Monitoring Your Domains
Learn how to use SourceRank's monitoring dashboard to track AEO performance, receive alerts, and measure the impact of your optimization efforts.
Why Monitor AI Visibility?
AI engines update their understanding of websites constantly. Your AEO score can change due to:
- Content updates you make
- Competitor improvements
- AI engine algorithm changes
- New citations or backlinks
- Technical issues introduced
Regular monitoring helps you:
- Track optimization progress
- Catch problems early
- Measure ROI of AEO efforts
- Stay ahead of competitors
- Respond to AI engine changes
Setting Up Monitoring
Step 1: Create an Account
While our scanner works without an account, monitoring requires sign-up:
- Visit sourcerank.app/auth/signin
- Enter your email
- Verify your email address
- Complete your profile
Step 2: Add Domains
From your dashboard:
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Click “Add Domain”
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Enter your website URL
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Choose monitoring frequency:
- Daily: For active optimization projects
- Weekly: For maintenance monitoring
- Monthly: For periodic check-ins
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Configure alerts (optional)
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Click “Start Monitoring”
Step 3: Configure Alerts
Set up notifications for important changes:
Score Changes
- Alert when score drops by X points
- Alert when score increases by X points
- Set custom thresholds
Technical Issues
- llms.txt becomes inaccessible
- Structured data errors detected
- Crawl errors or blocks
Competitor Movement
- Competitor improves significantly
- You fall behind in rankings
- New competitors detected
AI Engine Changes
- How you’re described changes
- New citations detected
- Citation accuracy shifts
Understanding the Dashboard
Overview Page
Your dashboard homepage shows:
Current Status
- Overall AEO score
- Trend arrow (↑ improving, → stable, ↓ declining)
- Last scan date
- Next scheduled scan
Score Breakdown
- Content: X/30
- Technical: X/25
- Credibility: X/25
- Structure: X/20
Quick Actions
- Run scan now
- View recommendations
- Check history
- Update settings
Score History Chart
The graph shows:
- AEO score over time
- Component scores (toggle on/off)
- Annotations for major changes
- Comparison to competitors (premium)
Interpreting Trends
Steady upward trend ✅ Your optimization efforts are working. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Spike up then plateau ⚠️ Initial improvements implemented, but momentum stalled. Review recommendations for next steps.
Gradual decline ⚠️ Competitors improving or content becoming outdated. Audit recent changes and refresh content.
Sudden drop 🚨 Likely a technical issue or major change. Investigate immediately.
Recommendations Panel
Prioritized action items:
Critical (Red)
- Fix immediately
- Causing significant score impact
- Examples: llms.txt missing, major crawl errors
High Impact (Orange)
- Address soon
- Quick wins available
- Examples: Add structured data, improve meta tags
Optimization (Yellow)
- Long-term improvements
- Gradual score boost
- Examples: Content depth, internal linking
Maintenance (Blue)
- Keep on radar
- Minor improvements
- Examples: Update dates, refresh screenshots
Citation Tracking
See when and how AI engines mention your website:
Citation Feed
- Date and time of citation
- AI engine (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
- Query that triggered citation
- How you were described
- Context of the mention
Citation Metrics
- Total citations this month
- Citation rate trend
- Citation accuracy score
- Top cited pages
Monitoring Multiple Domains
Agency/Team Features
Premium plans support multiple domains:
Domain List View
- All monitored domains in one dashboard
- Sortable by score, change, name
- Quick scan buttons
- Bulk actions
Comparison View
- Side-by-side score comparison
- Identify common issues
- Share best practices across sites
- Benchmark performance
Team Collaboration
- Assign domains to team members
- Share recommendations
- Comment on scans
- Track implementation progress
Competitor Monitoring
Track how you compare to competitors:
Adding Competitors
- Go to “Competitors” tab
- Click “Add Competitor”
- Enter competitor URL
- Set monitoring frequency
- Save
Competitor Insights
Score Comparison
- Your score vs. competitors
- Category breakdown comparison
- Historical trends
Feature Comparison
- Do they have llms.txt?
- What structured data do they use?
- Content quality comparison
- Citation frequency
Gap Analysis
- What are they doing better?
