Configuring Rank Tracker
- Registering Your Copy of Rank Tracker
- Using Search Engines API Keys
- Activating Search Safety Settings
- Filling out Company Profile
- Filling out Customer Profile
- Configuring Proxy Settings
- Changing Interface Language
- Managing Misc. Preferences
Registering Your Copy of Rank Tracker
As soon as your order is processed (it's usually a matter of seconds for instant payment methods), you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing your registration info. Please find your license key for Rank Tracker in it. It will have the following format.
----------- Rank Tracker -------------------
Registered by: Your Name
Registration key: RT-XXXXXXXXXXXXX
- The Registered By field will coincide with the name of the person who purchased the software. Please note that it will appear as used during the purchase.
- The Registration Key field is for the license key that has been generated by our system. The "RT" prefix stands for "Rank Tracker". It lets you easily tell this key from others: WebSite Auditor (WA), SEO SpyGlass (SSG), and LinkAssistant (LA). The second part of the license key (after the hyphen) is populated with a random combination of letters and numbers.
You will need to enter your user name and license key to the application to start taking advantage of features supported by your type of license. To do it, please start Rank Tracker and open its Help menu. Click on Rank Tracker Registration Info.
Mac users can also access the registration form through the Rank Tracker menu (Rank Tracker -> About Rank Tracker).
Once the form is open, please copy your user name from the confirmation e-mail and paste it to the Registered By field. Then do the same with your license key (it should appear in the Registration key field). Click OK to apply the details you've entered. A confirmation screen will show up – please hit OK to close it.
When you go back to the registration form after that, it will show the type of license you have registered. It means that the registration process has been completed successfully.
Common Error Messages
What if you've entered the required details, but Rank Tracker just won't accept them? Probably you'll find an answer below.
"Registration key doesn't match the name specified!"
This error message signifies that either the user name or the license key is incorrect. Here's a list of possible reasons:
- You have used a shorted form of your name (for example, "Cathy Woods" instead of "Catherine Woods") or you entered your own name instead of the name of the co-worker who paid for the software.
- You have accidentally entered a double space between your first and last name.
- You have left a space before the user name or the license key.
- You have entered the license key without the "RT" prefix.
- You have used a key for another product (WebSite Auditor, SEO SpyGlass or LinkAssistant). SEO PowerSuite license keys may look very similar at a first glance but if you pay attention to their prefixes (RT, WA, SSG, LA), you'll easily tell them from each other.
Please note that the user name and the license key need to be entered exactly as they appear in your confirmation e-mail. To prevent possible misprints, it is preferable to copy the details from the message instead of typing them in manually.
"Sorry, the registration key is not valid"
This error message means that there exists such a license key but it has been disabled. It can happen in the following cases:
- If you have upgraded the key (you'll need to replace it for the new key then);
- If you have had the key exchanged for a new one (for example to prevent unauthorized access to the software);
- If you returned the product as per its 30-day money-back guarantee.
If unsure which key to use, please contact support. Please use this link to get a new Rank Tracker key.
"License agreement violation"
The error message appears if a copy of Rank Tracker registered with your license key is already running on another computer. Please close both instances of Rank Tracker if you see this error message. You'll be able to start the application on either of the machines in 3-5 minutes.
If you would like to be able to use the software on 2 or more computers simultaneously, please check out available discounts on multi-user packages.
Using Search Engines API Keys
An API key gives its owner an official permission to send automated queries to the search engine it has been issued by. So if you have one, you can safely update your rankings and check competition without the risk of a temporary block.
Unfortunately, API keys often restrain users' search activities. Free Google APIs are only good for 100 daily searches (users start getting blocked as soon as this limit is exceeded). Bing has set up the limit of 10,000 searches on a day. Yandex restricts its API users to just 1,000 free search requests. Considering that each search results page an SEO tool scans is counted as a separate query, the daily limits can be used up after checking a few hundred keywords.
Another fact that speaks against using API keys in rank checking tools is data accuracy. Users accessing search engines with API keys are served results from special API databases. These databases tend to be updated slower than regular ones, which may result in various kinds of ranking discrepancies (especially for non-US users). So if you need all ranking positions in your reports to be 100% compliant with real-time results, you should probably go without API keys and enable some search safety settings instead.
