Server App That Displays Rankings in Graphic With RSS Feed & XML to XHTML Conversion

I can’t find one so I am going to write one. I want a server side app written in PHP/mySQL that will track clients rankings on the Google, Yahoo and MSN. This app needs to be written very optimized so that it only uses the minimum of resources on the server end.

I would like to get some input from my peers on this one. Below is a list of things I am going to have put in it. I would like to hear what would be useful to you all.

This app will be offered to SEO Firms to add up the clients they do work on and enable them to track the movement for their clients keywords in the SERPs.

The Spec will be changing so I have posted a copy on my site.
www.seocompany.ca/seo-ranking-display-app-with-rss-feed.html

1) Public user interphase that allows for the adding up of a list of keywords that are to be tracked.
2) Setup where the rankings for each keyword are checked daily via the api (not scrapped).
3) The ablity to show a x/y line graph of all keywords over 1 week, 1 month, 3 months 6 months and user inputed dates.
4) Each keyword will have a different color line and a mouse over that line will show the keyword and the page that is ranking for that keyword.
5) The graphic page will have tabs for Google, Yahoo, MSN and All. In the All mode the lines for each graphic will be Google doted, Yahoo dashed, MSN dot-dashed or some think like this.
6) The x/y line graphic will have 1 at the top and down to 100 bottom. Starting date on the left and ending date on the right. For anything under 30 days the units will be days. Anything 30 to 60 days will be 2 days, anything 60 to 90 days will be 3 days and anything over 90 days will be 7 days.
7) At the right side the keywords will be listed and sorted with the highest rankings going first. There will be a JavaScript check box where you can uncheck any or all keywords and they will not be displayed.
8) the graphic sets up can be saved and will have a RSS feed. The feeds will have a xml to XHTML converstion file that will allow them to be displayed live on a external website.
9) At the top of the grapics will be showing the BL and Documents in Index for each of the G/Y/M, Links in Yahoo/DMOZ directory, and the Alexa Ranking.

 

Seems like a very nice project, I wonder what other DP members think...

 

I would have to agree, seems like it would be a very useful tool. Are you planning to charge for using it or will be a freebie?

 

Don't the engines frown on this? Which may cause them to lower your rankings?

How is your Google API going to work? With only 1000 hits per day, are you going to ask the customer to supply a custom API number?

 

How much keywords will be allowed ? Maybe makinf silver, gold and platinum packages ? Maybe depending on the number of domains and number of kewords per domain ?

This is nice

Maybe a more linear raport would be nice. Like the DP keyword tracker. Users are more opne to this. And it's more easier to read too

I guess it would make a nice graphical approach but the practical usefullness is reduced very much. IMO this great work time (i guess it's not that easy to work with graphs generation) would be better invested in other areas

Maybe different colors, or different weight (1px, 2 px, 5 px etc). The dashed, dotted, solid or other tehniques is vey hard to follow.

I would suggest :

The graph to have 31 units.

For anything under 30 days the units will be days.

Anything 30 to 60 days will be 2 days, anything 60 to 90 days will be 3 days and anything over 90 days will be 4 days.

I wouls suggest also listing and sorting after, Google, Yahoo or MSN, position, as well as after the "average" of the highest shifting keywords (the ones which are not very stable, and jump all over around the serps)

I had another very very nice ideea here, but i forgot it while writing other areas. I'll be sure to remember and post it.

This is great. Maybe a plain text version could also be made available ?

Very nice

 

GuyFromChicago: "Are you planning to charge for using it or will be a freebie?"
Well originally I just was looking for the tool for my clients. Then I thought I would offer it with my web directory submission services as an added service.
www.seocompany.ca/directory/web-directory-submission-service.html

The I thought it would be good to offer to SEO firms to bring them to my site so they would be aware of my submission services (I am targeting SEO firms to out source there directory submissions to me).

So I don't know if I would open it up to the general public or not, free or otherwise.

MisterZee: "Don't the engines frown on this?"
The search engines don't frown on using there API to display rankings.

