Default Alerts in SiteCurve are preconfigured notifications designed to highlight significant activity among websites in landscapes. These alerts cannot be customized but can be toggled on or off completely by the landscape admin.
Default Alerts are essential for quickly surfacing noteworthy movements without requiring users to manually sift through large amounts of data. They provide immediate value by automatically surfacing “signals” of notable performance shifts, allowing users to stay informed and take action effectively.
How Default Alerts Work
Automatic Criteria Matching
Default Alerts continuously monitor websites in a landscape for key performance changes. When a website meets the criteria of a default alert, the system triggers a notification that can be viewed:
In SiteCurves, if the alert is about the overall domain’s performance.
In Category Curves, if the alert matches a domain within a specific niche.
In Location Curves, if the domain is ranking in a specified location.
In Index Curves, if the domain is part of an index in the landscape.
Example: Let’s say Mastercard’s share of voice declines by 31% over three weeks, and it ranks on at least 100 keywords. This would trigger the Traffic Changes Over 3 Weeks alert.
This alert would surface in:
The SiteCurve module for Mastercard’s domain.
The Category Curve screen, if the user filters by “credit cards.”
The Location Curve screen, if Mastercard is ranking in a specific location.
The Index Curve screen, if Mastercard is included in a user-created index.
Domain-Level Monitoring
Default Alerts operate at the domain level based on rank change movement at the landscape level, meaning they monitor the total performance of a domain as a whole across all keywords in the landscape.
Subfolder-specific or URL-specific changes are not included and performance within an index is not considered.
Availability Across Landscape Types:
Public Landscapes: Default Alerts are visible to all users, even if they are not members of the landscape.
Private/Paid Landscapes: Default Alerts are hidden until a user joins the landscape. Once joined, alerts flow into the user’s dashboard.
Integration With Activity Feeds:
All Activity Tab: Default Alerts are included alongside discussions and other updates in the “All Activity” feed.
Alerts Tab: Default Alerts are shown exclusively in the “Alerts” feed for streamlined tracking.
Weekly Email Roundup: Users receive a weekly summary of all triggered alerts for landscapes they’ve joined, including details on the websites and criteria that met alert thresholds.
Alerts Reset After Triggering
Once an alert is triggered, it "resets"
For example, if a website triggers the Traffic Changes Over 3 Weeks alert by increasing traffic by 35%, it resets, and then the soonest it could be triggered again is 3 weeks assuing the traffic increases by 30% again
The Five Default Alerts
Traffic Changes Over 3 Weeks:
Criteria: A domain’s traffic improves or declines by 30% over three weeks, ranking on at least 100 keywords.
Example: If Visa.com’s traffic decreases by 35% over three weeks, this alert will trigger.
Traffic Changes Over 7 Days:
Criteria: A domain’s traffic improves or declines by 50% over seven days, ranking on at least 100 keywords.
Example: A sudden surge in Amazon.com’s traffic by 55% over a week would trigger this alert.
New Entrants:
Criteria: A new domain enters the landscape with at least 0.02% share of voice.
.02% was selected given it was an amount that indicates a site is starting to secure meaningful visibility in a landscape
Example: If a new website starts ranking and gains 0.03% share of voice, it will trigger this alert.
Leaderboard Movement:
Criteria: A domain enters or leaves the top 10 leaderboards for traffic.
Example: If Forbes.com moves into the top 10 traffic leaderboard, this alert will be triggered.
Winners and Losers:
Criteria: A domain enters or leaves the top 10 winners or losers for traffic.
Example: If Discover.com becomes one of the top 10 traffic losers, this alert will trigger.
How Default Alerts Are Displayed
Inside Landscapes:
Alerts appear prominently in the Alerts Box on the Overview screens and in the Landscape Home screen.
Users can explore triggered alerts by navigating to relevant domains, categories, locations, or indexes.
In Dashboards:
Alerts flow into the user’s dashboard under the All Activity tab or the dedicated Alerts tab.
The Landscapes tab filters alerts specific to landscapes joined by the user.
Email Notifications:
Default Alerts are included in the weekly roundup email sent every Monday, covering activity from the previous week (Monday–Sunday).
Each email includes the websites that triggered alerts and links directly to the relevant domains or discussions.
Who Are Default Alerts For?
Default Alerts are perfect for users who:
Need a quick way to identify significant changes in traffic, rankings, or share of voice without manually filtering data.
Want to stay informed about winning or losing websites in competitive niches, particularly after major Google updates or new SERP feature rollouts.
Are looking for automated insights into emerging competitors or significant leaderboard movements within their landscapes.
How to Get the Most Out of Default Alerts
Keep Alerts Enabled:
Since default alerts are designed to surface high-impact movements, keeping them enabled ensures you won’t miss critical changes.
Optionally, you can turn off default alerts you recieve via the weekly email update for landscapes in the landscape settings screen
Monitor Trends:
Use the alerts to monitor the effects of algorithm updates, new SERP features, or seasonal trends on landscape performance.
Engage with Triggered Alerts:
Clicking on a domain-related alert takes you to the domain’s SiteCurve profile from its originating landscape, allowing you to dive deeper into its performance data.
Leverage Weekly Emails:
Review the weekly roundup email to get a consolidated view of all alerts and quickly identify action items for the week.
If you click an alert from the weekly email, itll send you to the SiteCurve profile from its originating landscape
Explore Landscapes You Haven’t Joined:
For public landscapes, use default alerts to discover activity in landscapes you’re not a member of yet and identify websites worth exploring.
FAQs About Default Alerts
Can I customize default alerts?
No, default alerts are preconfigured by SiteCurve and cannot be customized. However, landscape admins can toggle them on or off.
What happens to alerts in private/paid landscapes?
Alerts in private or paid landscapes are hidden until you join the landscape. Once joined, these alerts appear in your dashboard.
Do default alerts cover individual URLs or subfolders?
No, default alerts only monitor the total performance of an entire domain across the keywords in a landscape.
How often are alerts updated?
Default Alerts are updated in real-time based on the performance data in the landscape.
Can I turn off default alerts for a specific landscape?
Yes, landscape admins can toggle default alerts off for individual landscapes in the landscape settings.