How to Get Started – Projects
=============================

All data, analysis and reports are saved by project. So to use the
SEOToolSet, you must have at least one project set up.

What Is a Project?
------------------

A *project* includes the website property you want to track along with
all of its information. You can view all the projects you have access to
on the Project List page, which also shows a summary of each one.

When you use the SEOToolSet, any tool or report you open pertains to the
active (selected) project. The currently active project appears
highlighted on the Project List page and is also identified at the top
of the window (as circled below).

If you have more than one project, you can easily switch to a different
project using the dropdown located at the top of any page.

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Adding a Project in SEOToolSet
------------------------------

This procedure lets you add a project. Whether you have a brand new
SEOToolSet account or an additional website to track, creating a project
is what you need to do first in order to use the SEOToolSet tools.

There are four basic steps to adding a project, and they correspond with
the four tabs of the Project Settings page:

1. `Enter basic project
information <#to-enter-basic-project-information>`__. (Main tab)

2. `Set up keywords for the
project <#to-set-up-keywords-for-the-project>`__. (Keywords tab)

3. `Configure the Ranking
Monitor <#to-configure-the-ranking-monitor>`__. (Ranking Monitor tab)

4. `Enable link reporting <#to-enable-link-reporting>`__. (Link
Reporting tab)

To enter basic project information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Once you are logged in, on the Project List (home) page, click **New
   Project**.

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2. In the Create a Project form, fill out the Main tab as follows.

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-  **Name**: The project name must be unique inside this account.

-  **Domain**: Enter the root address for your site, including the
   *http* or *https* at the beginning (for example,
   *http://www.seotoolset.com/*). Be careful to use the exact primary
   site address, including a trailing slash in the URL if appropriate,
   even if your home page is under a different URL. The SEOToolSet uses
   this domain to find matches in rankings and keep track of statistics.

-  **Stop words**: *(optional)* If you want the tools to ignore certain
   words when doing site analysis for this project, enter them here in a
   comma-separated list. (You can always add these later.)

-  **User Permissions**: *(optional)* At any time, you may give other
   account users permission to access the project. Check the box next to
   their username.

3. Click **Submit** to save your project settings.

NOTES

-  If an account administrator has given you access to an existing
   project, you don’t need to follow this procedure. (Skip to `How to Do
   Analysis and Reporting <how_to_do_analysis_and_reporting.html>`__ for help getting started
   with the tools.)

-  There is a limit to the number of projects you can set up, based on
   your account. You can increase your account subscription to pay for
   as many additional projects as you need.

-  Accounts may have an unlimited number of users. To give other people
   permission to access the project, an account administrator must set
   them up as users in the account.

To set up keywords for the project
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once your project has the basic information (name and domain), the
second step in `adding a project <getting_started.html#adding-a-project-in-seotoolset>`__ is
to enter keywords. Keywords are used in the SEOToolSet to:

-  Identify targeted words when analyzing page content so they can be
   highlighted in reports.

-  Determine what search engine rankings should be monitored and
   reported.

Keywords are organized into *keyword lists*. You can create many keyword
lists for your SEOToolSet project. Ideally, you should organize your
keywords into lists that match the website’s *silos* (i.e., topics
organized within your website structure and navigation). This enables
you to analyze each keyword list separately if desired.

1. Make sure the appropriate project is active (selecting it from the
   dropdown at the top of the page if necessary). If the Project
   Settings page is not already open, click **Project Settings** in the
   left-hand menu.

2. Click the **Keywords** tab. Complete the form as shown below.

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-  **Name**: Enter a name for the keyword list. This is merely a heading
   and will not be used as a keyword itself. Use it to help organize
   your keywords.

-  **Use in scheduled monitor**: *(optional)* Check this box if you want
   to include the keywords in this list in the regularly scheduled
   Ranking Monitor reports.

-  **Keywords**: Enter keywords one per line (both single words and
   phrases).

3. If you want to set up another keyword list, click **+ Add Keywords
   List** and repeat Step 2 to enter a new list and keywords.

4. When finished adding keywords, click **Submit** to save your work.

NOTES

-  The software does not let you enter a keyword more than once in the
   same list. However, you can enter the same keyword into multiple
   lists (though this is not recommended).

