Advanced Web Ranking - Frequently Asked Questions

This page covers the most frequently asked questions related to our software. If you have a question that is not answered below, please contact us.

1 Installation Issues:

1.1 What is the Java Runtime Environment and why do I need it?

The Java Runtime Environment (in short JRE) is the platform that enables Advanced Web Ranking to run on almost any platform that exists today. You can thus use Advanced Web Ranking on the operating system that you enjoy most.

Advanced Web Ranking requires the JRE version 1.4. If you have a previous version, please download the latest version for your operating system:

http://www.apple.com/java/ (for Mac OS X).

http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/ (for Windows and Linux).

1.2 Do I still need to install the JRE if I download the Windows version that comes bundled with it?

No. The "Windows (bundled with JRE)" distribution comes bundled with the Java Runtime Environment so you don't need to download and install JRE separately. Hoewever, if you wish to run other Java enabled applications, you may need to download it.

1.3 How do I install Advanced Web Ranking on Mac OS X

Please follow the steps below to install AWR on Mac OS X:

1. Open the awr.dmg file that you downloaded by double clicking on it. This will create a new icon on the Desktop called Advanced Web Ranking. This icon looks just like a portable hard drive and contains three items: Advanced Web Ranking (the application), eula.txt and readme.txt.
2. If you downloaded the awr.dmg file using Safari, you don't need to open it like described above, because Safari will do this automatically for you.
3. To install Advanced Web Ranking on your computer, drag and drop the Advanced Web Ranking icon to the Applications folder on your hard drive.

1.4 How do I upgrade Advanced Web Ranking on MAC OS X?

Please follow the steps below to upgrade AWR to a new version on Mac OS X:

1. Open the awr.dmg file that you downloaded by double clicking on it. This will create a new icon on the Desktop called Advanced Web Ranking. This icon looks just like a portable hard drive and contains three items: Advanced Web Ranking (the application), eula.txt and readme.txt.
2. If you downloaded the awr.dmg file using Safari, you don't need to open it like described above, because Safari will do this automatically for you.
3. To upgrade Advanced Web Ranking, drag and drop the Advanced Web Ranking icon to the Applications folder on your hard drive. The Finder will telly you that the Advanced Web Ranking application already exists, so overwrite the existing version.

1.5 Will I loose any of my data (keywords, ranking history, etc.) when upgrading to a new version?

No. The data folder is kept in a different location (in the Documents folder) therefore the application will retain your current license and data gathered so far.

2 Licensing Issues:

2.1 May I run Advanced Web Ranking from multiple computers?

Yes, you may run Advanced Web Ranking from multiple computers and operating systems, as long as you are the only one who uses Advanced Web Ranking on these computers.

For more information, please see the End User License Agreement.

2.2 Do I need a new installation code or registration number when I update to a new version?

No. All you need to do is enter the original registration ID that you will receive with your purchase confirmation email.

2.3 Are updates free for the first year or do I need to purchase the program again to get the update?

Advanced Web Ranking comes with a 12 months maintenance plan, which entitles you to free product upgrades, free search engine updates, and free techical support for 12 months since the date of purchase.

For more information about maintenance plans please see our licensing policy page.

2.4 Is it possible to extend my trial version?

Yes it is possible. All you have to do is contact our Support Team by email. Please describe in this email the reason why you wish to extend your trial.

3 Technical Issues:

3.1 Advanced Web Ranking seems to be slow - why?

The speed of Advanced Web Ranking depends on your Internet connection speed. If you have a DSL or cable modem connection, you can increase the number of simultaneous connections. Open the Preferences dialog and select a higher number in the "Maximum number of simultaneous connections" text box. Also, check that you aren't running other applications in the background that require a lot of bandwidth.

3.2 Can I install and run AWR on a client computer and have the data stored on a server? What if I run AWR from two client computers at the same time with this configuration?

Yes. Advanced Web Ranking keeps its data stored per project, and running an update for one project does not affect the data for the other projects. In case you run an update for the same project from different computers that point to the same data folder (or even from the same computer) Advanced Web Ranking has a locking mechanism which prevents data from being corrupted.

3.3 I have many active websites in my project, and the lines in the Rank Evolution chart intersect, so there is no way I can distinguish the rank evolution of one website. What can I do?

