The ▲/▼ badge under each KPI card looks simple - a number and an arrow. But its formula differs from Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz. Here's the exact math Servicehub247 uses, plus the 5 most common misreadings.
The exact formula
For each KPI card and the selected timeframe, the system does the following:
- Filter all crawls of all keywords within the time window.
- For each keyword, find the first position (earliest in window) and the latest position (most recent in window).
- Compare: if latest is better than first (smaller number) → keyword "improved"; worse → "declined"; equal → "unchanged".
- Count by bracket (Top 3 / Top 10 / ...):
- "Entered bracket": first was outside bracket, latest is inside.
- "Left bracket": first was inside, latest is outside.
- Badge = (entered) − (left) within the window.
Versus Ahrefs/SEMrush, which typically compare "current vs. N days ago" (two fixed points), Servicehub247's "first vs. latest in window" approach is more stable when crawls are uneven - but easier to misread. Here are the 5 most common mistakes.
Mistake 1: "I just added keywords but the badge shows 0"
Scenario: you added 20 keywords this morning, came back at evening with timeframe = This week, expecting ▲20 in Top 100. Badge shows 0.
Why: the new keywords only have 1 crawl in the week. No "first vs latest" to compare → excluded from delta calculation.
Read it right: wait 2–3 days for each keyword to accumulate at least 2 crawls. Then deltas start reflecting movement.
Mistake 2: "The big number doesn't change when I switch timeframe - must be a bug"
Scenario: you flip from Yesterday to Last year and the big "12/45" doesn't move. You assume the filter is broken.
Why: the big number is the latest snapshot - always pulls the most recent crawl, regardless of window. Only the delta badge reacts to timeframe.
Read it right: big number answers "how many right now"; badge answers "how much movement in window X". Different questions.
Mistake 3: "Yesterday timeframe says ▲10 - we're growing this week"
Scenario: timeframe set to Yesterday, badge shows ▲10 keywords entered Top 10, you report "we grew this week".
Why wrong: Yesterday only compares within 24h. Google has daily noise - short-window movement has no statistical weight. A keyword that bounced from 11 to 10 at 23:59 counts in ▲10, but might bounce back this morning.
Read it right: Yesterday is for detecting events (just deployed / just published). Don't use it for growth reporting. Weekly reports use This week; monthly reports use Last month.
Mistake 4: "Last 7 days says ▼5 but Last 30 days says ▲20 - which is correct?"
Scenario: two timeframes show opposite signs. Feels like something must be wrong.
Why both are right: they answer different questions. "Last week was bad" (▼5) and "last month was good" (▲20) can both be simultaneously true - meaning the long trend is positive but this week had a dip.
Read it right: always read in pairs. Week bad + month good → likely noise, wait. Week bad + month bad → real problem, investigate. Week good + month bad → possibly just starting recovery, encouraging.
Mistake 5: "Keyword X moved positions but isn't in the delta - why?"
Scenario: you know keyword X went from 8 to 14, but "Top 10" only dropped by ▼3 when you expected −1 from X.
Why it might not count:
- Keyword X has no crawls in the selected timeframe → excluded.
- Keyword X has crawls but both "first" and "latest" within the window are in the same bracket (e.g. both outside Top 10) → doesn't count toward "left bracket".
- Keyword X has crawls but "first" within the window was already 14 (not 8) → doesn't count as "left" because first was already outside.
Read it right: open the keyword detail page for X, look at the timeline within your selected window. Match first/latest in-window - you'll see exactly why it counted (or didn't).
Practical rules
- For trustworthy reads → use This week or Last month, not Yesterday.
- Always read two timeframes (week + month) before drawing conclusions.
- Big number (snapshot) and badge (delta) answer different questions - don't add/subtract them.
- New keywords (< 2 crawls in window) don't appear in deltas - normal.