-  You can also access the Keywords tab directly by choosing Manage
   Keywords from the Keywords menu.

To configure the Ranking Monitor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next step in `adding a project <getting_started.html#adding-a-project-in-seotoolset>`__
is to set up the Ranking Monitor schedule. This powerful report tool
takes your site’s unbiased keyword rankings and saves them in Domain
Ranking Reports, so that you can see your SEO progress over time. The
Ranking Monitor runs automatically, based on the settings you choose.

1. With the appropriate project selected, if the Project Settings page
   is not already visible, click **Project Settings** in the left-hand
   menu.

2. Click the **Ranking Monitor** tab, and complete the setup form as
   shown below.

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-  **Ranking Monitor Enabled**: Check this box to activate the Ranking
   Monitor, which runs automatically according to your settings.

-  **Monitor schedule**: Set the desired frequency for running the
   Ranking Monitor, from 1 to 30 days, with 14 days being the typical
   frequency.

-  **Markets**: Select the search engine markets where you want to check
   your website’s rankings. For example, if your website is an
   international business based in Brazil, you can select the Brazilian
   markets and possibly deselect the U.S. markets, as well.

3. Click **Submit** at the bottom of the page to save your settings.

NOTES

-  You can also access the monitor settings directly by choosing
   Configure Ranking Monitor from the Ranking Monitor menu.

-  Keep in mind that your SEOToolSet account will be billed $0.01 (a
   penny) per keyword, per monitor run (except for the first 100 each
   month, which are free). This expense can add up if you monitor a
   large keyword list, a large number of search engine markets, and/or
   run the Ranking Monitor frequently.

-  If you attend SEOToolSet Training, unlimited use of the Ranking
   Monitor is automatically included during your training account
   subscription period.

To set up alias domains and competitors to monitor (optional)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within Project Settings, the Ranking Monitor tab is also the place where
you can set up alias domains and competitors for your project, if
desired. Scroll down past the Markets section to see the following
optional settings:

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-  **Alias Domains**: *(optional)* You can specify *alias domains*,
   which are additional domains that are owned by the same project site
   owner and share keyword lists. Any alias domain’s rankings are
   tracked with the main site’s rankings (and you can view both in the
   `Domain Ranking Reports <ranking_monitor.html#domain-ranking-reports>`__). Consider
   including your social media business profile pages as alias domains,
   such as a Facebook business page.

-  **Competitors**: *(optional)* You may put in a few top competitors’
   domains if you want the Ranking Monitor to also track their rankings
   for your keywords. The `Competitor Report <ranking_monitor.html#competitor-report>`__
   lets you view their ranking data.

To enable link reporting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last step in `adding a project <getting_started.html#adding-a-project-in-seotoolset>`__
is to set up link reporting, a feature that analyzes your *backlinks*
(i.e., links from external sites). The SEOToolSet pulls backlink data
from Majestic, a third-party provider. After you enable link reporting,
you can view the SEOToolSet’s `link analysis reports <links.html>`__.

1. With the appropriate project selected, if the Project Settings page
   is not already visible, click **Project Settings** in the left-hand
   menu.

2. Click the **Link Reporting** tab and complete the setup form, as
   shown below.

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-  **Link Reporting Enabled**: This box must be checked to activate link
   reporting for this project.

-  **Majestic access token**: Input your *Majestic access token*, which
   is a code obtained from your Majestic account. (See notes below.)

3. Click **Submit** to save your link reporting settings.

Once you enable link reporting for your project, the SEOToolSet begins
right away to pull the website’s backlink data and analyze it. The
Historical Link Summary report in the Links menu should be available
within minutes. The more detailed link reports may take up to 24 hours
to load, depending on the size of the site’s backlink profile. (See the
`Link Analysis <links.html>`__ section for report details.)

NOTES

-  You can allow the SEOToolSet to pull your backlink data using your
   own Majestic account (silver level or above). To get your Majestic
   access token, go to: https://majestic.com/apps/Q8U79UX9.

-  If you don’t want to provide your own Majestic token, you can
   authorize the SEOToolSet to obtain Majestic link data for your site
   for an additional monthly fee.

-  If you attend SEOToolSet Training, Majestic link data and link
   reporting are automatically included during your training account
   subscription period.

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