. Verify no robots.txt or noindex issues
  3. Check Search Console for manual penalties
  4. Look for recent Google algorithm updates
  5. Review recent website changes
  6. Check for broken pages or 404 errors
  7. Analyze backlink profile for toxic links

Investigation:

  1. Did one keyword drop or many?
  2. Did competitors rise?
  3. Any recent content changes?
  4. Technical issues (site speed, mobile)?
  5. Was content removed or made less accessible?
  • News Items - Content creation impacts rankings
  • Recipes - Recipe content targets keywords
  • Business Settings - Site title/description affects SEO
  • URL Redirects - Maintain rankings when changing URLs
  • Cloudflare Settings - Site performance affects rankings

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Manager or higher

Access Levels:

  • Manager: View rankings, add keywords, run reports
  • Administrator: All + delete keywords, configure settings
  • Kiva Admin: All + API access, advanced configuration

Best Practices

Keyword Selection

  1. Start with 20-30 core keywords
  2. Mix branded and non-branded terms
  3. Include local keywords for delivery areas
  4. Track competitor keywords
  5. Add long-tail opportunities
  6. Remove keywords not relevant anymore

Monitoring

  1. Review rankings weekly
  2. Investigate significant changes promptly
  3. Track competitors regularly
  4. Use trends, not daily snapshots
  5. Set ranking goals and measure progress

Optimization

  1. Focus on "low-hanging fruit" (ranking 11-20)
  2. Create content for high-priority, unranked keywords
  3. Optimize pages that rank for multiple keywords
  4. Build internal links to important pages
  5. Earn quality backlinks to boost authority

Reporting

  1. Track progress monthly minimum
  2. Tie rankings to traffic and revenue
  3. Share wins with team
  4. Document what's working
  5. Adjust strategy based on data

Things to Avoid

  • ❌ Tracking too many keywords (focus on important ones)
  • ❌ Obsessing over daily fluctuations
  • ❌ Ignoring competitor movements
  • ❌ Forgetting to update keyword list
  • ❌ Not acting on ranking drops
  • ❌ Targeting only high-competition keywords

Quick Reference Card

Task Action
Add keyword "Add Keyword" button
Check rankings "Refresh Rankings" button
View history Click keyword > View chart
Export data "Export" button > Select format
Compare keywords Select multiple > "Compare"
Set alerts Edit keyword > Enable alerts
View opportunities Filter: Ranking 11-20
Track competitor Add their branded keywords

FAQs

How often are rankings checked?

Automatically weekly. You can manually refresh anytime. Premium accounts may have daily checking for priority keywords.

Why do rankings vary by location?

Google customizes results based on searcher location. Track specific locations for your service areas.

Should we track branded keywords?

Yes! You should rank #1 for your brand. If not, investigate why.

How many keywords should we track?

Start with 20-30. Add more as you expand. Focus on quality over quantity.

How long until new content ranks?

Typically 2-4 months. Some keywords rank faster, competitive ones take longer. Build authority over time.

What's a good ranking position?

Top 3 is excellent. Top 10 (page 1) is good. Anything lower needs optimization.

Can we track YouTube or Amazon rankings?

This tool focuses on Google web search. Some tools offer multi-platform tracking.

How do we improve rankings?

Create quality content, optimize on-page SEO, build quality backlinks, improve site speed, enhance user experience, be patient.

What if competitor always outranks us?

Analyze their strategy, create better content, build authority in niche topics, differentiate your offering, target different keywords.

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.