What is keyword rank tracking? & its Best Practices

How can you gauge the success of the content on your website? While there are a number of variables to be considered, if you have never evaluated your content using keyword metrics, then you have seriously undervalued a critical search engine optimization (SEO) factor.

SEO places a premium on keywords. Search engines will find it difficult to rank your website if your content lacks relevant keywords. Remember that the search volume and traffic potential of keywords fluctuates over time. As a result, you must stay updated on the search terms that could benefit you and those that are obsolete. This is where keyword ranking and tracking come into play.

What is keyword rank tracking? 

Keyword rank tracking allows you to see where your site ranks for specific search terms. When someone types a search term that is relevant to your industry into the search bar of a search engine, the position at which your URL appears is referred to as your keyword ranking.

Every page of the search engine displays approximately ten results. If you have a higher keyword ranking, it means your site is closer to appearing on the first page of the search engine results page (SERP). Poor page ranking means that your site appears near the bottom of the fourth or fifth page or even lower.s

Keyword rank tracking helps you identify your spot on the search engine. It also generates reports that can help you identify the cause of the drop in rankings. Keyword rank tracking is also helpful in developing various SEO strategies. However, while keeping track of your rank, make it a point to conduct a thorough review and evaluation of your peer ranking.

What is the motive of keyword Rank Tracking?

Keyword rank tracking is highly recommended if you want to be at the top in search result pages. It informs you on how various keywords you intend to use to rank your site can help you. 

Assume that you have not updated your pillar pages in a while. This has resulted in a noticeable drop in rankings. In this case, before you optimize it with new keywords, you should monitor the search volume, difficulty level, and trend of that specific keyword. 

Furthermore, your content may contain multiple keywords that are difficult to rank. Rank tracking assists in identifying the most relevant long-tail keywords to boost rankings in such cases.

Why is rank tracking effective in SEO? 

Tracking keywords’ ranking is undoubtedly crucial for SEO. In truth, improving your site’s search engine rank is impossible if it is not optimized using relevant keywords. Here are the top five reasons to include rank tracking as an SEO strategy. 

• You can make changes to your current keyword strategy. For example, if certain keywords aren’t working for you, you can try long-tail keywords or incorporate search queries in your content.
• You can monitor the performance of your competitors. You can use their performance as a benchmark to plan your campaign.
• You can determine the cause of a traffic drop. If you notice a sudden drop in your search engine position, you may have unintentionally engaged in bad SEO practices such as keyword stuffing, black hat SEO, and so on.
• You can identify underperforming Web pages, optimize them with the latest trending keywords, and add missing information to improve the page’s SERP ranking.

How Can I Find Out How My Keyword Is Performing on Google?

Rank tracking is still a relevant practice in SEO for SEO pros, site owners, and marketers looking to maximize their SEO efforts and gain visibility. 

But what is rank tracking? Rank tracking is the practice of monitoring how well your website performs on search engines like Google, Bing, etc. It helps to create an effective keyword research strategy that gives optimum results over time. 

When done using the right tools, platforms, and processes, rank tracking can help ensure your website ranks higher on search engines to witness incremental traffic, conversions, sales, and revenue.

Does Google Provide Ranking of Keywords? 

Google provides a good amount of insight into your search performance. You can get data by visiting Google Analytics and Google Search Console (GSC). 

Google Analytics does not offer insight into keyword ranking. But you can use it to understand how your site performed overall in search. Using Analytics, you can track how much of the traffic to your site was organic. 

GSC, on the other hand, offers data related to impressions, the number of clicks on your top ranking keywords, and so on. However, it does not track information related to specific keywords. 

The major downside of both these tools is that they generate  reports that are difficult to comprehend.

Monitoring Keywords

There are several ways to track your rank, but most SEOs rely on GSC and Google Analytics. However, both these tools provide information about the queries for which your page appears on the SERP and a small amount of detail about your search position. However, if you want to know where your page ranks for a specific query, you will have to put in a lot of effort. This is not the case with rank tracking software. Such tools provide easy-to-understand reports with in-depth information about things that affect your rankings or changes that have not gone in your favour.

Rank Tracking Best Practices

1) Identify Keywords

In order to track your rank, you must first choose the right target keywords. Usually, enterprise-level websites go for around 400 to 500 keywords to get an idea of how their site is performing. But if your website is new or is only a few years old, you can reduce the number of keywords.

When preparing a list of keywords to rank on, make sure it includes: 

• List of branded keywords with your company’s name
• Top-performing industry keywords that are well-known for driving traffic
• Keywords that are currently trending in your industry

Always use a tool to determine the best keywords to rank for.

2) Tag Keywords 

Once you have a list of keywords, the next step is to tag them. Keywords can be tagged using a spreadsheet. When you tag keywords, it becomes convenient to filter search in a rank tracking tool.

Let’s go over an example of this.

