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Imagine you are painting a masterpiece, but you never stepped back and saw the big picture. That’s what it feels like to work at SEO without tracking your Google rankings. You could get caught up in details: optimising keywords, making content, tweaking a meta description or meta tag. But if you’re not keeping an eye on where you’re heading with all this, then you’re flying blind, making it vital for you to know how to track Google rankings.
This guide is here to ground you. The reason to check Google rankings is not for a pat on your back when you hit page one, though that feels good, too. It is about knowing what’s working and what’s not, what to work on next, and how to be agile within the constantly changing world of SEO—all while making sure you’re moving in the right direction.
Tools To Check Your Google Ranking
There are many Google rank checker SEO tools that you can use to check your keyword ranking, position in Google Search Console, and track search performance.
SEMrush
The Semrush SEO tool is the ideal solution for SMEs and helps customers to create guest blogging plans and competitive analysis without any difficulty. It also works well in extensive keyword research for target keywords to enhance your content. This tool is a bit complex for amateurs. Some of the features include roduct listings, publicity research, organic research, and traffic analysis.
Ahrefs
The second-fastest web browser, Ahrefs has an excellent User interface in its SEO ranking checker tools. Its main functions comprise competitive analysis, URL ranking, keyword searches, backward link evaluation, etc.
It helps to develop a content plan and a detailed link analysis report. It is suitable for all kinds of businesses. As a personal preference for many SEO experts and entrepreneurs, Ahrefs has gained immense popularity, and rightly so.
The Ahrefs platform also gives organic search reports to its clients just like most of its counterparts. This program can rank your search engine on the internet, and in the face of tons of information.
Accuranker
AccuRanker is an excellent tool for keyword tracking for up to 100,000 keywords. By integrating tools such as Google analytics and Google Search Console, customers can obtain specific and detailed data for every keyword, with the user’s search intent in mind.
You can compare keyword ranks to your 10 top rivals using AccuRanker. Your rankings are updated every day, and so the statistics you receive are constantly new. In addition, AccuRanker allows users to track any number of domains without restrictions.
Features include limitless domains, checks for daily ranks, user-friendly interface and limited users. If you’re searching for an SEO solution for everything, AccuRanker is not your tool.
AuthorityLabs
AuthorityLabs is one the best SEO tools used to track computer domains, rank products on various websites and provide detailed analytical reports.
This is also another excellent tool with an easy-to-use interface to verify ranks. Authority laboratories helpsusers to create many websites and optimise an SEO campaign. It also helps to focus your target audience by tracking locations. The SEO tools additionally assist customers in monitoring the SEO campaigns of their rivals, which will strengthen their competitive edge.
SERPWatch
SERPWatch is a ranking, monitoring and tracking tool, capable of tracking your whole overall progress based on aggregate data. Because the Google keyword rankings are updated regularly, you can see the following information:
- Rankings for desktop and mobile devices
- Visits expected
- Top gainers and losers
- Performance index
- Interactive shared reports
- Scheduled email reports
Free tools to track your website’s keyword rankings
Any Local SEO expert wants to know how well their websites appear for the relevant keywords they care about. They must also maintain track of their competitors’ standings. They can do this manually by entering search terms into search engines. However, this takes time and might be incorrect. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools that can handle this for you. Let’s explore what position tracking tool is most suitable for you!
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a fantastic free tool for monitoring your Google keyword rankings.
It’s one of the several useful Google tools that supply your company with a wealth of data. You may get information in Google Search Console about which keywords generate clicks or impressions, and which content types, such as video or text, work well.
Ahrefs Free Ranking Tool
This free ranking tool, makes it possible for local SEO professionals to check rankings for top keywords in Google and other search engines. Ahrefs free ranking SEO tool functionality for checking keywords includes three primary tools:
Site Explorer: displays all the keywords that the target webpage or site ranks for.
Rank Tracker: keeps track of up to 10,000 keywords’ rankings over time.
Keywords Explorer: Reveals information about the highest-ranking pages for any term. All target keyword rankings can be viewed on any website. It also reveals any keywords in the top 100 of the 155 countries for the target website. You can also check all ranks of target keywords.
For each target keyword, you will also view the ranking URL, search volume, estimated organic search traffic, ranking position, and keyword difficulty (KD).
SE Ranking
SERanking is an online marketing professional cloud-based platform that offers a wide range of tools to conduct a thorough site audit, analyse competitors, classify websites, suggesting and grouping keywords, monitoring links as well as automated reporting.