Search engine giants like Google and Bing aren't the ones who issue API keys to SEOs. API keys are also distributed by keyword research databases (e.g. Google AdWords, Wordtracker, SEMRush). While the search engines' APIs are supplied for free, developer access to keyword databases is usually fee-based. Subscribers get access to insider resources letting them discover new keywords others may be totally unaware of.
Rank Tracker supports API keys belonging to top search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Yandex) and keyword research databases (Wordtracker, SEMRush). If you have one of these APIs and would like to use it in a Rank Tracker project, please open the Preferences menu and choose the Search Engines API Keys option. Enable an appropriate checkbox and paste the key to the adjacent field.
If you would like to use an API key to access a service but don't have one yet, please follow a suitable link from below to sign up for it.
- Get a Google API key
- Get a Bing API key
- Get a Yahoo! BOSS key
- Get a Yandex API key
- Get a Wordtracker API key
- Get a SEMRush API key
Activating Search Safety Settings
Search safety settings are to help you prevent temporary blocks in search engines.
What is a temporary block?
It's a measure search engines use to ease traffic load on their servers. If they notice frequent search requests sent by the same user, they can refuse to process them. By denying access to an individual user with numerous search requests, they are able to serve numerous users with individual search requests. Such a block is absolutely harmless. Once blocked, however, one needs to wait for about half an hour to re-gain access to the search engine. This can be rather inconvenient.
When can a temporary block happen?
A temporary block can occur while you are pulling data from search engines. There are two types of tasks in Rank Tracker involving the use of search engines:
- checking sites' rankings,
- updating competition volume for keywords.
How can SEOs get statistics they need without getting blocked?
Since one cannot promote a site without actively monitoring search engines, it's necessary to do something about temporary blocks. Rank Tracker is equipped with a special set of search safety features. Their aim is to let users update their projects without interruptions. This is an alternative to API keys. The settings are available under Preferences -> Search Safety Settings. Please read further for detailed descriptions.
Data Center Rotation
Due to the huge amount of information they gather from the web, search engines rely on multiple servers to store it. These servers are assembled in special buildings called data centers. There are plenty of such centers across the globe.
When you search for something, you normally get results from the same data center (usually an adjacent one). The Data Center Rotation feature in Rank Tracker lets you send queries to multiple data centers. So if you get blocked by one of them, you will be able to get results from another one.
Please go to Preferences -> Search Safety Settings to enable the feature. It can be used all by itself or to enhance the effectiveness of other search safety features. The feature has been proven to be highly efficient when used in combination with with captcha display and human emulation.
Human Emulation
Human Emulation can be used to improve the safety of your work with search engines. If you enable it, the tool will emulate the way humans behave when using search engines.
- Visit search engine's home page. If you tick this box, Rank Tracker will visit the home page of each search engine before placing a query, just like most Internet users do.
- Enable pauses between queries. When enabled, this option will make Rank Tracker pause for a random period of time before sending another request to a search engine. The larger delays you set, the longer it will take to complete your tasks. Since every project contains a unique combination of keywords, search engines and parallel tasks, we recommend starting with default settings and adjusting them as necessary depending on how fast you get blocked (if you ever do).
- Enable delays after interrupted queries. If a search engine refuses to process your request, Rank Tracker can wait for a certain period of time until the temporary block wears out and resume searching after that.
The human emulation features work well in combination with other search safety settings. However, if you have Proxy Rotation on, you won't need long delays between queries. You can disable them altogether or keep them to the minimum of 1-3 seconds (depending on how many working proxies you have).
User Agents
User agents' rotation is another search safety feature of Rank Tracker. In Preferences -> Search Safety Features -> User Agents you can configure Rank Tracker to use a random user agent (browser) for each query. It will make Rank Tracker's search requests look as if they were initiated by different users.