You can use a different color for every websites. This can be done from the [Project]->[Project Settings] dialog. Go to the websites tab, click on an website and click on the Color button to change its color. Once a color is set for an website, that website will appear colored in every report that Advanced Web Ranking generates.

Tip: Advanced Web Ranking shows the chart lines of inactive websites with a different color intensity. You can change this setting in the Application Settings tab of the Preferences.

3.4 In one of my charts, the rank evolution of a website is not a continuously line. There is an empty space (for about one week). What is wrong?

This is a visual indication that the website was dropped from the search engine for that period of time. If you would rather see a continuous line instead, go to the the [Options]->[Preferences] dialog and check the "Show continuous lines in the Rank Evolution Chart" in the Application tab.

3.5 Can I insert the Rank Evolution charts in the printable reports?

Yes. Edit your report, via [Edit Reports] -> [YourReportName] and make sure the "Insert chart" option is checked in the Output Options tab.

Note: Only the PDF and HTML reports can have charts.

3.6 Can I have my web adress and logo image in the HTML reports generated by Advanced Web Ranking?

Yes. All you need to do is create a new Header and Footer template (via the Options -> Header and Footers menu) and then assign this template to your report template by selecting it from the drop down list in the Edit -> Current Rank dialog for example.

3.7 Every time I try to update my project it fails to retrieve any page from the search engines. What is wrong?

Your computer is connected to the Internet through a proxy server. You must fill in the fields from the Proxy tab from the [Options]->[Preferences] menu before you update your project.

3.8 How can I set for every project a different number of results to be retrieved from search engines?

This can be done from the Project -> Project Settings menu. In the Preferences tab, there is a "Search depth" setting. Just make sure the "Inherit from global preferences" is unchecked and then set a per project search depth here.

3.9 Why does Advanced Web Ranking sometimes report a position that is slightly different from the one I see when I do a manual search?

Web position reporting is not an exact science. The results returned by a search engine vary with certain factors like time, geographical position of the IP address, the browser used to do the query, the browser settings, cookies, etc. Thus doing the same search from different computer environments may lead to results that are not identical.

Furthermore, the results retrieved from some search engines may even vary between two consecutive searches, due to the dynamic nature of their updates. Rankings may even change within minutes from the previous search. Therefore, it is normal for Advanced Web Ranking to sometimes report positions that are different from the ones you see during a manual search. Luckily this happens only when the search engines update their data, and this only happens once a month, or even less frequent.

3.10 Do I have to launch AWR every day in order to run its scheduled tasks?

No. The application will launch itself in the background on the scheduled time, update your project data, send any emails you have set up or save the report to a folder, and then exit quietly.

3.11 What happens if I add "www.mydomain.com" to the website list. Will it also match "mydomain.com"?

A website can have aliases. The most known case is when a website can be referred only with its domain or with the www prefix. Example:

• www.mydomain.com
• mydomain.com

This special case is handled by default in Advanced Web Ranking and you can see this by clicking on the [Website Aliases] button on Project Settings, Website tab. Here is the place where you can add other aliases of your website, like "page1.mydomain.com".

3.12 What happens if my computer is not connected to the Internet when it's time for a scheduled task?

The application will be launched and the update will fail. If a report should be sent, the already existing data is used for the report. If your internet connection is later restored, the application will not be automatically launched. You will have to wait until the next scheduled update, or do a manual update from the application.

3.13 I'm having trouble running Advanced Web Ranking on Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther). What can I do?

It seems that the Panther install breaks the Apple Java VM on some systems. Apple appears to be working on this, but meanwhile please see the following topic on our forum on how to fix this now:

Mac OS X 10.3 - Panther

Please let us know if you know any other method that will fix this problem.

3.14 Is it possible to copy the data gathered so far from Mac to PC and vice versa?

Yes. All you need to do is use the Backup and Restore features of Advanced Web Ranking, under the Project menu. The backup files are created in a folder called "backup" within the data folder. See the Application tab of the Preferences for the location of the data folder.

3.15 I am running Windows 98 and I get an error at installation that says my Windows Installer is too old. What can I do?

You need to update your Windows Installer software. Please download it from here.

3.16 I found something that is wrong in your product. What can I do?

Please let us know as soon as possible. Tell us the Search Engine, the Keywords and the Website and we'll do our best to fix it as soon as possible.