How to Track Improvements Over Time with Surmado

Quick answer: Run Signal, Scan, or Solutions quarterly. Save Intelligence Tokens from each report. Use JSON exports to track Presence Rate, Authority Score, Ghost Influence, and Core Web Vitals trends over time. Build simple spreadsheet dashboard to visualize progress.

Reading time: 9 minutes

What you’ll learn:

• Quarterly workflow using consistent personas: Month 0 baseline (28% Presence Rate, 65 Authority Score, 68% Ghost Influence), Month 3 re-test with identical personas (+50% improvement to 42%), Month 6 validate sustained improvement (+31% to 55%), Month 9 long-term trend showing diminishing returns (+13% to 62%)
• Intelligence Token automation methods: fetch JSON via API URL (https://api.surmado.com/intelligence/{token}), parse metrics programmatically with Python script (20 min one-time setup), append to spreadsheet without manual copying (vs 10 min/quarter manual PDF extraction)
• Visualization techniques for trend analysis: simple line charts showing Presence Rate trajectory (28% → 42% → 55% → 62%), dual-axis charts combining all metrics (Presence Rate up, Ghost Influence down = good), multi-metric dashboards comparing you vs 3 competitors
• Red flags requiring immediate action: declining Presence Rate (-10% then -13% suggests competitors improving faster, refresh content strategy), stagnant Authority Score (+2, +1, 0 points indicates lack of reviews/trust signals, get 20-30 Google reviews), Ghost Influence not decreasing (-3%, -2% means content not claiming features explicitly)
• Realistic goal-setting based on starting point: 0-20% → 30-40% in 90 days (doubling/tripling with 15-20 FAQ pages + schema + 10-20 reviews), 40-60% → 60-70% in 90 days (25-50% improvement with targeted content), 60-80% → 70-85% incremental gains (diminishing returns normal, defend position)

Timeline: 10 minutes quarterly to run report + 15 minutes to update tracking dashboard = 25 minutes per quarter.

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Why Track Over Time

Single Report = Snapshot, Multiple Reports = Trend

Month 0 (single report):

• Presence Rate: 28%
• Insight: “You’re mentioned in 28% of queries”
• Question: Is 28% good or bad? Improving or declining?

Months 0, 3, 6, 9 (trend):

• Month 0: 28% Presence Rate
• Month 3: 42% Presence Rate (+50% improvement)
• Month 6: 55% Presence Rate (+31% improvement)
• Month 9: 62% Presence Rate (+13% improvement)
• Insight: You’re steadily improving, but growth slowing (diminishing returns normal)

Trend reveals:

• Progress direction (improving vs declining)
• Strategy effectiveness (did content changes work?)
• ROI (is investment paying off?)
• Competitive positioning (are you catching up or falling behind?)

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Quarterly Tracking Workflow

Month 0: Baseline Report

Step 1: Run initial Signal ($50)

• Submit 5-7 personas (consistent personas for future comparisons)
• Receive report + Intelligence Token: SIG-2025-11-A1B2C

Step 2: Record baseline metrics (from PDF or JSON)

• Presence Rate: 28%
• Authority Score: 65
• Ghost Influence: 68%
• Top 3 competitors: Competitor A (72% Presence), B (58%), C (52%)

Step 3: Create tracking spreadsheet (Google Sheets or Excel)

Columns:

Date	Intelligence Token	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence	Notes
2025-11-09	SIG-2025-11-A1B2C	28%	65	68%	Baseline

Step 4: Plan improvements (based on baseline gaps)

• Low Presence Rate (28%): Create 10 FAQ pages
• High Ghost Influence (68%): Add schema markup
• Low Authority Score (65): Get 15 reviews

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Month 3: First Re-Test

Step 1: Implement improvements (Month 0-3)

• Created 12 FAQ pages (Nov-Jan)
• Added LocalBusiness schema (Nov)
• Got 18 Google reviews (Nov-Jan)

Step 2: Re-run Signal ($50) with same personas

• Critical: Use identical personas from Month 0 (apples-to-apples comparison)
• Receive report + Intelligence Token: SIG-2026-02-D3E4F

Step 3: Record Month 3 metrics

Date	Intelligence Token	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence	Notes
2025-11-09	SIG-2025-11-A1B2C	28%	65	68%	Baseline
2026-02-10	SIG-2026-02-D3E4F	42%	72	52%	+50% Presence, +7 Auth, -16% GI

