5i-rank-tracker - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: 5i-rank-tracker description: > Tracks week-over-week SERP position changes for a defined list of priority keywords. Pulls live GSC position data, stores history in rank-history.json, and outputs a WoW movement report showing keywords gained, lost, stable, and newly ranking. Run weekly on the same day for consistent comparisons. when_to_use: > Every Monday (after the SEO Director report). After publishing new content targeting tracked keywords. When a core algorithm update is suspected. Quarterly review: add new keywords, retire ones no longer relevant. inputs: > No manual input — reads target-keywords.json automatically. Optional: --report flag to generate report from stored data without new API call. output: > rank-report-YYYY-MM-DD.md — keywords gained/lost/stable with position deltas. rank-history.json — cumulative history (last 26 weeks per keyword).

5I — Rank Position Tracker

Tracks SERP positions for priority keywords over time. The only way to know if SEO work is moving the needle — or if a competitor just took your spot.

Run Commands

# Pull fresh GSC data and generate report (run weekly)
& ".\automation\gsc\mcp-gsc\.venv\Scripts\python.exe" "automation\rank-tracker\track_ranks.py"

# Generate report from stored history only (no API call)
& ".\automation\gsc\mcp-gsc\.venv\Scripts\python.exe" "automation\rank-tracker\track_ranks.py" --report

File Structure

automation/rank-tracker/
├── track_ranks.py          <- main script
├── target-keywords.json    <- edit this to add/remove keywords
├── rank-history.json       <- auto-generated, cumulative history
└── output/
    └── rank-report-YYYY-MM-DD.md  <- weekly WoW report

Managing Target Keywords

Edit target-keywords.json to add or remove keywords. Keywords are grouped by topic — add new groups or extend existing ones.

Current keyword groups:

core_product — main product keywords
automation_frameworks — Appium, Selenium, Playwright, etc.
browser_testing — cross-browser, Safari, mobile browser
emulators — Android/iOS emulator keywords (high traffic)
competitor_adjacent — alternative/comparison keywords
llm_visibility — keywords we want LLM recommendations for

To add a new keyword:

"core_product": [
  "mobile app testing",
  "your new keyword here"
]

Reading the Report

Positions Gained

Keywords that moved up 2+ positions WoW. Sorted by delta (largest gain first). Action: Note what content changes or links were added that week.

Positions Lost

Keywords that dropped 2+ positions WoW. Action: Check for algorithm changes, competitor new content, or technical issues.

New Rankings

Keywords appearing for the first time — either newly published content indexed, or a page that just crossed the threshold.

Stable

Movement <2 positions — within normal weekly fluctuation.

Integration with Director Report

The Director report (0A) shows site-wide avg position. This tracker shows keyword-level movements.

Run both together every Monday:

1. collect_outputs.py  (0C)
2. track_ranks.py      (5I) <- add to Monday workflow
3. fetch_data.py       (0A)
4. run_director.py     (0A)

The rank report output is picked up by collect_outputs.py (0C) automatically since it saves to automation/rank-tracker/output/ which is scanned each week.

Interpreting Position Data

GSC "average position" is the mean rank across all queries that showed your page — this tracks the same keyword weekly for trend analysis.

Position tiers to watch:

1–3: Page 1 visibility — protect these
4–10: Page 1 but below fold — optimise titles (2B) to gain clicks
11–20: Page 2 — one strong push can get to page 1
21–50: Ranking but far — need content upgrade or links
Not ranking: Fresh content or keyword not yet targeted

Alert thresholds:

Drop >5 positions in one week → investigate immediately
Drop >10 positions → possible penalty or major competitor change
Gain >10 positions → note what caused it — replicate across similar pages