Managing Project Data

Managing Workspaces

Applying Workspaces

Rank Tracker lets you easily customize groups of data appearing on the Keywords tab. For this purpose, each new project is equipped with a set of predefined workspaces:

All Keywords (Compact View)
All Keywords (Detailed View)
Keyword Research View
Keywords Added Today
Top 10 In Any Search Engine
Top 30 In Any Search Engine
Top 50 In Any Search Engine
Keywords That Entered Top Results
Keywords That Dropped From Top Results
Keywords Losing Positions

An active workspace determines which columns will be visible in your work area as well as their size and order in which they will follow. The workspace can also contain data filters to sort out keywords compliant with certain conditions.

You can instantly switch to a different view using a dropdown menu in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Editing Workspaces

Any default workspace can be adjusted to fit your requirements better. This is done through Preferences -> Edit Workspaces. The Workspaces button on the Keywords tab works as a shortcut to this menu.

When you open the menu, please select a workspace that you would like to change and activate the Edit Workspace command. There is a button for it on the horizontal toolbar. You can also use a vertical context menu (activated by a right click).

This will activate the Edit Workspace menu. Are you editing a workspace that is currently active? Then you can skip the above steps and get direct access to its properties by a right-click on the header of any column.

The menu offers a range of options to customize the workspace you've selected:

Assign a different name to the workspace. Simply type in the new name into the Workspace Name field.
Choose which columns will appear in the workspace. Select a column from the list of available columns and click > to add it to the list of visible columns. You can also double-click on a selected column with the same result. If you would like to remove a column from Visible Columns, please select it and use the < button or a double click.
Place visible columns in a suitable order. Please use the Move up and Move down buttons to re-arrange selected columns.
Specify what their width should be. You can set a specific width for each column (in pixels). If you check the Shrink columns to fit screen option, Rank Tracker will automatically adjust the size of columns to the size of your screen. If you keep the option unchecked, Rank Tracker will adjust the size of columns according to their contents. If the size of your workspace happens to exceed your screen width, you'll be able to scroll through the workspace as shown on the screen shot below.

Select which criteria keywords should match to appear in the workspace. Click the + button to add a new filtering condition. For example, if you would like to view keywords that have brought more than 100 visits to your site for the past month, you'll need to set Visits to be more than 100. If there are several filtering conditions, you can specify if keywords should comply with all of them or only some.

Please don't forget to click OK once you've finished editing. Rank Tracker will save the changes and close the menu. If you'd rather keep your previous settings, hit Cancel.

Removing Workspaces

To remove an unneeded workspace, please go to Preferences -> Manage Workspaces, select the workspace and click Remove on the toolbar (the Delete key will do the job just the same).

The Remove Workspace command is also available through a context menu. Please right-click on the name of any workspace to activate it.

Creating Custom Workspaces

To create a workspace of your own, please go to Preferences -> Manage Workspaces and click Add.

The Add Workspace option is also available through a context menu. Please right-click on the name of any workspace to activate it.

Rank Tracker will show you a menu with a range of options to customize your workspace-to-be.

Choose a name for the new workspace. Simply type in the name into the Workspace Name field.
Choose which columns will appear in the workspace. Select a column from the list of available columns and click > to add it to the list of visible columns. You can also double-click on a selected column to achieve the same result. If you would like to remove a column from Visible Columns, please select it and use the < button or a double click.
Place visible columns in a suitable order. Please use the Move up and Move down buttons to re-arrange selected columns.
Specify what their width should be. You can set a specific width for each column (in pixels). If you check the Shrink columns to fit screen option, Rank Tracker will automatically adjust the size of columns to the size of your screen. If you keep the option unchecked, Rank Tracker will adjust the size of columns according to their contents.
Select which criteria keywords should match to appear in the workspace. Use the + button to add a new workspace filter.

Please don't forget to click OK when done. Rank Tracker will add the workspace to the list of available ones.

Exporting Workspaces

Workspace settings are project-specific. However, you can copy them from project to project if you wish.

Please open the Manage Workspaces menu, select a workspace to copy and click Copy on the toolbar.

You can use a context menu for this purpose as well (please right-click on the selected workspace to bring it up).

Open the project you want to export the workspace to, click Preferences -> Workspaces -> Paste.

You can use a context menu for this purpose as well (please right-click on a selected workspace to bring it up).

Using Quick Filter

Quick Filter is to help you quickly sort out certain keywords. Simply type a word or a number into the Quick Filter field, and Rank Tracker will instantly limit the view to keywords containing the term in any of the columns.

You can apply Quick Filter to a particular column by clicking on the lens in its left-hand corner.

After you have chosen the column, you will see a dropdown list with a choice of filtering conditions (contains, does not contain, equals, starts with, ends with etc.).

For example, if you would like to view keywords without the "SEO" component, you will need to choose the Keyword column, set the filtering condition to Does not contain and enter the word "SEO" into the Quick Filter field.

This will enable Rank Tracker to narrow down the view to terms that do not contain the word "SEO".

Tagging Keywords

Rank Tracker lets you distribute keywords into categories by assigning custom tags to them.

Using Quick Filter, you can narrow down the view to keywords marked with certain tags.

Tagging Selected Keyword

To activate the feature, please edit your workspace to show the Tags column.

Then double-click on the Tags field next to the keyword you would like to tag. Enter your text.

When you start typing, Rank Tracker will prompt you which of the existing tags start with the characters you've entered. So you can click on a suitable one and hit Enter to attach it to the keyword.

Tagging Multiple Keywords

To add a tag to several keywords, please select them with your mouse and right-click on the selection.

Choose the Add tags to selected record(s) option from the context menu that opens.

Type in your text and click OK to apply it.