Step 4: Analyze trends

• Presence Rate: 28% → 42% (+50% improvement, strong)
• Authority Score: 65 → 72 (+7 points, good)
• Ghost Influence: 68% → 52% (-16 percentage points, good)
• Conclusion: Content strategy working (continue)

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Month 6: Validate Sustained Improvement

Step 1: Continue improvements (Month 3-6)

• Published 8 blog posts (Feb-May)
• Added FAQ schema to all FAQ pages (Mar)
• Got 12 more reviews (Mar-May, now 30 total)

Step 2: Re-run Signal ($50) with same personas

• Intelligence Token: SIG-2026-05-G6H7I

Step 3: Record Month 6 metrics

Date	Intelligence Token	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence	Notes
2025-11-09	SIG-2025-11-A1B2C	28%	65	68%	Baseline
2026-02-10	SIG-2026-02-D3E4F	42%	72	52%	+50% Presence
2026-05-11	SIG-2026-05-G6H7I	55%	78	38%	+31% Presence, +6 Auth, -14% GI

Step 4: Analyze trends

• Presence Rate: 42% → 55% (+31% improvement, still strong)
• Authority Score: 72 → 78 (+6 points, excellent)
• Ghost Influence: 52% → 38% (-14 percentage points, excellent)
• Conclusion: Sustained improvement (blog posts + schema working)

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Month 9: Long-Term Trend

Step 1: Maintain improvements (Month 6-9)

• Published 6 more blog posts (Jun-Aug)
• Updated old FAQ pages with new info (Jul)
• Got 8 more reviews (Jun-Aug, now 38 total)

Step 2: Re-run Signal ($50)

• Intelligence Token: SIG-2026-08-J8K9L

Step 3: Record Month 9 metrics

Date	Intelligence Token	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence	Notes
2025-11-09	SIG-2025-11-A1B2C	28%	65	68%	Baseline
2026-02-10	SIG-2026-02-D3E4F	42%	72	52%	+50% Presence
2026-05-11	SIG-2026-05-G6H7I	55%	78	38%	+31% Presence
2026-08-10	SIG-2026-08-J8K9L	62%	82	28%	+13% Presence, +4 Auth, -10% GI

Step 4: Analyze trends

• Presence Rate: 55% → 62% (+13% improvement, slowing but still positive)
• Authority Score: 78 → 82 (+4 points, good)
• Ghost Influence: 38% → 28% (-10 percentage points, excellent)
• Conclusion: Growth slowing (diminishing returns normal at 60%+ Presence Rate)

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Using Intelligence Tokens for Automated Tracking

Manual Method: Copy Metrics from PDF

Process:

1. Open Signal PDF
2. Find metrics (Presence Rate, Authority Score, Ghost Influence)
3. Copy to spreadsheet manually
4. Repeat quarterly

Effort: 10 minutes per quarter Pro: No coding required Con: Manual, error-prone (typos)

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Automated Method: Fetch JSON via Intelligence Token

Process:

1. Get Intelligence Token from report
2. Fetch JSON via API: https://api.surmado.com/intelligence/{token}
3. Parse JSON, extract metrics
4. Append to spreadsheet automatically

Effort: 20 minutes one-time setup, 2 minutes per quarter after Pro: Automated, no manual copying Con: Requires basic coding (Python, JavaScript, or Zapier)

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Example: Python Script for Automated Tracking

One-time setup (save as track_signal.py):

import requests
import csv
from datetime import datetime

# List of Intelligence Tokens (add new ones quarterly)
tokens = [
    "SIG-2025-11-A1B2C",
    "SIG-2026-02-D3E4F",
    "SIG-2026-05-G6H7I",
    "SIG-2026-08-J8K9L"
]

# Fetch data for each token
data = []
for token in tokens:
    url = f"https://api.surmado.com/intelligence/{token}"
    response = requests.get(url)
    json_data = response.json()

    data.append({
        "date": json_data["generated_at"],
        "token": token,
        "presence_rate": json_data["metrics"]["presence_rate"] * 100,
        "authority_score": json_data["metrics"]["authority_score"],
        "ghost_influence": json_data["metrics"]["ghost_influence"] * 100
    })

# Write to CSV
with open("signal_tracking.csv", "w") as f:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=["date", "token", "presence_rate", "authority_score", "ghost_influence"])
    writer.writeheader()
    writer.writerows(data)

print("Tracking data exported to signal_tracking.csv")

Usage:

1. Add new Intelligence Token to tokens list quarterly
2. Run python track_signal.py
3. Opens signal_tracking.csv with all metrics

Import to Google Sheets: File → Import → Upload CSV

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Example: Google Sheets Formula (Manual but Dynamic)

If you manually enter Intelligence Tokens in Google Sheets, use IMPORTDATA to fetch JSON:

Unfortunately, Google Sheets IMPORTDATA doesn’t parse JSON easily. Better approach: Use Zapier (see next section).