"How is your Google API going to work? With only 1000 hits per day, are you going to ask the customer to supply a custom API number?"
Yes each customer would have there own API for each SE.

Expertu: "How much keywords will be allowed?"
I don't know. If it is my clients or clients that use my services it would be unlimited and it wouldn't matter as there would be income to throw as much hardware and bandwidth at it as is needed. If it is SEO firm that I want to drive to my site then there would have to be some kind of a limit. Then when they use my submission services that would be done for them.

"Maybe a more linear report would be nice. Like the DP keyword tracker. Users are more open to this. And it's more easier to read too."
Well that is what I am talking about is a linear report. A x/y graph with no negative numbers with the y being rankings 1 to 100 (top down) and the x being time (1, 2, 3, 7 days periods) going left to right.

"5) The graphic page will have tabs for Google, Yahoo, MSN and All. In the All mode the lines for each graphic will be Google doted, Yahoo dashed, MSN dot-dashed or some think like this. -- I guess it would make a nice graphical approach but the practical usefulness is reduced very much. IMO this great work time (i guess it's not that easy to work with graphs generation) would be better invested in other areas."
In my opinion this is the most important part. Please that purchase services want to be able to see on a very simple level what the services have done for them. Has my rankings gone up. Please show me where. They want to see something visual. So this would be the area which I would consider the most important.


"Maybe different colors, or different weight (1px, 2 px, 5 px etc). The dashed, dotted, solid or other techniques is very hard to follow."
I think that is perhaps a good point. I am not sure what would need to be done there. Putting all three (or more) search engine rankings on one page is going to be very cluttered so it would be hard to say till I see it. This does raise a good point and I have documented that in the spec on my site.
www.seocompany.ca/seo-ranking-display-app-with-rss-feed.html

"anything over 90 days will be 4 days."
That could be a setting that could be changed in a persons account. That’s for your input expertu. All input is valued and received with thanks!

I would like to state here that my main objective for this app is to provide the end user with a tool where they can see very simply the status of their rankings and traffic. I do not want to get a bloated app that is slow and has lots of bells and whistles. The idea is for John Q. Public to be able to go and look at his rankings and traffic quickly and see clearly whether their site is doing better or doing worse in the rankings/traffic.

 

Why would they use your service and not DP's Keyword Tracker? Sounds like re-inventing the wheel to me.

 

I guess it's thinked and made to act as a value added service to internal company customers.

To me it sounds like that "particular" company worked his ass a bit, to offer some quality services to me as a client

 

I overlooked the RSS part of it... Would be a nice feature I guess.

 

TOPS30: "Why would they use your service and not DP's Keyword Tracker? Sounds like re-inventing the wheel to me."
Well its more than just the RSS feature that would be different here. The main thing that I am looking at is the a quality clear graphic page that shows the rankings for the last 7, 30, 60, 90, or what every length of time they want.

The RSS feed just makes it a bit easier for the client to find there page as it is on their own site. Just means they don't have to log into some system to see their rankings.

The main feature that I just don't see out there is a quick and easy way to view your ranking on the 3 different search engines in a graphic display.

 

Well .. I kinda figured, these are the way i would see this happening:



Cheers Bob.

 

All: There is a couple more entries in the blog:
www.seocompany.ca/seo-ranking-display-app-with-rss-feed.html

Here is a working mockup. I will be adding up 10 or 20 keywords tomorrow and inputting date for them in the db, and working on the lay out some. But this gives you an idea of what I envision at this point for the end users graph display.
If you have extra input and opinions send them this way.
www.seocompany.ca/monitor-tool/keyword-ranking-display-app.html

 

Picked up a server today for $129.95/mon. 2.8GHz P4, 1GB DDRAM, 120GB IDE and 1TBG of bandwidth. The OS is Redhat Fedora and it comes with Cpanel. I purchased the server from http://www.managed.com/ .

Thinks have slowed down on the project but the final spec is done. I have just about worked out everything with the programmer.

If any one has any other ideas, post them up. Here is the on going blog.
www.seocompany.ca/seo-ranking-display-app-with-rss-feed.html

I am working on moving to wordpress for my site blog.