> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.surnex.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ranking alerts

> When Surnex raises a ranking alert, and the exact thresholds behind each type.

Surnex compares every rank check against the previous one and raises an alert when the position crosses a threshold that matters. You don't configure the thresholds — they're fixed — but knowing them tells you why you did or didn't get an alert.

Alerts appear in the feed on [Position changes](/tracking/changes) and in your [Notification center](/notifications/view).

## The rules

Alerts are generated per keyword, per rank check, by comparing the new position to the previous one.

### Started or stopped ranking

| Previous     | Current      | Alert                |
| ------------ | ------------ | -------------------- |
| Not ranking  | Any position | **Ranking Improved** |
| Any position | Not ranking  | **Lost Top 100**     |

These two are terminal — when either fires, no other alert is raised for that keyword on that check. A keyword appearing at position 2 for the first time raises **Ranking Improved** alone, not **Entered Top 3**.

<Note>
  "Not ranking" means outside the top 100, not literally absent from Google. Surnex reads the first 100 results; anything beyond that is indistinguishable from no ranking at all.
</Note>

### Significant movement

When both positions are known, a move of **5 or more places** in either direction raises:

* **Ranking Improved** — moved up 5+
* **Ranking Dropped** — moved down 5+

A 4-place move raises nothing. This is deliberate: positions fluctuate by a place or two constantly, and alerting on that noise would make the feed useless.

### Band crossings

Independently of the 5-place rule, crossing a threshold raises its own alert:

| Condition                           | Alert              |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Was worse than 3, now 3 or better   | **Entered Top 3**  |
| Was worse than 10, now 10 or better | **Entered Top 10** |
| Was 10 or better, now worse than 10 | **Lost Top 10**    |

There is no "Lost Top 3" alert. A fall from position 2 to 7 raises **Ranking Dropped** if it's 5+ places, but nothing about leaving the top 3.

## Several alerts from one check

The rules above are evaluated together, so one check can raise more than one alert:

| Move    | Alerts raised                                                 |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 14 → 2  | Ranking Improved, Entered Top 10, Entered Top 3               |
| 12 → 9  | Entered Top 10 only — the 3-place move is under the threshold |
| 8 → 15  | Ranking Dropped, Lost Top 10                                  |
| 2 → 4   | None — 2 places, and still inside the top 10                  |
| 45 → 30 | Ranking Improved only                                         |

The 12 → 9 row is the one that catches people out: a small move can be more important than a large one when it crosses a band.

## When alerts are generated

Alerts are a by-product of a rank check, so they follow your [rank tracking schedule](/tracking/overview) — daily by default. Paused keywords aren't checked and can't raise alerts.

A project's very first check raises nothing at all: with no previous position to compare against, there's no change to detect. Alerts start on the second check.

## Being notified

Alerts always land in the [feed](/tracking/changes) and the [Notification center](/notifications/view). Whether they also reach you by email depends on your [notification preferences](/notifications/preferences).

## What you can't do yet

* Change the 5-place threshold
* Alert on a specific keyword only
* Alert on a specific position (for example, "tell me if we drop below 3")
* Turn off individual alert types — preferences control delivery channels, not which alerts exist

To watch one keyword closely, open its [history](/tracking/keyword-history) rather than relying on alerts.