Observatory

The Observatory is the section of the suite that provides you with two different tools that are updated practically in real time: SERP Observatory is a set of data on Google’s search results pages and current movements, while instead ZA Observatory is an ongoing focus on the distribution of all sites ranked according to Zoom Authority, our proprietary metric that objectively assesses the quality of a domain in Google’s eyes.

Let’s take a detailed look at the features of these two features.

SERP Observatory

In SEOZoom’s SERP observatory you can see at a statistical level what kind of fluctuations there have been among the search results pages on Google UK: composed of a summary table and four specific tabs, this tool allows you to find out at any time the variability of Google pages on all keywords and is ideal for checking the fluctuations between results caused, for example, by periodic algorithmic updates.

Understanding the data is rather simple and intuitive, thanks to the colored symbols and icons that give at a glance information about the level of movements.

To be precise, the tool takes as a reference an average trend of oscillations – that is, results entering and leaving the first page of Google – and analyzes day by day the level of deviation from this average.

Therefore, the thunderstorm symbol (dark gray cloud with lightning) and the correlating red dot in the graphs indicate that the data collected by SEOZoom signal very high activity, with significant changes within the SERPs. The second degree of this volatility is represented by the rain symbol (light gray cloud with raindrops) and the yellow colored dot, which indicate high activity, above the historical average. On the other hand, the average range is represented by the small sun drawing and the blue dots, informing us that Google’s activity is regular and the results do not deviate from the average. Finally, the clear moon icon in the table and the light blue dot in the graph are indications of moderate activity, lower than the standard percentage of fluctuations.

To make the reading even clearer and quicker, two colored bands also appear in the graphs that visually identify the standard average of variations on SERPs: the green colored one encloses precisely the average recorded level of activity, while the yellow one embraces variations toward more intense movements. In addition, the “G” symbol along the x-axis indicates times when official Google updates have been released, which may explain subsequent fluctuations.

In the tabular version, the Observatory offers monitoring of the SERPs over the last week or, by selecting from the menu provided, the last calendar year, and calculates the values of the variations compared to the average activity on Google result pages.

The data are broken down into 4 separate tabs:

• Dropped from TOP10: the frequency of changes in the first page of Google results for each keyword, with the alternation between sites exiting and those entering TOP10 instead.
• 1st page fluctuations: the frequency among internal variations on the first page of Google results, with pages changing position while still remaining in TOP10.
• Small SERP variations: daily analysis of the percentage of web pages that experience minor position changes, to identify ongoing changes in the behavior of Google’s algorithm.
• Big SERP variations: analysis of the percentage of web pages that experience big variations, which can be considered a continuous quality test of web page performance by Google.

You can also check the information in the graphical representations, which show monitoring over specific ranges (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year), to provide an even wider reference and thus visually discover all the continuous Google variations.

You can use the SERP Observatory as a point of reference when you notice unusual movements among your site’s ranked results, to get immediate feedback on what is statistically happening on Google UK and to get immediate signals to understand whether the perceived high variability on your pages depends on external factors – updates, in fact, or other overall movements – or whether it is instead an issue related to your individual project.

Remember, however, that having data is important, but knowing how to read it is even more useful and strategic. Moreover, we recommend you to always put the data in context before panicking. And, in the meantime, keep your eyes wide open!

ZA Observatory

The Zoom Authority Observatory presents tables and graphs representing the distribution of domains in SEOZoom in the different Zoom Authority ranges, to always give you a global overview of the websites in our database with reference to the British (or Italian, Spanish, French, German, according to the database) market.

The tool helps you instantly understand the level in which a site is ranked according to our metrics and is a strategic reference both to better understand the context in which your site moves, and to determine whether the ZA of a domain is good or not, for example when evaluating for link building activities or simple competitor analysis.

The table on the left lists 10 ranges of Zoom Authority values (0-10 to 91-100) and immediately shows the number of sites that fall in the specific range and the quantitative change from previous monitoring. In addition, if you click on the individual range, the graphical view opens, going into more detail about the distribution of domains by ZA score, showing the full scale.

Then, at the bottom, there are two very useful summary tables: Winner Domains and Losers Domains.

In the first one you find the list of sites that have gained at least one ZA point since the previous survey, while in the second table there are, as you can easily guess, the sites that have instead lost ZA.

Orientatively, ZA estimates are updated once a month.

This feature can serve to keep track of ongoing changes on the SERPs and, for example, can provide you with valuable insights in the periods following Google’s updates, to find out which sites have benefited from the interventions and which, on the other hand, have suffered visibility slumps.

The usefulness of the ZA Observatory is, of course, related to the Zoom Authority, a metric increasingly used on a global scale for evaluating a site, as it is able to offer a fairly reliable and useful snapshot of the value of each site, taking a look at fundamental and “objective” aspects such as organic traffic, engagement and growth opportunities.

Website Rankings

The Websites Rankings tool allows you to know immediately the most popular and best websites in the UK (and the other countries available, depending on the set database) according to Google, presenting a ranking of the top 100 domains in each sector, sorted according to the trust showed by the search engine.

In addition to checking the overall ranking of the best British websites, in fact, you can discover the ranking by filtering the results according to the specific sector or niche you are interested in; again, you can also launch a search by manually entering the address of a site in the search bar, getting in response the total list of the sectors in which it competes and is ranked.

For each domain, SEOZoom shows you the ranking values (which is precisely its place in the rankings for the specific category or sector), the total traffic, the number of keywords relevant to the sector placed on Google, the level of Topical Zoom Authority, while the last button “Sectors” allows you to delve into the site’s performance in the rankings of each sector in which it competes.

The Rankings are a useful feature for understanding how Google sees your site, for instance, and whether it can best categorize the content you propose, but also for studying a competitor, to see in which areas/topics they are boosting their activity, or to find potential partner sites on related topics with which to collaborate for link earning.

However, there are some aspects to consider in order to best understand how the tool works:

• Sectors are categorized according to Google’s own rules and criteria – and therefore SEOZoom does not decide that a site belongs to a sector or that a keyword belongs to a subcategory, since the categorization of the data totally depends on the search engine’s scans and sorting.
• A keyword can also be present in multiple sectors, and association is not always “obvious”, especially for websites that tend to have keywords that fall into different sectors.