What it is
Historical Charts allow you to visualize how a keyword’s ranking has changed over time.
With Historical Charts, you can:
Track ranking trends across multiple timeframes
Compare performance against competitors
Review SERP history snapshots
Correlate ranking shifts with Google updates
Export visual ranking reports
Add contextual notes to timeline events
This is your timeline-level view of keyword performance.
Why it matters
Rank numbers in isolation don’t tell the full story.
Historical Charts help you:
Diagnose ranking drops
Validate SEO improvements
Identify competitor movement
Understand market volatility
Provide clean visual reporting to clients
Without historical context, it’s difficult to interpret whether movement is normal fluctuation or a structural change.
Where to find it
Navigate to a Project, Group, or Tag
Locate your keyword in the Ranking Table
Click the Chart icon next to the keyword
Ranking timeline
Once opened, the Historical Chart displays your keyword’s ranking over time.
You can select different time ranges, including:
10 days
30 days
60 days
90 days
180 days
1 year
2 years
All time
This allows you to switch between short-term monitoring and long-term strategic analysis.
Competitor comparison
You can compare your keyword’s historical ranking against competitors.
Use the competitor dropdown inside the chart to select one or more domains.
This comparison helps you:
Identify when competitors overtook you
Understand whether drops were isolated or market-wide
Benchmark long-term positioning
For a full overview of competitor tools, see: Competitor Tracking in Google SERP.
Google update markers
Major Google algorithm updates are displayed directly on the chart timeline.
When you hover over an update marker, you’ll see:
Update name
Date
Link to official Google documentation
This helps you correlate ranking volatility with known algorithm changes.
SERP history
The SERP History tab allows you to view the Top 20/Top 100 search results for a keyword on a specific date. The depth depends on the day results were collected.
This is useful for:
Investigating ranking drops
Reviewing competitor presence
Understanding SERP composition at a specific moment
Ranking URL insights
You can click “Show Ranking URL” to see which URL ranked for the keyword on each date.
This is helpful if:
Different pages rank for the same keyword
URL changes impacted ranking performance
You want to analyze page-level behaviour over time
Maintain Continuous Rank (MCH) behaviour
If Maintain Continuous Rank (MCH) is enabled:
Chart gaps are visually connected
The system links the last confirmed rank to the next confirmed rank
⚠️ Important:
This does not mean the keyword ranked during missing days.
It only visually smooths the timeline.
For detailed explanation of MCH behaviour, see: Maintain Continuous History (MCH).
Adding notes to the timeline
You can add dated notes to document important events directly on your ranking timeline.
Notes are useful for:
Recording content updates
Logging technical SEO changes
Documenting Google algorithm impacts
Adding client-facing context
How to add a note
You can add notes from the Historical Chart
Click on a specific data point in the chart
Add your note in the text field
Save
Once notes are added, you can see them on the Historical Chart and also in the Project Menu by clicking on the 3 dots.
Editing notes
From the 3 dot menu in the Project, click directly on the note text to edit it
Press Enter to save changes
To change the date:
Click on the note date
Select a new date from the calendar
Click Apply New Date
Deleting notes
Hover over the note
Click the “X” icon
Confirm deletion
⚠️ Important Behaviour:
Notes are visible in ViewKey reports
Notes appear on the chart timeline at the selected date
Notes are tied to the project context
Exporting charts
You can export Historical Charts in multiple formats:
PNG
JPEG
PDF
SVG
Exports are useful for:
Client reporting
Internal documentation
Performance reviews
Best practices
Use 30-day view for tactical monitoring
Use 180-day or longer view for strategic SEO analysis
Compare competitors before reacting to volatility
Check SERP History during ranking drops
Add notes to document SEO changes