Sample Data is built-in, non-billable example data that lets you preview a RankGear screen or report without spending a live provider request.
| Term | Sample Data |
|---|---|
| Category | Product and Workflow |
| Also known as | Fixture, Show Me a Sample |
| Where it appears | Analysis Run and supported sample actions |
What it means in RankGear
Sample Data is the fixture RankGear loads when you ask to preview an action instead of running it for real. In Analysis Run and the other actions that support a sample mode, choosing the sample path fills the screen, the workbook, and any saved report with representative example values rather than results fetched from a search or data provider. Nothing leaves for an external API, so the run costs no credits and counts against no quota — it exists so you can see the shape of an output before you commit to producing it live.
How to interpret it
Read Sample Data as a preview of layout and structure, not as a measurement of your own site. The scores, rankings, and artifacts on screen are illustrative: they show what a genuine run would produce and how RankGear arranges it, not the real state of any keyword or page. Before you draw a conclusion from a screen, confirm whether it is in sample mode — check the inputs you selected, the active task state, and the artifact RankGear says it produced. If it is a sample, treat every number as a placeholder.
Example
Say you want to know what an Analysis Run report looks like before spending credits on your target keyword. You open Analysis Run, choose the sample action, and RankGear populates the workbook from its built-in fixture: scored factors, a report link, and the full page layout, all with example values. You confirm the report answers your question, then run the same analysis live against your own keyword to get real data in the same format.
Important considerations
- Sample values are illustrative only. They do not reflect your site, your keywords, or any live SERP, and they should never be acted on as findings.
- Sample Data describes RankGear behavior and navigation, not a ranking signal. The numbers are not scores Google assigns and are not evidence that anything “makes pages rank.”
- Any provider metric shown in sample mode is a placeholder standing in for a comparative indicator — and even in a live run, such indicators are correlational, never proof of causation.
- Because a sample makes no live provider request it is non-billable and safe to explore freely, but switch to a live run before you rely on any result.
Related terms
Part of the RankGear glossary · how RankGear measures · the 870 factors.