Two new features: Quickly compare ranks & Page Authority

We are delighted to be making a double-barrelled announcement for a double-barrelled launch. Two — yes, two — new features are now in STAT for your immediate use and enjoyment.

As noted in last month’s release notes, we’ve been hard at work bringing a much-loved report functionality — comparing a keyword’s rank over time — into the app, and that went so well we also managed to sneak in a much-loved metric: Moz’s Page Authority.

Let’s dig into the details!

Compare a keyword’s historical ranks at a glance

Thanks to our new Rank Comparison feature, you can now quickly compare a keyword’s rank, base rank, result type (organic or the specific SERP feature), and ranking URL between any two dates of your choosing.

You’ll also see the absolute change in rank, as well as colour-coded directional arrows, so you can know instantly whether the change was good or not so good. All without having to download the Ranking trends over time report.

Simply right-click a keyword in the Keywords table, select Rank Comparison from the dropdown menu, then pick your dates, and voilà!

To make things extra easy for you, we made this new pop-up persistent — even as you page through keywords. This means you can keep selecting keywords to examine and it’ll stay put, updating with the ranking metrics to match.

And, since we know you love manipulating data and sifting through insights at scale, we included a handy Export Keyword Table button so that you can get everything the pop-up has to offer for all the keywords in your site, tag, or data view.

Here are just a few examples of when Rank Comparison will come in handy for you:

  • Launched a new product? Made some site-wide updates? Did some experimenting? Spot-check your metrics pre- and post-rollout to measure your success.
  • Noticed a sudden drop or uptick in traffic? Check for decreases or increases in rank change to find the keywords driving the behaviour.
  • Hit by a Google algorithm update? Select dates before and after to assess any impact (good or bad) it may have had on your ranks and ranking pages.
  • Need highlights for weekly, monthly, or quarterly reporting or executive summaries? Run through your high-priority keywords to surface your most improved rank changes.

Compare Page Authority at a glance

Next on the docket is Page Authority, the second Moz metric we’ve tucked into STAT.

Page Authority (PA) reflects an individual page’s aggregate link equity, and is used to help predict how well that page will rank relative to its competitors. Since Page Authority mirrors the hard work you’ve put into your link-building strategy, it’s an indicator of the success you’re likely to see on the SERPs, not a driver of that success.

PA scores range from one to 100, with higher values corresponding to a greater ability to rank. Since Page Authority is scored logarithmically (a PA of 40 is not twice a PA of 20; moving from a 70 to an 80 is significantly harder than moving from a 20 to a 30) it’s best used as a comparative metric rather than an absolute, concrete score.

In other words, because Page Authority is a comparative tool, there isn’t necessarily a “good” or “bad” score. A good Page Authority score is simply one that is better than your direct competitors’ scores.

It’s for these comparative reasons that we’ve placed Page Authority in the Archived SERPs tab in STAT. You can now see exactly how your ranking pages stack up against your competitors’ on the same SERP. This can help you:

  • Surface backlink competitors
    While rankings tell you which pages are on top, Page Authority can help you understand why those pages may be outstripping you — a more powerful link profile or a different strategy altogether? Competitor pages that are beating you in both rank and PA are good candidates for some link analysis.
  • Identify pages in need of link building (and enticing)
    It’s also important to compare the PA scores of your own pages against each other. This will help you prioritize efforts to build links or update pages to increase their “linkability” (clearer CTAs, easy social sharing, etc).
  • Report on link-building progress
    If you’ve gone on a link-building spree for yourself or a client, Page Authority is an excellent way for you to showcase your progress and new potential to rank.

And that’s all for this month, folks — keep an eye out for improvements in keyword filtering next.

Happy tracking!

The STAT team