Let’s assume that you run a fintech company that provides various types of loans, such business loans, personal loans, and auto loans. In the keyword tagging step, you need to add  tags to a list of keywords related to “personal loan”. Then, you add another tag to keywords related to other loan products and so on. So, each keyword has a specific tag associated with it.

Always try to understand the uploading process for specific keywords before going ahead with this step. 

3) Choose a Rank Tracker 

After using a spreadsheet to tag a list of keywords, the next step is to select the best rank tracker from the ones available in the market. Ahrefs, Semrush, and UberSuggest are some of the most popular rank tracking tools. A monthly subscription for these tools starts at $500 and allows you to track between 500 and 1000 keywords. If you want to track more keywords, you may have to pay a little more.

When selecting a rank tracking tool, take into account the frequency of ranking updates, mobile compatibility, and the geographical areas they cover.

4) Upload Keywords 

Once you have picked a software, start uploading your extensive list of keywords. Many rank tracking tools allow you to import keywords in bulk to ensure that the process takes as little time as possible.

Let’s go over an example of how uploading works. Let us assume that you have picked Semrush to assist you with uploading keywords. Semrush gives you an option to tag keywords through conventions that are Tag 1, Tag 2, Tag 3, and so on.

Soon after you upload the keywords and run the tool, Semrush starts detecting Google’s search results to capture the performance data of those specific keywords. After a few hours of investigation, the tool will show you how your site ranks for specific keywords.

5) Analyze Performance Reports 

After uploading keywords, you will want reports that provide insight into your site’s performance. The rank tracker tool gives you a detailed breakdown of the specific keywords your site ranks the highest for. It also points out much traffic each keyword is currently generating or has previously generated. 

You should make a note of keywords that rank in the top 10 and 100 search results. If you notice any sudden drop in ranking, the report might help you trace the reason. The data offered here also provides insight into how your new SEO campaign has performed over time. 

Not Ranking your Keywords?

Here are some steps that you can take if your keywords aren’t helping with ranking your site.

1) Change keyword strategy

The most common cause of poor ranking is selecting highly competitive keywords. For example, if you own an e-commerce website, you are directly competing with Amazon. In such a situation, beating Amazon using the very same keywords that bring them phenomenal results is difficult. So, what is the alternative? Consider using long-tail keywords. Such keywords are easier to rank for.

If your company wants to target a specific geographical area, you should consider using a local SEO strategy. You could also concentrate on finding a niche and searching for relevant keywords within that niche. Major brands usually avoid these strategies due to lack of time.

2) Climbing the rankings 

Regardless of how effective your overall SEO and keywords ranking strategy is, you cannot find yourself on the top of SERPs overnight. Set a benchmark for yourself after doing a thorough competition analysis. Take small steps to improve your performance and move up in the rankings.

3) Keep Monitoring Keyword Rankings 

We highly recommend using the rank tracker tool because whenever you notice a drop in your performance, you can utilize these tools to identify exactly where you are lagging. Keep an eye on your peers to see if their rankings are improving or deteriorating as a result of minor or major changes. By performing these minor checks, you will always be able to move up in search engine rankings.

If keyword ranking takes a while, don’t worry; just switch to plan B, which is a robust social media strategy. Remember that generating leads is more important than ranking high on search engines.

Effective Rank Tracking Tips

Use A Platform or Tool for Precise Tracking

There are many third-party platforms and tracking tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, BrightEdge, Conductor, etc., that you can use to track rankings for your website, A. 

You can add the website URL and the keyword of your choice and check how well your website or page ranks for that particular keyword. Besides an overview of page performance against a keyword, these tools provide valuable insights like competition level to understand the efforts needed to move up on the ranking ladder. 

Accuracy is the key to fruitful rank tracking. Therefore, look for solutions that show accurate, comprehensive results about page performance against a keyword on SERPs. 

Adding Google Search Console

Rankings cannot be considered the best measure of success. However,  they are useful for delivering value by increasing traffic, conversion rates, sales, revenue, etc. Brands and businesses should shortlist a few keywords on which they want to rank higher on search engines and track page rank against those keywords only. 

Rank tracking the webpages on your websites against millions of keywords is impractical and won’t provide any substantial value or maximization to your SEO optimization efforts. 

Even if your page ranks #1 on Google for a particular keyword but that ranking hasn’t provided any traffic flow or conversions, they are irrelevant for want of business value and aren’t worth tracking.  

Often Check Rankings And Alerts

Rank tracking should be a continual practice to stay updated about how your website is performing and keep abreast of the competition and evolving SEO trends that might impact your Google rankings. 

Set up alerts in your rank tracking tool or SEO platform to keep any wide fluctuations in your website rankings under check. This helps you to get notified if any drastic change occurs in your website visibility, and you can take any remedial measures to improve the keyword health of your website. 

Update Data Frequently

Search engines like Google are continuously working to improve and evolve their ranking systems. This means every time such changes are brought, they affect how the pages rank in their SERPs. 

The tool or platform provider should regularly refresh your keyword-tracking data with the latest information and changes. This updation will ensure your pages remain visible and ahead of the competitors on search engines. 