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Visualizing Trends

Simple Spreadsheet Chart

Data (from tracking table):

Date	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence
2025-11-09	28%	65	68%
2026-02-10	42%	72	52%
2026-05-11	55%	78	38%
2026-08-10	62%	82	28%

Chart 1: Presence Rate Over Time (Line chart)

• X-axis: Date
• Y-axis: Presence Rate (0-100%)
• Shows: Upward trend (28% → 62%)

Chart 2: Authority Score Over Time (Line chart)

• X-axis: Date
• Y-axis: Authority Score (0-100)
• Shows: Steady improvement (65 → 82)

Chart 3: Ghost Influence Over Time (Line chart)

• X-axis: Date
• Y-axis: Ghost Influence (0-100%)
• Shows: Downward trend (68% → 28%, good)

Google Sheets: Select data → Insert → Chart → Line chart

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Advanced: Multi-Metric Dashboard

Combine all metrics in single chart:

Dual-axis chart:

• Left Y-axis: Presence Rate, Authority Score (0-100 scale)
• Right Y-axis: Ghost Influence (0-100%, inverse scale)
• X-axis: Date

Insight: See all metrics trend together (Presence Rate up, Ghost Influence down = good).

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Tracking Scan Over Time

Quarterly Scan Tracking

Similar workflow to Signal:

Month 0: Run Scan, record Overall Score, category scores Month 3: Re-run Scan, compare improvements

Tracking spreadsheet:

Date	Intelligence Token	Overall Score	Tech SEO	Performance	Accessibility	Security
2025-11-09	SCAN-2025-11-X1Y2	42/100	38/100	35/100	48/100	65/100
2026-02-10	SCAN-2026-02-Z3A4	58/100	62/100	52/100	58/100	70/100
2026-05-11	SCAN-2026-05-B5C6	68/100	72/100	65/100	68/100	75/100

Insights:

• Overall Score: 42 → 68 (62% improvement)
• Tech SEO: 38 → 72 (89% improvement, biggest gain)
• Performance: 35 → 65 (86% improvement, Core Web Vitals fixed)
• Accessibility: 48 → 68 (42% improvement)

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Core Web Vitals Tracking (Scan)

Track specific metrics:

Date	LCP	CLS	INP	Pass/Fail
2025-11-09	4.8s	0.35	450ms	FAIL
2026-02-10	2.2s	0.15	280ms	PASS (LCP, INP); FAIL (CLS)
2026-05-11	1.9s	0.08	180ms	PASS (all)

Insights:

• LCP: 4.8s → 1.9s (60% improvement, image compression worked)
• CLS: 0.35 → 0.08 (77% improvement, image dimensions added)
• INP: 450ms → 180ms (60% improvement, JavaScript deferred)

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Competitor Benchmarking Over Time

Track Your Presence Rate vs Competitors

Month 0:

• Your Presence Rate: 28%
• Competitor A: 72%
• Competitor B: 58%
• Competitor C: 52%

Month 6:

• Your Presence Rate: 55% (+96% improvement)
• Competitor A: 68% (-6% decline)
• Competitor B: 62% (+7% improvement)
• Competitor C: 48% (-8% decline)

Insights:

• You’re catching up to Competitor B (55% vs 62%, gap narrowed from 30 points to 7)
• Competitor A declining (72% → 68%, not maintaining content)
• You’re now ahead of Competitor C (55% vs 48%)

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How to Track Competitors

Option 1: Run Signal on competitors quarterly

• Month 0: Run Signal on Competitor A ($50)
• Month 3: Re-run Signal on Competitor A ($50)
• Compare: Competitor A improving or declining?

Option 2: Use competitor data from your own Signal

• Your Signal report includes competitor Presence Rates (estimated)
• Track those estimates over time

Limitation: Your Signal only shows competitors mentioned alongside you (not comprehensive competitor analysis).

