Annotations

Fresh

Annotations let you mark important events directly on your Google Search Console performance charts. Use them to track algorithm updates, content changes, technical fixes, or any event that might impact your search performance.

Figure: Annotations appear as triangle markers on the chart timeline

Why Use Annotations?

When analyzing search performance changes, it's crucial to understand what happened and when. Annotations help you:

• Correlate changes: See how content updates or technical fixes affected your traffic
• Track algorithm updates: Google algorithm updates are automatically added as annotations
• Document your work: Keep a record of SEO changes for future reference
• Share context: When reviewing data with others, annotations explain what happened

Viewing Annotations

Annotations appear as small triangle markers at the bottom of your GSC performance chart.

Enable Annotations

Click the notebook icon in the chart toolbar to open the annotations menu. Annotations are shown by default.

Figure: Annotations dropdown menu

Filter by Type

Use the checkboxes to show or hide specific annotation types:

Type	Description
Custom	Annotations you create manually
Google Update	Automatically tracked Google algorithm updates
System	System-generated annotations

View Annotation Details

Hover over any triangle marker to see a tooltip with the annotation details. Click the marker to open the full annotations panel for that date.

Figure: Click an annotation marker to see details

Adding Annotations

Open the Annotations Menu

Click the notebook icon in the chart toolbar.

Click Add Annotation

Select "Add annotation" from the dropdown menu.

Figure: Add annotation option in the menu

Fill in the Details

• Title: A short description of the event
• Date: When the event occurred
• Description (optional): Additional context or notes

Click "Save" to add the annotation.

INFO

Annotations are linked to the GSC property, so they'll appear whenever you view that property's performance chart.

Managing Annotations

View All Annotations

Click "View all annotations" in the annotations menu to open a panel showing all annotations for the current property.

Figure: Annotations panel with filtering options

Available Actions

Action	Description
View	See full annotation details
Edit	Modify title, date, or description
Delete	Remove the annotation

WARNING

Google Update and System annotations cannot be edited or deleted-they are automatically maintained by SEO Utils.

Filtering Annotations

Use the filters in the annotations panel to find specific annotations:

• Date Range: Filter by when annotations occurred
• Type: Show only custom, Google updates, or system annotations
• Search: Find annotations by title or description

Google Algorithm Updates

SEO Utils automatically tracks confirmed Google algorithm updates and adds them as annotations. This helps you understand if traffic changes correlate with known algorithm updates.

TIP

Google Update annotations are added automatically-you don't need to track them manually.

Best Practices

• Be specific: Use clear titles like "Published new pricing page" instead of "Content update"
• Add context: Use the description field to include links or additional details
• Annotate promptly: Add annotations when you make changes, not weeks later when you've forgotten the details
• Review regularly: When analyzing performance drops or gains, check annotations first to understand what changed