6 Steps: An Accurate Way to Determine Where Your Website Ranks in Google
You do NOT have to acquire or utilise a sophisticated rank checker tool to see how your website is performing, and this is because Google will show you a picture of your site’s performance. Google Search Console gives you information on ranking data as well as:
- Which inquiries your website was displayed and discovered
- The average position for a particular query or page
- Number of clicks your website received.
- How many clicks your website received
- Changes in these measurements over a timeframe
If you are enjoying this blog post, we would recommend checking out our How can I remove a link from Google search? blog post.
1. Set Up Search Console
You will not be provided with any insights instantly if the search console has not already been set up. But it’s easy to set up. All you have to do is log in and connect your Google Search Console account.
If you have not yet set up and configured your search console, you cannot instantly receive any insights. But it’s easy to set it up. Log in with your Google account to the Search Console. Add your website domain and then verify your website. Website verification may be easily accomplished via various methods:
- The site’s <head> tag is added to HTML code
- HTML file upload.
- Google Analytics Verification
The SEO Yoast Plugin also lets you integrate the HTML code easily while using a WordPress website.
2. Go to the Performance Report Dashboard
The performance report dashboard is where everything happens. Here, you can check the number of clicks as well as impressions that your website receives. Not only that, but it also allows you to examine the overall average click-through rate of your website.
Date Range
A button labelled “Date” may be found at the top of the page. The current Search Console allows you to access 16 months of data; this depends on when the search console code was installed on your website.
Queries
Beneath the chart, you can find a table with many tabs, including queries, devices, countries, search appearance, and pages rank. The queries tab is where you will find all the questions that your website appears in. The table will also display the number of clicks and impressions received by every query. You can also see click-through rates on average.
3. Filter Your Data
Several filters can be used on your data, such as Date, Query, Country, Page and Device. To apply a filter to your data, you can click on the filter and choose edit. It is possible to have many filters on your data. You can add another filter by clicking the plus sign.
Search Type: Google gives you the option of viewing images and videos as search results. A search type filter can filter website and web page data by images, videos or default search data.
Date: The date range filter allows you to choose a time frame that you would like to see. It also allows you to do time comparisons, therefore, giving you the chance to see if your website has improved over time.
Page: The page filter is used to check a specific page’s performance over time. It allows you to filter based on specific keywords, local keywords, or exact same keywords.
Queries: The queries filter can be used to examine how your website ranks for organic keywords in user searches.
Country: You can filter data based on the country. So you can check the SEO performance of your website in each country.
Device: Here, you can filter the data depending on the device used, such as desktop, tablet or mobile phone.
Keep an eye on your Google Analytics.
4. Use the Query Filter to Determine the Website Ranking for a Specific Keyword
The query filter can be used for several activities. For example, you can use it to determine if your site appears for a specific keyword in google, if your website ranks in google. You can also check your website’s rank position on average, web pages that rank for a particular keyword, the number of impressions for a search query, as well as the number of clicks.
So, what are your options?
Choose a term that is particular to you. For instance, I would like to see how my website ranks in Google for the query “what is the rank position of my website in Google Search Console.”
Use a query filter to narrow down your results. Use the following query for this example: “what is the rank position of my website in google search.”
Pick a date range to work with. Choose the timeframe you wish to study. If you want to know if you’re becoming better over time, choose a comparison.
Go to the table and pick the Pages tab, this will show pages that rank for that term, if there are any. You will also be able to see the number of clicks, impressions and CTR.
5. Determine What Specific Keywords Your Homepage Ranks for in Google by Applying a Page Filter
To identify other terms or keyword your homepage ranks for, take the following steps:
- Eliminate query or page filters
- Then apply a page filter to your data with the URL is Exactly as your type of page filter.
- Choose a range of dates. Determine how long you’d want to examine. If you wish to determine whether you have improved over time, choose a comparison.
- In the table, select the queries tab; this will show you queries your home page is listed on and the impressions, CTR, clicks and average position of your home page for the selected time.
6. Determine What Other Pages Are Bringing in Traffic and How They Are Performing
Note that, though your homepage generally handles most website traffic. Traffic-driving keywords is not the only point where traffic can come from. This is how to figure out which other pages on your site are bringing in Google traffic:
- Eliminate all Page or Query filters you might have.
- Click the page section in the table, then look for the page that receives a lot of traffic.
- Select the page; selecting the page automatically applies page filter to your data.
- Go to the table and click the Queries section. Examine the search terms that brought you to this page. The questions will give you an indication of what people are looking for. Now consider if your page is responding to these queries.
What is a website ‘Google Ranking Position’?
Google matches each word and sentence that you put into the search box to its webpage database to discover matches for generating an “organic” search result. These matched words will appear in Google Search Console.