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Setting Improvement Goals

Realistic Quarterly Goals

Based on starting Presence Rate:

Starting at 0-20%:

• Goal: 30-40% (doubling or tripling)
• Required effort: 15-20 FAQ pages, schema, 10-20 reviews

Starting at 20-40%:

• Goal: 45-55% (50-100% improvement)
• Required effort: 10 FAQ pages, 5-10 blog posts, schema

Starting at 40-60%:

• Goal: 60-70% (25-50% improvement)
• Required effort: Targeted content for low-Presence personas, schema enhancements

Starting at 60-80%:

• Goal: 70-85% (incremental gains)
• Required effort: Defend position, monitor competitors, update content

Don’t expect: 0% → 80% in one quarter (unrealistic)

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Goal-Setting Framework

SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound):

Example:

• Specific: Increase Presence Rate from 28% to 45%
• Measurable: Track via Signal quarterly (Intelligence Tokens)
• Achievable: +17 percentage points in 6 months (realistic with content sprint)
• Relevant: AI visibility drives 20% of leads
• Time-bound: Achieve by Month 6 (May 2026)

Action plan:

• Month 0-3: Create 12 FAQ pages, add schema, get 15 reviews → Target 40% Presence Rate
• Month 3-6: Publish 10 blog posts, update FAQs, get 15 more reviews → Target 45-50% Presence Rate

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When to Worry About Trends

Red Flag 1: Declining Presence Rate

Trend:

• Month 0: 58% Presence Rate
• Month 3: 52% Presence Rate (-10%)
• Month 6: 45% Presence Rate (-13%)

Possible causes:

• Competitors improving faster (AI training data shifting)
• Your content stale (not updated in 12+ months)
• AI platforms updated algorithms (re-prioritizing different sources)

Action:

• Run Signal on top 3 competitors (identify what they’re doing better)
• Refresh old content (update FAQ pages, blog posts with current info)
• Create new content (AI platforms favor recent, updated sources)

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Red Flag 2: Stagnant Authority Score

Trend:

• Month 0: 65 Authority Score
• Month 3: 67 Authority Score (+2)
• Month 6: 68 Authority Score (+1)
• Month 9: 68 Authority Score (no change)

Possible cause: Lack of trust signals (reviews, case studies, testimonials)

Action:

• Get 20-30 Google reviews (most impactful for Authority Score)
• Publish 3-5 case studies (social proof)
• Add client testimonials to service pages
• Earn industry certifications or awards (E-E-A-T signals)

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Red Flag 3: Ghost Influence Not Decreasing

Trend:

• Month 0: 68% Ghost Influence
• Month 3: 65% Ghost Influence (-3%, minimal)
• Month 6: 63% Ghost Influence (-2%, still high)

Possible cause: Content not claiming features explicitly

Action:

• Create FAQ pages for each Ghost Influence feature (explicit claims)
• Add schema markup (LocalBusiness, FAQPage)
• Publish case studies showing features in action

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The Bottom Line

Track improvements quarterly: Run Signal, Scan, or Solutions every 90 days with consistent personas/pages.

Use Intelligence Tokens: Fetch JSON for automated tracking (no manual data entry).

Visualize trends: Simple spreadsheet charts show Presence Rate, Authority Score, Ghost Influence over time.

Set realistic goals:

• 0-20% → 30-40% in 90 days
• 20-40% → 45-55% in 90 days
• 40-60% → 60-70% in 90 days

Cost: $50/quarter for Signal = $200/year for quarterly tracking.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I track improvements?

Recommended: Quarterly (every 90 days).

Why quarterly?

• AI platforms take 2-4 weeks to index new content
• Google takes 4-12 weeks to re-crawl updated pages
• Need 60-90 days to see impact of content changes

More frequent (monthly): Expensive ($50/month = $600/year), minimal change month-to-month

Less frequent (semi-annual or annual): Harder to diagnose what worked vs didn’t (too long between measurements)

Do I need to use the exact same personas every time?

Yes, for core tracking personas. Use 80% same, 20% new.

