Clariti's performance chart gives you a clear, interactive view of how your traffic is trending over time. You can quickly set a time period, compare it against a previous period or past year, chart a single traffic source, and mark important moments with annotations.

The performance chart appears in two places, and works the same way in both:

Click the time period picker above the chart to jump straight to the window you want. No need to set start and end dates by hand. Your options are organized into four groups:

You can also pick a custom date range. The chart and the statistics cards below it (Page Views, Sessions, and Users) update instantly to match your selection.

Once you've set a time period, you can overlay a comparison to see how it stacks up against another stretch of time.

When a comparison is active, two things happen. A second line renders on the chart so you can see the difference in shape and direction at a glance, and each statistics card shows the comparison total along with the percent change. Green means you're up over the comparison period; red means you're down.

By default the chart shows your total traffic. To focus on a single channel:

The chart redraws to show only that source's traffic for your selected time period, and the statistics cards update to reflect that source. To return to total traffic, open the selector and click Clear Source.

Source charting works alongside comparisons. Select a source and then add a comparison to plot that source against the same source for your comparison period — for example, Pinterest this quarter versus Pinterest the same quarter last year.

On the Performance tab of a post, you can also plot a keyword's search position directly on the chart. Click the chart icon to the right of a keyword in the keyword table to see it appear as an orange line. This works alongside the other chart controls, so you can view a keyword's position over time together with your traffic and any active comparison.

For more on setting and tracking keywords, see How to set a focus keyword.

Annotations let you mark significant events on your chart, such as a content update, an algorithm change, or a traffic spike. They appear directly on the chart timeline, and you can click one to view its details.

You can show or hide annotations at any time using the Toggle Events button next to the Sources selector. Turn them off for a clean view of the trend line, and turn them back on when you want the full context behind the spikes and dips.

How far back can I compare?

As far back as we're able to pull in from Google, which is usually around two years or so depending on what's available through Google's API. The comparison options list each year we have data for.

What's the difference between Prev Period and a year comparison?

Prev Period compares against the time window immediately before your current one (for example, this quarter versus last quarter). A year comparison lines up the same calendar dates from a past year (for example, this quarter versus the same quarter last year).

Can I chart a traffic source and add a comparison at the same time?

Yes. Select a traffic source first, then add a comparison. The chart will plot that source against the same source for your chosen comparison period.

Does the performance chart work on individual posts?

Yes. The time period picker, comparisons, source charting, and annotations are all available on the Performance tab of the Content Detail View, as well as on the Home Dashboard.

Reach out to our team anytime. We're happy to help you get the most out of your performance chart. Email us at [email protected].