Proxy Rotation
Proxy Rotation is an advanced search safety feature that lets you safely work with search engines from behind anonymous proxies. If one of the proxies gets temporarily blocked, Rank Tracker will immediately switch to another one. This will keep its search activity uninterrupted. The feature can be used all by itself or in combination with others. It is a perfect solution for users who need to update large groups of keywords fast. To turn on the feature, please go to Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Proxy Rotation.
Considering that search engines can modify their listings depending on the area a search request originates from, it is preferable to choose proxy servers from the same region (the one you or your clients live in or sell goods/services to). Say, if you are promoting your site in Brazil, it will be safer to sort the proxies Rank Tracker has found by the country and remove all non-Brazilian ones. If you update your rankings through proxies registered in different countries, results you will get may differ from results your potential customers will be seeing in their browsers.
Creating List of Proxies to Rotate
By default, the list of proxies in Rank Tracker is empty. You will need to populate it to start taking advantage of the Proxy Rotation feature. There are several ways to do it:
Searching for ProxiesImporting Your Own Proxy Servers
Managing Proxy Rotation List
The toolbar on the Proxy Rotation screen lets you conveniently manage your proxy rotation list. Here are commands you may need:
- Edit. Please click this button whenever you would like to modify a proxy's properties (address, port number, user name or password).
- Remove. This feature lets you take unneeded or unresponsive proxies off your proxy rotation list (the Delete key works for this purpose in the same way).
- Check. Have Rank Tracker try to connect to the Internet through a selected proxy and verify it for validity and response time.
These options are also available through a context menu. Please right-click on your proxy list to activate it.
You can also sort proxies on your list by their address, countries of origin, statuses or response time. All you need to do is click on the header of a respective column. A second click will change the sorting order from ascending to descending.
If you have a long list of proxies, you can find it convenient to apply a filter to it. Please click on an arrow next to All proxies and choose the group of proxies to view: Dead or Alive ones.
Setting Proxy Rotation Rules
You can find 2 checkboxes below your proxy rotation list letting you adjust the way Rank Tracker uses the proxies.
- Look for new proxies when there are no alive proxies on the list. This enables Rank Tracker to launch an automatic search for new proxies if its initial list of proxies gets exhausted. It is a great feature if you have a large number of keywords/projects to update and prefer not to interfere into the process. However, if you normally stick to a particular group of proxies (for example, Australian ones), it would be better to keep the feature off (otherwise the list may be populated with international proxies from all over the world which can influence results search engines will return).
- Use direct connection when no proxies are available. If the list of valid proxies in Rank Tracker runs out, it can start searching the web directly from your own IP address. If a proxy is set as a primary means of Internet connection (Preferences -> Proxy Settings), Rank Tracker will switch to this proxy and will not use the IP address of your computer.
Captcha Settings
Search engine and keyword database administrators do their best to keep unauthorized scripts away from their services. This is done to decrease load on their servers and provide better experience to human visitors. Also search engines claim to be delivering "pure" results that are "naturally" relevant to their users' search requests. In this sense captcha pop-ups can be treated as a way to discourage people's attempts to control search listings.
There are 2 cases when you can get a captcha pop-up:
- While pulling data from search engines – that is during rank-checking and competition-checking tasks. The occurrence of captchas of this type can be reduced with the help of search safety settings making your searching activity look less intense. However, it cannot be done away with completely because a search engine (especially Google) can reply with a captcha to the very first query (even if you search for something manually without using any specialized apps like Rank Tracker). In cases like this, all you can do is type in the captcha or have it typed in for you.
- When querying keyword research databases. It happens when you update search volume and estimated visits or look for keyword suggestions. To eliminate captchas of this group, you will need to get registered with the database and use your account in Rank Tracker.
Using Captcha Recognition Service
If you would rather not enter any captchas yourself, you can have them processed for you by a team of experienced typists in real time. To start taking advantage of this service, you will need to buy an anti-captcha key and enter it to Rank Tracker through Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Captcha Settings. Please don't forget to click OK to apply the key you've entered.
You can view how many captchas have been entered since the application was launched last time and how many are left in your account. If there haven't been any captcha pop-ups, the Statistics button will be grayed out.