Example (7 personas total):

• Personas 1-5: Same every quarter (track consistent trends)
• Personas 6-7: Rotate quarterly (explore new angles)

Core 5 personas (consistent):

1. Emergency buyer
2. Budget buyer
3. Quality buyer
4. Maintenance buyer
5. Replacement buyer

Exploratory 2 personas (rotate quarterly):

• Month 0: “HVAC financing Phoenix”, “24/7 HVAC Phoenix”
• Month 3: “HVAC warranty Phoenix”, “Certified HVAC techs Phoenix”
• Month 6: “HVAC installation cost Phoenix”, “Energy-efficient HVAC Phoenix”

Benefit: Track apples-to-apples with core personas, explore new opportunities with rotational personas.

What if my Presence Rate decreases quarter-over-quarter?

Investigate why:

Step 1: Check if you changed personas

• If personas changed, comparison invalid (not apples-to-apples)
• Confirm you used same personas

Step 2: Check competitor improvements

• Run Signal on top 3 competitors
• If competitors improved significantly (45% → 68%), they displaced you

Step 3: Check content freshness

• When was your content last updated?
• AI platforms favor recent content (2024 content beats 2020 content)

Step 4: Refresh content strategy

• Update old FAQ pages (add current info, 2025 dates)
• Publish new blog posts (fresh content signals)
• Add new reviews (recent reviews improve Authority Score)

Re-test in 60 days after refreshing content.

Can I compare Signal from Month 0 to Scan from Month 3?

No. Signal and Scan measure different things:

• Signal: AI visibility (Presence Rate, Authority Score)
• Scan: Technical website quality (Core Web Vitals, SEO, accessibility)

Compare Signal to Signal, Scan to Scan, Solutions to Solutions (same product, same metrics).

Can use together:

• Month 0: Run Signal (28% Presence Rate) + Scan (42/100 Overall Score)
• Month 3: Fix Scan issues (schema, Core Web Vitals)
• Month 3: Re-run Signal (42% Presence Rate, improved) + Scan (58/100, improved)

Both improve together (fixing Scan technical issues helps Signal AI visibility).

How do I track improvements if I’m using different Surmado products?

Track each product separately:

Signal tracking (AI visibility):

Date	Presence Rate	Authority Score	Ghost Influence
Month 0	28%	65	68%
Month 3	42%	72	52%

Scan tracking (technical quality):

Date	Overall Score	Tech SEO	Performance
Month 0	42/100	38/100	35/100
Month 3	58/100	62/100	52/100

Solutions tracking (strategic decisions, one-time use):

• Not tracked over time (each Solutions report addresses different strategic question)
• Track number of decisions validated (5 decisions in Year 1, 3 in Year 2)

What’s a realistic timeframe to see significant improvement?

Timeline:

30 days: Minimal improvement (AI platforms haven’t re-indexed yet) 90 days: Meaningful improvement (10-20 percentage points Presence Rate increase) 180 days: Significant improvement (30-50 percentage points increase with sustained effort) 365 days: Transformational improvement (0-20% → 60-70% possible with comprehensive strategy)

Example trajectory:

• Month 0: 22% Presence Rate
• Month 3: 38% Presence Rate (+16 points, 73% improvement)
• Month 6: 52% Presence Rate (+14 points, 37% improvement)
• Month 9: 62% Presence Rate (+10 points, 19% improvement)
• Month 12: 68% Presence Rate (+6 points, 10% improvement)

Diminishing returns normal (easier to go from 20% → 40% than 60% → 80%).

Should I track platform-specific Presence Rate or overall?

Track both:

Overall Presence Rate (primary metric):

• Month 0: 28%
• Month 3: 42%
• Tracks general trend

Platform-specific (secondary, diagnostic):

• ChatGPT: 72%
• Perplexity: 68%
• Claude: 58%
• Gemini: 52%

Use platform-specific when:

• Overall Presence Rate stagnant (identify which platforms dragging down average)
• Targeting specific platform (e.g., optimize for Perplexity citations)

Most businesses: Focus on overall Presence Rate (simpler, high-level trend).

Can I use Intelligence Tokens to compare my business to competitors?

No. Intelligence Tokens only give access to YOUR reports (not competitor reports).

To compare to competitors:

• Run Signal on your business: Get SIG-2025-11-A1B2C
• Run Signal on Competitor A: Get SIG-2025-11-D4E5F
• Fetch both JSONs, compare Presence Rates manually

Each business has separate Intelligence Token.

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Ready to start tracking? Run Signal ($50) quarterly, save Intelligence Tokens, and build simple spreadsheet dashboard to visualize Presence Rate trends over time.