- Where do you have advantages?
- Opportunities to differentiate
Competitive Alerts
Get notified when:
- Competitor scores improve significantly
- They implement features you’re missing
- Your relative position changes
- New competitors enter your space
Scan History
View all past scans for a domain:
Scan Archive
- Date and time of each scan
- Score at that time
- Changes since previous scan
- Recommendations issued
- Actions taken (if tracked)
Before/After Comparisons
- Select two dates
- See what changed
- Measure impact of specific changes
- Identify what worked
Export Options
- Download CSV of scan data
- Generate PDF reports
- Share with stakeholders
- Historical analysis
Automated Reporting
Schedule automatic reports:
Report Frequency
- Daily: For active projects
- Weekly: Most common for ongoing monitoring
- Monthly: Executive summaries
Report Contents
Executive Summary
- Current score and trend
- Key wins this period
- Critical issues
- Recommended actions
Detailed Analysis
- Component breakdowns
- Change explanations
- Recommendation status
- Citation highlights
Customization
- Choose which sections to include
- Add custom branding (Enterprise)
- White-label options (Agency plans)
Distribution
- Email to team members
- Slack integration
- API webhook
- Dashboard download
Alert Management
Fine-tune your notifications:
Alert Channels
- Immediate alerts
- Daily digests
- Weekly summaries
Dashboard
- In-app notifications
- Notification center
- Alert history
Integrations (Premium)
- Slack channels
- Microsoft Teams
- Webhooks
- API callbacks
Alert Settings
Thresholds
- Minimum score change: X points
- Time window: immediate vs. daily rollup
- Severity levels: critical, high, medium, low
Frequency
- Maximum alerts per day
- Digest grouping
- Quiet hours
Best Practices
Monitoring Frequency
Daily Scanning
- During active optimization
- After major website changes
- When launching new content
- Competitive launch periods
Weekly Scanning
- Standard ongoing monitoring
- Maintenance mode
- Balanced cost/visibility
- Recommended for most sites
Monthly Scanning
- Established high-performing sites
- Budget-conscious monitoring
- Low-change websites
- Basic oversight
Responding to Changes
Score Increases
- Document what changed
- Apply learnings to other pages
- Share wins with team
- Consider expanding tactics
Score Decreases
- Check for technical issues first
- Review recent changes
- Compare to competitors
- Prioritize fixes
Flat/Stagnant Scores
- Review implementation status
- Look for new opportunities
- Refresh content
- Expand optimization scope
Using Historical Data
- Track seasonal patterns
- Measure campaign impact
- Identify long-term trends
- Plan future optimizations
Troubleshooting
Scan Failing
Possible causes:
- Website down or slow
- Blocking our crawler
- Firewall/security changes
- DNS issues
Solutions:
- Check website accessibility
- Whitelist SourceRank IPs
- Review security settings
- Contact support if persistent
Alerts Not Sending
Check:
- Email settings and spam folder
- Alert thresholds configured
- Notification preferences enabled
- Account email verified
Score Seems Incorrect
Before reporting:
- Run a fresh scan
- Check scan completion status
- Review changes made
- Compare to previous scans
Still an issue? Contact support with scan ID and details.
Advanced Features
API Access (Enterprise)
- Programmatic scan triggering
- Pull scan data into your systems
- Build custom dashboards
- Automate workflows
Custom Metrics
- Define your own success metrics
- Track custom KPIs
- Build proprietary scores
- Export for analysis
Historical Data Export
- Full scan history
- Raw data access
- Custom time ranges
- Integration with BI tools
Getting the Most Value
Set Clear Goals
- Define target AEO score
- Establish timeline
- Identify priority areas
- Align team on objectives
Regular Reviews
- Weekly quick checks
- Monthly deep dives
- Quarterly strategy reviews
- Annual audits
Act on Insights
- Don’t just monitor—improve
- Prioritize recommendations
- Track implementation
- Measure results
Iterate and Optimize
- Test different approaches
- Learn from data
- Refine strategy
- Stay consistent
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Ready to start monitoring? Sign up for a paid plan or run your first free scan to see where you stand!