Create and read one comparable domain claim

Set up one comparable claim

Domains and market travel together

Crawl Foundry normalizes and deduplicates domains, rejects the own domain from the competitor set, and limits each comparison to the current domain ceiling. The country and language apply to all referenced snapshots so the domains are read in one search context.

A competitor that matters in German search results in Germany may not be the same competitor in English results in the United States. Changing the market changes the claim and can prevent snapshot reuse even when the domain names stay the same.

Summary and Deep answer different levels of question

A Deep competitor snapshot stores the own domain as its directed gap target. The own Deep snapshot has no such target. A Deep snapshot for the same competitor against another own domain is therefore not an equivalent reusable gap claim.

Reuse depends on context, freshness, and depth

The reuse search checks workspace, normalized domain, country, language, depth, deletion state, and, for a competitor Deep snapshot, the same gap target. It inspects a bounded set of recent candidates rather than every historical snapshot.

Current defaults allow 7-day reuse for matching competitor snapshots, 30-day reuse for the own Summary snapshot, and 30-minute reuse for compatible running work. Reuse avoids another provider charge, but it also means the compared modules can carry different fetch times. The quote and coverage ledger expose that distinction.

The server quote charges only missing work

Each domain and module appears as a reused or new line. Reused evidence contributes zero to the estimate. Every newly required snapshot or module receives its own reservation, and the estimated total is the sum of those new lines.

Spendable balance is the organization balance after active reservations. The start action should remain unavailable until the current inputs have a current server estimate and the balance can cover it. A displayed quote is still an estimate, not proof that a worker completed or that every module returned data.

For organization-wide spending questions, check billing and usage alongside this comparison's estimate.

Confirm the setup before starting

Crawl Foundry checks access, selected domains, plan limits and available balance before creating the comparison and reserving its estimated cost.

Start once and follow the saved comparison in history. If you change the domains, market or depth, review the new estimate before starting another comparison.

Follow the comparison status

An accepted comparison is queued for data collection. Check the saved result and Activity for progress rather than submitting the same comparison again.

Review the status of each domain and module. Running means data is still processing; partial means some evidence is missing. Use completed results together with their date and coverage, and inspect the support code if collection fails.

Depth determines which statuses count

Summary comparisons derive their state from base snapshots. Deep comparisons derive it from both base and detail snapshots. Any running reference keeps the comparison running. All failed references produce failed. Any mix containing failure or partial evidence produces partial; only the remaining fully completed set produces completed.

Missing snapshot records count as failed. A completed comparison can still contain a module marked truncated or unsupported, because aggregate snapshot completion and module-level coverage answer different questions.

Read the head-to-head ledger as provider estimates

These are directional measurements under a shared context, not audited analytics, revenue, or causal explanations. Missing values remain unknown. A domain can lead on links and trail on traffic, or lead on keyword count while ranking for a less relevant mix.

Interpret each comparison column with the domain metric definitions before treating a larger value as a better outcome.

A ratio badge shows scale, not significance

The current badge compares a competitor value with the own-domain value as a ratio. It hides when the value is missing, non-finite, equal, or when the own value is zero. An upward marker means the competitor ratio is above one; a downward marker means the own domain leads.

It is not a percentage change over time, a confidence interval, or proof that the larger value caused a ranking difference. Use the raw values, dates, and coverage alongside the badge.

The coverage matrix is part of the result

For each domain and module, the matrix can report available, pending, truncated, failed, unavailable, or not requested. It can also show loaded rows, known total, provider limit, freshness, and support code.

Summary normally covers rank overview, history, and backlink summary. Deep adds ranked keywords, competitors, top pages, keyword gap, anchors, referring domains, and indexed pages. Do not infer a missing Deep module from a healthy base metric.

Retry and Deep preparation create new claims

Retrying missing domains opens setup with the previous competitor set and depth. Preparing Deep from a Summary comparison opens setup at the deeper level. Neither control patches the old comparison in place.

The new request receives a current quote and can reuse still-matching snapshots. This preserves the older comparison as dated evidence and makes any new charge, context, status, and settlement independently reviewable.

Check the comparison before using it

• The own domain and every competitor were normalized as intended.
• Country and language match the audience behind the decision.
• Summary or Deep is proportionate to the question.
• Reused and new quote lines are understood, including their fetch times.
• The comparison reached a terminal state and partial modules are named.
• Head-to-head conclusions use raw values and coverage, not only ratio badges.

Example: From Summary to Deep

Frequently asked questions