Using Chart Annotations

What Are Annotations?

Annotations are markers that appear on your visibility trend charts, helping you:

• Track when important activities occurred
• Correlate changes in visibility with your actions
• Document your optimization efforts over time
• Share context with team members

Types of Annotations

System Annotations

System annotations are automatically added by our team and appear on all users' charts:

What they track:

• Google algorithm updates
• Major AI platform changes (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini updates)
• System-wide platform updates
• Industry-significant events

Key points:

• Read-only (you cannot edit or delete)
• Appear on all brand charts
• Color-coded by category
• Help you understand external factors affecting visibility

Team Annotations

Team annotations are created by you and your team members:

What you can track:

• Content publications
• Link building campaigns
• PR launches
• Website changes
• Marketing campaigns
• Any activity that might affect visibility

Key points:

• Fully editable by your team
• Only visible to your team
• Customizable categories
• Helps correlate your actions with results

Accessing Annotations

Navigation

To manage annotations:

1. Go to Settings in the main navigation
2. Click "Chart Annotations"

Or navigate directly to Settings > Annotations.

Viewing on Charts

Annotations appear on your brand report trend charts:

• Vertical lines mark annotation dates
• Color indicates the category
• Hover/click to see details
• Multiple annotations on the same date are stacked

Adding Team Annotations

Creating an Annotation

1. Go to Settings > Chart Annotations
2. Click "Add Annotation"
3. Fill in the details:

Title (required)

• Brief description of the event
• Example: "Published Ultimate Guide to AI SEO"

Description (optional)

• Additional context or details
• Example: "3,000 word guide targeting 'AI visibility' keywords"

Date

• When the event occurred
• Defaults to today's date
• Can be set to past dates

Category

• Select the type of activity
• Determines the color on charts

4. Click "Add Annotation"

Annotation Categories

Available categories for team annotations:

Managing Annotations

Editing Annotations

To modify an existing annotation:

1. Find the annotation in Settings > Chart Annotations
2. Click "Edit" next to the annotation
3. Update the title, description, date, or category
4. Click "Save Changes"

Deleting Annotations

To remove an annotation:

1. Find the annotation in Settings > Chart Annotations
2. Click "Delete" next to the annotation
3. Confirm the deletion

Note: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Best Practices

When to Add Annotations

Add annotations for activities that might affect visibility:

Content activities:

• Publishing new blog posts
• Launching pillar content
• Updating existing pages
• Creating comparison content

Link building:

• Starting outreach campaigns
• Earning major mentions
• Getting featured in publications
• Winning awards or recognition

Technical changes:

• Site migrations
• Major redesigns
• URL structure changes
• Performance improvements

Marketing:

• Campaign launches
• PR initiatives
• Social media pushes
• Paid advertising starts

Annotation Tips

Be specific: "Published 'Complete Guide to AI SEO'" is better than "New blog post"

Add context: Use the description field for details that will help you remember the significance later

Be consistent: Create a team convention for what gets annotated

Don't over-annotate: Focus on significant events, not every minor change

Analyzing Impact

Use annotations to understand cause and effect:

1. Look for patterns

   • Do visibility increases follow certain types of content?
   • How long after publication do you see changes?

2. Compare activities

   • Which link building efforts moved the needle?
   • What content types perform best?

3. Learn from timing

   • System annotations show external factors
   • Your annotations show internal activities
   • The combination explains visibility changes

Understanding the Chart View

How Annotations Appear

On trend charts:

• Vertical dotted line marks the date
• Line color indicates category
• Hover to see annotation details
• Multiple annotations show as grouped markers

Reading Annotations

When viewing your brand report:

1. Look for vertical markers on the trend chart
2. Hover over or click markers for details
3. Note the correlation between markers and trend changes
4. Consider both system and team annotations

Troubleshooting

Annotation Not Appearing

If your annotation doesn't show on charts:

• Verify the date is within the chart's date range
• Refresh the page
• Check that the annotation was saved successfully

Wrong Date

If you entered the wrong date:

1. Go to Settings > Chart Annotations
2. Edit the annotation
3. Correct the date
4. Save changes

Team Members Can't See Annotations

Team annotations are visible to all team members. If someone can't see them:

• Verify they're on the same team
• Have them refresh the page
• Check their permissions

Next Steps

• Understanding the Brand Report
• Daily Trend Charts
• Team Management