Anti-captcha keys can be used all by themselves or to enhance the effectiveness of other search safety features. Activating a combination of search safety settings helps to make captcha pop-ups less frequent. As a result, the captcha-recognition service needs to be appealed to less often which lets a user's anti-captcha key last longer.
Recommended Combinations of Search Safety Settings
As you get to know Rank Tracker better, you’ll find the best settings for your projects. However, there are two well-tested sets of features you might want to try for a start: basic and advanced.
Basic Set of Search Safety Settings
| Feature | Status | Where to find |
| Data Center Rotation | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings |
| Visiting search engines’ home pages | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Human Emulation |
| Making random stops between queries | ON (30+ keywords) OFF (<30 keywords) |
Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Human Emulation |
| Random user agents | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> User Agents |
| Proxy rotation | OFF | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Proxy Rotation |
| Captcha Display (or anti-captcha key) | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Captcha Settings |
| API Keys | OFF | Preferences -> Search Engines’ API Keys |
Advanced Set of Search Safety Settings
| Feature | Status | Where to find |
| Data Center Rotation | OFF | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings |
| Visiting search engines’ home pages | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Human Emulation |
| Making random stops between queries | OFF | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Human Emulation |
| Random user agents | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> User Agents |
| Proxy rotation | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Proxy Rotation |
| Captcha Display (or anti-captcha key) | ON | Preferences -> Search Safety Settings -> Captcha Settings |
| API Keys | OFF | Preferences -> Search Engines’ API Keys |
Filling out Company Profile
If you go to Preferences -> Company Profile, you'll be able to specify your name, e-mail address, website URL, physical address and logo. Once you've entered the details, they will appear on all of your reports (see a few examples here).
Filling out Customer Profile
Rank Tracker can automatically sign reports you deliver to customers. All you need to do is fill out Customer Profile under Preferences -> Customer Profile. You will be offered to specify your customer's name (or the name of their company), e-mail, website address, physical address and logo. These data will be saved in your project file and will appear on all reports you create in it.
Proxy Settings
If you are behind a proxy server, you can have Rank Tracker connect to the Internet through it as well. Simply click Preferences -> Proxy Settings and specify the proxy address, port, username and password. If unsure which settings to use, please contact your system administrator.
Please use the Check button to test if the connection has been configured correctly.
Changing Interface Language
Rank Tracker can be used in any of 8 languages it currently supports:
- English
- German
- Spanish
- French
- Dutch
- Russian
- Japanese
- Slovak
You can easily change your interface language under Preferences -> Language settings. Please choose an appropriate language from a drop-down list and click OK to apply the changes.
If you would like to generate a report in the new language as well, please go to Preferences -> Report Templates and click Add. The template that you create this way will be in the language of the current program interface.
Miscellaneous Settings
There are several different settings grouped under Preferences -> Misc. Global Settings:
- Number of simultaneous tasks. This is the maximum number of parallel assignments ranging from 1 to 25 that Rank Tracker can work on concurrently. Setting the limit to the maximum will let you finish your tasks in a flash. However, this may increase stress on search engines and make Rank Tracker's search activity look suspicious to search engines. So if you would like to be able to update small and medium-sized projects with no or minimum search safety settings, please match the number of tasks to the number of search engines you monitor.
- Captcha-skipping delay. A time limit you specify here will tell Rank Tracker how long it should wait for captcha entries. If you don't type in a captcha code that appears on the screen during a search (e.g. when you are busy with something else), Rank Tracker will ignore the captcha and carry on with the remaining tasks (you'll be able to re-run unchecked keywords later on if needed).
- AutoRecovery interval. Whenever you start working on a project, Rank Tracker creates a copy of it for backup purposes. The auto recovery interval is how often this copy is updated. In case the application closes down unexpectedly (for example, if someone accidentally turns off your computer), Rank Tracker will offer you to save the data it has collected before the closure.
- Request timeout intervals. A search engine or a keyword research database may occasionally happen to be unresponsive or take too long to respond (you will find the Read time out error in your task completion logs if this is the case). You can choose how long the tool will wait for responses from data centers before abandoning a task and proceeding to the next one.
