---
title: "Add annotations and events"
description: "Record the changes that explain performance movement and display them directly on Search Console and GA4 charts."
canonical: "https://crawlraven.com/docs/annotations-and-events"
markdown: "https://crawlraven.com/docs/annotations-and-events.md"
product: "CrawlRaven v2"
last_verified: "2026-08-19"
---

# Add annotations and events

> Record the changes that explain performance movement and display them directly on Search Console and GA4 charts.

This guide documents current CrawlRaven v2 behavior. UI labels are written exactly where relevant. Bounded Search Console rows are evidence, not guaranteed exhaustive totals.

## What appears in Events

The Events timeline combines manual notes with Google updates and opportunity milestones. When Annotations are enabled above a chart, events inside the active date range appear as markers. Select `Events` to review the full timeline.

> **Annotations require full workspace access:** Free reporting does not include timeline annotations or note actions. Unlock the site before expecting Events controls or markers.

- **Note:** A manual event created by you, such as a content update, migration, campaign, technical change, or experiment.
- **Google update:** A system-provided Google update marker that helps line up known updates with your data.
- **Opportunity:** A milestone associated with the opportunity workflow.

![Performance chart with an annotation marker and event tooltip](/images/changelog/changelog-performance-annotation-markers-2026-08-14.png)

*Markers put the explanation next to the movement. The underlying Search Console or GA4 numbers are unchanged.*

## Add a note

1. **Open Events** — From a Search performance or GA4 chart, select Events.
2. **Select Add note** — The timeline switches to a short event form.
3. **Enter a clear title** — Use the thing that changed, such as “Rewrote pricing page title” rather than “SEO update”.
4. **Choose the date** — Add an optional end date for migrations, campaigns, or experiments that span several days.
5. **Choose a category and add details** — Explain why the change was made and what pages or assumptions were involved.
6. **Save** — The note appears in the timeline and on charts whose date range includes it.

> **Write notes for your future self:** Include the page, hypothesis, and expected outcome. “Changed /pricing title to match ‘SEO reporting tool’; expect CTR improvement” is much easier to evaluate later.

## Edit, delete, or hide annotations

- Select Edit beside one of your notes to change its title, dates, category, or details.
- Select the trash icon and confirm Delete to remove a manual note.
- Only a manual note you created offers edit and delete controls. System events and another user’s notes are read-only.
- Turn `Annotations` off above the chart to hide markers without deleting any events.
- Changing the chart date range changes which markers are visible, but the full event remains saved.

## Use events to explain a change

1. Open an unfiltered 90-day Search performance view and locate the date movement began.
2. Open Events and check for a note, Google update, or opportunity milestone near that date.
3. Add a Page filter for the URL affected by the event.
4. Compare the page’s Queries before deciding that the event caused the movement.
5. If GA4 is linked, check sessions and key events for the same page and period.

> **Timing is evidence, not causation:** A marker near a traffic change helps build a hypothesis. Confirm it with page, query, country, device, and GA4 evidence before calling the event the cause.