A Workbook Legend is the explanatory block inside a RankGear workbook sheet that spells out what each column, value, color, and threshold means and how to read them.
| Term | Workbook Legend |
|---|---|
| Category | Reports, Workbooks and Exports |
| Also known as | Sheet Legend |
| Where it appears | Overview, Entity Density, and other workbook sheets |
What it means in RankGear
When RankGear finishes an analysis, it can assemble the results into a multi-sheet workbook. Sheets such as Overview and Entity Density carry a lot of columns, coded colors, and numeric thresholds, so each one includes a legend: a short block that names every column, states the unit or scale behind a value, and explains what a highlighted cell or color band is signalling. The legend is descriptive, not a separate measurement. It documents the conventions the sheet already uses so a reader who did not run the analysis can still follow it.
How to interpret it
Read the legend before the data. Start with the sheet’s opening summary and its legend to learn what the columns and colors stand for, then move into the rows themselves and, from there, into any linked supporting sheets or report sections. Treat the legend as the key to the sheet’s shorthand rather than as findings in its own right. When you share the workbook, keep the run metadata intact so the person receiving it reads the numbers against the same settings and thresholds you did.
Example
You open the Entity Density sheet and see cells shaded in three colors with a column headed “Coverage.” The legend at the top of the sheet tells you the coverage figure is the share of top competitors that use a given entity, and that the green band marks entities present across most competitors while the pale band marks entities that are rare. With that key in hand, a green row means “most ranking pages include this term,” not “add this term to rank.”
Important considerations
- The legend explains formatting; it is not evidence. A colored cell describes how a value falls against the sheet’s thresholds, not a score Google assigns.
- A workbook is a snapshot of a single run. Compare sheets only when their settings match, and read every value against the definitions the legend gives.
- Coverage and density figures in these sheets are comparative indicators drawn from the competitors analyzed. They show what ranking pages tend to have in common, which is correlation, not proof that any term causes a ranking change.
Related terms
Part of the RankGear glossary · how RankGear measures · the 870 factors.