Daylytix tracks keyword rankings using data pulled directly from the Google Search Console API — no separate keyword list to set up, no third-party rank-checking bots, and no daily credit limits. If you have GSC connected, rank tracking starts automatically the moment you run your first audit.
Data source: Google Search Console
Ranking data comes from the GSC Search Analytics API, specifically the top_queries report for your domain. This returns the top performing queries from the last 28 days, including each query's average position, total clicks, total impressions, and click-through rate. Because it's sourced directly from Google, the data is authoritative and reflects exactly what Google sees — not a third-party estimate.
The 28-day average means positions represent a smoothed view of your rankings rather than a single-day snapshot. This is intentional: daily positions can fluctuate by several spots due to personalisation, location, and Google's experiments. A 28-day average gives a far more reliable signal for trend analysis.
Historical comparison: how changes are calculated
Daylytix does not rely on a remote database of historical rankings. Instead, it uses your own saved audit files. Every time you run an audit, the full GSC data snapshot is saved to your local audits/ directory as a JSON file. When you run a new audit, Daylytix automatically scans that directory and loads previous GSC snapshots for the same domain.
Up to the last 20 audit JSON files for the same domain are compared. For each keyword appearing in the current audit, Daylytix looks up its position in the most recent previous audit and calculates the difference. This gives you a clean before/after comparison every time you run an audit, using your own data as the baseline.
Current audit pulls GSC data
Daylytix calls the GSC Search Analytics API and retrieves the top_queries report — up to several hundred keywords — with position, clicks, impressions, and CTR for the last 28 days.
Previous audit JSONs are scanned
The audits/ folder is scanned for existing audit files belonging to the same domain. Up to 20 are loaded, sorted by timestamp descending.
Position change is calculated per keyword
For each keyword in the current audit, the most recent previous position is found. The change is calculated as previous_position − current_position — a positive number means improvement (ranking higher), a negative number means decline.
Trend and sparkline data are built
Position history across the last 5 audits for each keyword is compiled into a small array used to render sparkline charts in the dashboard's keyword table.
Stats and alerts are generated
Summary statistics and alert flags (critical drops, warning drops) are calculated across all keywords and surfaced in the Rank Tracker tab.
Per-keyword data
For each tracked keyword, Daylytix stores and displays the following data points:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Keyword | The search query as reported by GSC. |
| Current position | Average position over the last 28 days (lower is better — position 1 is top of results). |
| Previous position | Average position from the most recent earlier audit for the same domain. |
| Change (+/−) | Numeric difference between previous and current position. Positive = improved. |
| Trend | Direction arrow: ▲ improved, ▼ declined, ● new or stable. |
| Sparkline | Mini 5-point line chart showing position history across the last 5 audits. |
| Clicks | Total clicks from Google Search over the last 28 days. |
| Impressions | Total impressions (times the URL appeared in results) over the last 28 days. |
| CTR | Click-through rate: clicks ÷ impressions, expressed as a percentage. |
| Page URL | The landing page URL Google is serving for this keyword. |
Summary statistics
At the top of the Rank Tracker tab, a KPI bar gives you an at-a-glance overview of your keyword portfolio's health:
- Tracked — total number of keywords appearing in the current GSC data.
- Improved — keywords where the current position is lower (better) than the previous audit.
- Declined — keywords where the current position is higher (worse) than the previous audit.
- New — keywords that appear in the current audit but were not present in any previous audit for this domain.
Alerts: critical and warning drops
Daylytix automatically flags keywords that have experienced significant ranking drops since the last audit. Two alert tiers are used:
| Alert type | Trigger condition | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Position dropped by more than 10 places | A significant loss of visibility — investigate immediately. Common causes: algorithm update, page de-indexed, content removed, competitor overtake. |
| Warning | Position dropped by 3–10 places | A meaningful decline that warrants investigation. May be temporary fluctuation or an early signal of a larger problem. |
Alerts appear as a dedicated section above the keyword table in the Rank Tracker tab. Each alert shows the keyword, the drop amount, the current position, and the landing page URL.
Position history chart
Clicking any keyword row in the table expands a position history line chart showing that keyword's average position across the last 5 audits. The chart's Y-axis is reversed — position 1 (top of Google) appears at the top of the chart, while position 100 appears at the bottom. This makes an improving trend visually climb upward, which is the intuitive direction.
audits/ folder for a domain, the more accurate the trend data and the more useful your sparklines become.Requirements and limitations
- GSC must be connected via a service account JSON in your Daylytix settings. See Google Search Console integration for setup instructions.
- At least 2 completed audits for the same domain are required to display position change data.
- GSC data is available for verified properties only. If your site is not verified in GSC, no data will be available.
- GSC's top_queries report has a data cap of ~1,000 queries per property. Very large sites may not see all keywords.
- Position data reflects a 28-day average, not a real-time check. There is typically a 2–3 day delay in GSC data becoming available.
- Audit JSON files in the
audits/directory are matched to domains by the site URL stored in the audit. Audits for different domains will not cross-contaminate each other's history.