Managing Tags

The Manage Tags menu under Preferences -> Manage Tags contains the full list of available tags. You can view the list as a table with the number of usages next to each tag.

In the cloud view, the tags' size indicates the frequency of their usage. So frequently used tags will appear larger than others.

The Manage Tags menu gives you full control over all tags that appear in your project. Here are functions you can perform:

Add tags. Please click the Add button to create a new tag (you'll be able to assign it to selected keywords later).

Edit tags. Please select a tag and click Edit. Type you your text and click OK to close the menu. All keywords marked with the tag will be automatically updated.

Remove tags. If you would like to stop using a tag in your project, you can remove it through Preferences -> Manage Tags -> Remove. This will untag all keywords marked with this tag.

You can also untag a particular keyword without removing the tag from your project. Simply double-click on the tag in your workspace and press your mouse on the cross at its right.

Adding Notes to Keywords

In Rank Tracker, you have the option to add notes to selected keywords.

Just select a keyword or a group of keywords with your mouse, right-click on the selection and choose the Add notes to selected keyword(s) option from a context menu.

Type in your comments into a box that opens. Click OK to save them or exit the screen to discard them.

If you don't have such a column in your work area, please take a moment to add it.

If you double-click on any of your notes, you'll be able to edit them right through your workspace.

Setting Color Markers to Keywords

If you would like to assign a color marker to a keyword in your work area, please select the keyword (or several keywords) and right-click on the selection. It will activate a context menu. Please select the Set a Color Marker option from it and click on a suitable color on the palette.

The markers will appear next to your keywords in the Keyword column.

Exporting Data

Rank Tracker lets you easily export data from the Keywords tab to external files: .txt/.csv, .html, .sql and .xml. The export functionality relies on user-generated templates specifying which groups of data should be exported and where to. Once such a template has been created, it can be applied to any future exports across all of your Rank Tracker projects. This turns any data transfer into a matter of seconds.

Creating Export Template

Please open the Preferences menu and choose the Export Templates option from it. Click Add. It will activate a pop-up wizard that will lead you through the set-up.

You can also access the menu through File -> Export -> Keywords. If you are using the feature for the first time and don't have any templates available yet, the wizard will be initiated automatically.

Step 1: Select Type of Destination File

At this step you'll be offered to choose a file format to save keyword data in:

.txt/.csv
.html
.sql
.xml

Step 2: Choose Delimiter (Only for .Txt Format)

Choose a symbol that will be used to separate entries taken from different columns. You can export your project data to a comma- or tab-separated file or use a custom delimiter.

Step 3: Ranking Data Settings

At step 3 Rank Tracker will ask you to specify which type of search engine data you would like to export:

only current rankings
current rankings + ranking history records

Additionally, you can choose to add competitors' ranking records to the export file.

Step 4: Select Columns to Export

Please mark checkboxes next to the names of columns you would like to export data from. Use the Select All/Select None commands to quickly select/unselect all of the available columns.

The columns on the list are arranged in the same order they will follow in the destination file. If you would like to change this order, simply choose a column and move it using the Move up and Move down buttons.

Step 5: Preview

At this step you will get a preview of what your export file will be like.

If needed, switch to the Code tab to view/edit the source of your export file.

Step 6: Assign Name to Template

Please type in a name under which the template will appear on your list of available export templates. It might be a good idea to choose a descriptive name that explicitly states what the file does, e.g. "Export to .TXT – Current Rankings, Main Site" or "Export to .HTML – Keyword Research Data & Visits".

Once you click Finish, the template will be added to the Export Templates menu. It will store the preferences you specified and will be ready for any data export you initiate.

Exporting Mechanism

To transfer your project data to an external file, please open the File menu and click Export -> Keywords. Rank Tracker will open the Export Templates menu with a choice of export templates you can use. If there are none available, a pop-up wizard will offer you to create one.

Step 1: Choose Export Template

Please select an export template to use and click Next to proceed with the export. If none of the available templates suits your needs, you can create a new one using the Add command.

Step 2: Choose Search Engines

Here you should choose search engines to export data for. If you are interested to copy your rankings in preferred search engines only, please click Next to proceed further. If there are records associated with other search engines, please click the Add More SEs button and mark these search engines for inclusion.

Step 3: Specify Fragment for Export

Please specify a range of keywords to include into the export file:

all keywords present in the project,
all keywords visible in the current workspace,
keyword(s) currently selected in the workspace.

When you click Next, Rank Tracker will ask you where on your computer you'd like to save the file at. Please specify a path to an appropriate folder and click Save.

Once the file has been saved, you will see a confirmation message. Please click OK to close the window and move on.

Managing Export Templates

Export templates are groups of settings used to transfer selected data from Rank Tracker to external files. All available export templates can be found in the Export Templates menu (Preferences -> Export Templates). A toolbar above the list of templates gives you full control over selected templates. Using it, you can do the following:

Create templates (Add)
Make copies of existing templates (Clone)
Modify templates (Edit)
Delete templates (Remove)
Move templates up or down the list (Move up & Move down)

All of these options are also available through a context menu. Please right-click on the name of any template to activate it.

Copying Data to Spreadsheet

Rank Tracker lets you quickly copy data from your work area to external files. All you need to do is select a group of keywords with your mouse, right-click on the selection and choose the Copy to Clipboard option from a context menu that appears. You can also use the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut on Windows in the same way (or Cmd+C on a Mac).

Then please open MS Excel or any other spreadsheet and paste the fragment there using the File menu. The Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut on Windows (or Cmd+V on Mac OS X) will do the job as well.

Previous Section
(Pulling Traffic Statistics)

Next Section
(Scheduling Tasks)

Table of Contents