Setting Up Search Tracking

This guide walks you through configuring search tracking for your project. By the end, you will have your tracking infrastructure in place and will be ready to receive results from automated search test runs.

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Before You Start

You will need:

• A DevTune project created through the 5-step project creation wizard (Product Basics, Review AI-Generated Context, Add Competitor, Select Prompts, Run Test)
• An understanding of which domains represent your brand and your competitors
• Brand name terms you want to monitor for mentions

If you have already completed the project creation wizard, much of this configuration is pre-populated for you. This guide covers how to review and refine that configuration.

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The Config Page

All search tracking configuration is centralized on a single page accessible from your project sidebar under AI Search Tracking > Config. The Config page is located at /search-tracking/config within your project. The Config page has four tabs:

1. Platforms - Enable or disable AI search platforms
2. Citation Sources - Manage tracked domains organized by brand
3. Brand Terms - Manage brand name terms for mention tracking
4. Brands - Manage your primary brand and competitor brands

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Step 1: Configure Brands

Start with the Brands tab. Brands are the organizational foundation for your tracking setup.

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Primary Brand

Your primary brand represents your product. It is created automatically during project setup. The primary brand is used to determine which citations and mentions count as “yours” versus competitors.

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Competitor Brands

Add competitor brands to track their presence alongside yours. For each competitor, you can:

• Set the brand name
• Associate citation sources (domains) with the competitor
• Add brand terms for the competitor

Competitor brands enable Share of Voice calculations and competitive analysis across all tracked prompts.

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Step 2: Configure Citation Sources

Switch to the Citation Sources tab. Citation sources are the domains DevTune looks for in AI search responses.

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Adding Citation Sources

1. Select which brand the domain belongs to (your primary brand or a competitor)
2. Enter the domain (e.g., docs.yourcompany.com)
3. Save

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Which Domains to Add

For your primary brand:

• Documentation site (e.g., docs.yourcompany.com)
• Marketing website (e.g., yourcompany.com)
• Blog (e.g., blog.yourcompany.com)
• GitHub repository (e.g., github.com/yourcompany)
• Package registry pages (e.g., npmjs.com/package/yourpackage)

For competitor brands:

• Their documentation sites
• Their marketing websites
• Their package registry pages

Each domain is associated with a brand, which enables per-brand analytics and competitive comparisons.

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Domain Tags

You can tag citation sources to categorize them (e.g., “docs”, “blog”, “marketing”). Tags help you understand which types of content are being cited most frequently.

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Suggested Competitors

DevTune can suggest competitor domains based on your product context and category. Look for the suggested competitors feature when adding new citation sources.

Tip: Start with your 3-5 most important domains and 2-3 key competitor domains. You can expand your tracking over time.

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Step 3: Configure Brand Terms

Switch to the Brand Terms tab. Brand terms are the name variations DevTune monitors for brand mentions in AI responses.

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What Brand Terms Track

Brand terms detect when an AI platform mentions your brand by name in its response, even without citing a specific URL. For example, if ChatGPT says “You could use YourProduct for this” without linking to your site, that is detected as a brand mention.

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Adding Brand Terms

1. Select which brand the term belongs to
2. Enter the brand term (e.g., “YourProduct”, “Your Product SDK”)
3. Save

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Examples

For your primary brand:

• Your product name: “DevTune”
• Variations: “Dev Tune”, “devtune.ai”

For competitor brands:

• Competitor names and common variations

Brand terms are distinct from prompts. Brand terms define what to look for in responses, while prompts define what to ask the AI platforms.

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Step 4: Configure Platforms

Switch to the Platforms tab. Here you can enable or disable the AI search platforms DevTune queries during test runs.

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Platform Availability by Plan

Not all platforms are available on every plan: Platforms that are not included in your plan will appear as locked on the Platforms tab. Upgrade your plan to unlock additional platforms.

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Enabling Platforms

Toggle each available platform on or off. Enabled platforms will be queried during each automated search test run.

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How Tests Run

Search tracking tests run on automated schedules managed by the system. You do not need to manually trigger tests or configure test frequency. DevTune handles scheduling to ensure consistent, regular tracking across your configured platforms and prompts.

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What Happens During a Test

1. Query Submission - DevTune sends your prompts to each enabled platform
2. Response Collection - AI responses are captured
3. Analysis - Responses are analyzed for your citation sources and brand terms
4. Scoring - Presence rate, share of voice, sentiment, and other metrics are calculated
5. Results - Data appears on your dashboard and insights are generated

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Credit Consumption

Each test run consumes credits based on the number of prompts and platforms tested. Your plan includes a monthly credit allocation. You can monitor your credit usage from your account billing page.

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After Setup

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Establishing a Baseline

Your first completed test run establishes a baseline for all metrics. Initial results provide:

• Your current presence state across platforms
• A starting point for competitive comparisons
• The foundation for tracking improvement over time

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Expect Variability

AI responses are not deterministic. Results may vary between runs. Focus on trends over multiple test runs rather than individual data points.

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Review Your Dashboard

After your first test completes, visit the Search Tracking Overview dashboard to:

• Review your primary KPIs (Overall Presence Rate, Share of Voice, Sentiment Score)
• Examine platform-level performance
• Read generated insights and recommended actions

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Troubleshooting Setup

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No Results Appearing

If you see no results after setup:

• Verify your citation sources are entered correctly
• Confirm at least one platform is enabled
• Check that prompts have been configured (from the project creation wizard or manually)
• Wait for the next automated test run to complete

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Low Presence

If your presence rate is low:

• This is a common starting point, especially for newer products
• Review which competitor brands have stronger presence
• Use insights and actions to guide content improvement

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Unexpected Results

If results seem incorrect:

• Review your citation sources for typos or missing domains
• Check that brand terms match actual brand name usage
• Verify platform selection matches your plan tier

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Next Steps

• Search Dashboard - Understand your results
• Search Configuration - Deep dive into Config page tabs
• Prompts - Manage the queries submitted to AI platforms
• Understanding Metrics - Deep dive into metrics