Basically, Google search results are essentially lists of websites sorted by relevancy. Therefore, the organic result that appears at the top of the search results is considered to be more relevant to your search or query.
A web page is considered for ranking first or being in the first position for a particular keyword positions if it is at the top of the search result lists. Likewise, if the search results list seems to be 30th in this sequence, they are said to be 30th.
Ranking positions are for organic search results only; this means that it does not include non-traditional organic results. Examples of non-organic search results include paid google ads or maps. Google now provides a variety of search engine results on mobile devices and a desktop or PC.
What types of Google Search Results are there?
Nowadays, Google Search Console provides a wide variety of results on a mobile device and on a desktop computer. According to the phrase and the device you are using, the search result you get can be different.
However, you will still get ten organic search results on every page regardless of the device you are using. For more results, you will have to proceed to page 2 if you are using a desktop, and for a mobile device, you will have to click more results.
What is an ‘Organic’ Search Result on Google?
An organic search result is a free listing that appears in a search engine results page Like Google’s, due to its relevancy in your search topic or query. This depends on Google’s optimal guess on the webpage that will best respond to your search query.
This goes against other search results such as advertising, depending on how much a firm is prepared to spend for your advertisement. Different sorts of Google search results mix with those biological results and advertisements.
These non-traditional organic outcomes like maps, pictures and goods are another method Google tries to give you with results. In certain situations, this is accomplished in some cases by prioritising various forms of information (such as pictures or videos over page text), or by displaying results for subtly different search queries.
It’s not often apparent how these findings are created, and it’s not always easy to determine whether they’ve been bought or altered in other ways. Hence, organic search engine rankings continue to be the benchmark.
The Role of Core Web Vitals in Ranking Fluctuations
Core Web Vitals are key metrics that Google uses to evaluate your website’s user experience, directly impacting your search rankings. These metrics include:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. Aim for LCP within 2.5 seconds.
- First Input Delay (FID): Assesses interactivity, targeting less than 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Evaluates visual stability, with a goal of maintaining a CLS score below 0.1.
The Impact of AI on Google Rank Tracking
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative player in the world of SEO, especially when it comes to tracking and optimising Google rankings. With search engines like Google increasingly relying on AI algorithms to refine search results, understanding and leveraging AI tools in your ranking strategy is more crucial than ever.
AI-Powered Rank Tracking Tool
Modern tools for tracking rankings are now incorporating AI to offer deeper insights and predictive analytics to check your Google rankings. These AI-driven tools can analyse vast amounts of data quickly, identifying trends and patterns that might go unnoticed with traditional methods. They can predict ranking fluctuations based on algorithm updates, competition, and other external factors, giving you a proactive edge in maintaining or improving your rankings.
AI in Content Analysis and Optimisation
The role of AI isn’t just about tracking; it’s also about optimising. AI tools can assess the content on your site, comparing it with top-ranking pages, and suggest improvements to increase your chances of ranking higher. These tools analyse keyword usage, readability, and even user engagement metrics, offering actionable recommendations to fine-tune your content strategy.
How AI Enhances User Experience
Google’s AI-driven algorithms, like RankBrain, prioritise user experience (UX). AI can help you monitor UX-related metrics such as page speed, mobile usability, and Core Web Vitals—factors that are increasingly influencing rankings. By using AI to optimise these elements, you can ensure your site aligns with Google’s ranking criteria, boosting your overall keyword performance in search results.
Future of AI in SEO
As AI technology evolves, it will likely become even more integrated into every SEO strategy. Keeping up with AI advancements and adapting your SEO practices accordingly will be key to staying competitive and monitoring your SEO efforts. Whether through AI-powered content creation, advanced analytics, or enhanced user experience monitoring, embracing AI will position you ahead of the curve in the rapidly changing world of SEO.
Does Google algorithm ranks positions differently depending on who is searching?
Yeah, Google does not give all users the same search results. Factors including the location of the user, the relevancy of the website and the prior search patterns may impact the search results you get.
What is a ‘SERP’?
A SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, is the page displayed by a search engine like Google when a user enters a query. The SERP includes a list of web pages that are relevant to the user’s search terms.
Beyond just links to web pages, SERPs often contain SERP features, which are additional elements designed to enhance the user experience. These features can include things like:
- Featured Snippets: Quick answers to queries that appear at the top of the SERP.
- Local Packs: A map and listings of local businesses related to the search query.
- Image Packs: A horizontal row of images relevant to the search.
- Knowledge Panels: Boxes with information on the side of the SERP that give detailed information on a specific topic.