Crawl Comparison & History
SEO isn't a one-off project; it’s a journey of continuous improvement. To see how far you've come, you need more than just a snapshot of today. 42crawl's History and Comparison tools allow you to track your site's evolution and prove the value of your technical SEO optimizations.
Why History Matters
Every time you run a crawl, our SEO crawler automatically saves the results. This historical log allows you to:
- Revisit the Past: Look at detailed reports from previous weeks or months.
- Track Your Impact: See exactly how your site's SEO metrics have improved.
- Save Time: Quickly reload previous results without waiting for a fresh crawl.
You can access your log by clicking the History button in the dashboard header.
Mastering Crawl Comparison
Our Comparison tool lets you select two crawls and see the "delta"—exactly what changed. This is the secret to data-driven SEO and successful generative engine optimization.
What You Can Compare
- Health Score: Is your overall technical health trending up or down?
- Page Count: Did a recent update accidentally bloat your site?
- Broken Links: Did you successfully kill those 404s?
- GEO Readiness: Is your site becoming more AI-friendly over time?
- Performance: Are your Core Web Vitals improving?
How to Run a Comparison
- Open the History panel.
- Find the "baseline" crawl (your previous session).
- Click the Compare icon.
- The dashboard will enter Comparison Mode, highlighting exactly which metrics improved.
Why Comparison is Essential
- Proving ROI: Show your clients a clear "Before and After" report that validates your work.
- Catching Regressions: Ensure a developer didn't accidentally break your technical SEO foundation during a new deployment.
- Spotting Trends: Identify long-term patterns in site performance that a single audit might miss.
A Note on Data Retention
Crawl history is currently stored locally in your browser. To keep a permanent record, we recommend using our Export features to save your data as a CSV or PDF. This ensures your GEO optimization progress is always documented.
Next Steps:
- Learn how to automate your reporting.
- Check your GEO score over time.