Evaluate Results

When you have collected enough data from the rank tracking platform, analyze the rankings of the pages carefully. Check whether all or certain pages are ranking well and how changes can be brought to impact those ranking positively over time. 

When you evaluate your rank-tracking results, you will have solid insights on optimising your pages to rank even higher. Some optimization actions include improving keyword rankings by adjusting titles and meta descriptions, optimizing content and images, etc.

Best Keyword Rank Tracking Tools

1) Infigrowth 

In the competitive digital marketing landscape, the Infigrowth Rank Tracker is essential for monitoring your keyword performance and staying ahead of competitors. This powerful tool helps you track keyword rankings across various platforms, providing valuable insights for enhancing your online visibility.

Key Features:

• Global Coverage: Monitor rankings across 43,000 cities for comprehensive market insights.
• Competitive Insights: Analyze competitors’ keyword performance to maintain an edge in your niche.
• Cross-Platform Tracking: Track keyword rankings on both mobile and desktop devices.
• Accuracy and Reliability: Rely on precise data for informed strategic decisions.
• Smart Keyword Categorization: Group keywords based on search volume for targeted SEO efforts.

Custom Alerts: Set notifications for significant ranking changes to stay informed and responsive.

2) Ahrefs

Ahrefs has a solution to any type of SEO problem that you might facing. This tool’s keywords explorer option helps you determine which keywords work best for you. You can further use them to understand keyword difficulty, search volume, and traffic potential. Ahrefs keywords database has over seven billion phrases. And the best thing is that it is updated every month. 

Ahrefs uses clickstream data to refine search volume every month in order to provide the best results. Obtaining information on paid clicks, bounce rate, and keyword topic ideas are some of the other benefits of using this tool.

3) Semrush

Semrush allows you to choose from three different keyword ranking tools. Here are the details:

• Position Tracking: This feature allows you to monitor your competitors’ keyword profiles, identify high-ranking keywords, and track domain performance on Google. You can also use it to resolve cannibalisation issues. 
• Sensor: This feature enables you to monitor SERP and site position volatility. You can also use this tool to check for changes in the Google ranking algorithm.
• Ranks: Use this feature to research various sites. It will provide you with data on paid traffic, organic visibility, paid keywords, and so on.

4) Search Engine (SE) Ranking

You might want to rank on different search engines to boost your revenue. But how can you do that if you don’t have any data indicating your ranking for specific keywords? SE Ranking can assist you with this. You may use this tool to monitor your keyword rank on YouTube, Bing, Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. It also tells you how your keywords are performing across various devices. You can also track results based on Google Maps, snippets, Google Ads rankings, and videos.

SE Ranking allows you to add up to five competitors for evaluation and analysis. 

5) Monster Insight 

This SEO tool allows you to integrate Google Analytics into WordPress. You can then use it to track different keywords’ rankings by navigating to the WordPress admin section. It also allows you to generate the Search Console report, which includes the top 50 most searched phrases on Google and where you rank among them.

Now that we have covered keywords, it’s time to move on to other aspects of SEO. Monster Insight provides detailed information on the click-through-rate (CTR), clicks, keyword position, and impressions of keywords. It is recommended to use this tool to optimize Web pages that appear at the bottom of the SERP in order to help them rise to the top.

6) Serpstat 

Serpstat is one of the most effective SEO tools available at present. You can use it to track your global ranking and to see how your peers are doing. If you don’t have time to generate reports, use the scheduler to automatically generate weekly, monthly, or even daily reports. They provide insights that allow you to analyse search volume for a specific keyword, difficulty level, and market share. 

You can use Serpstat to conduct clustering, backlinks review and analysis, and semantic data collection. The monthly subscription starts at $48 and provides access to over 20 SEO tools. 

7) Mangools 

Mangools offers a keyword rank tracking tool named SERPWatcher. When you subscribe to this tool, you also get access to four other tools that are ideal for SEO. In order to use this tool, simply paste your website URL pick the location in which you want to track rank, select the device (mobile or desktop), and enter the keywords. 

SERPWatcher’s report contains detailed information about your site’s performance. It takes into account things like search volume, average position, the top position, and traffic volume. The monthly subscription to this tool starts at $29.90.

8) Ubersuggest

UberSuggest is one of the most effective rank tracking tools in the market. You do not have to pay anything to use this keyword tracking tool. You can use it to determine the search volume and difficulty level for any keyword. It is also ideal for competitor research because this tool allows you to see the keywords used by your peers and how they are performing on those specific search terms. Furthermore, UberSuggest provides topic ideas based on various keywords. If you are a content strategist struggling to find the best top on various search phrases, look no further than UberSuggest.

9) Accuranker 

Are you looking for an SEO tracking tool that provides real-time updates on keyword positioning? If yes, you should definitely give Accuranker a shot. This tool provides all the necessary information related to keyword positioning on a daily basis. Accuranker allows you to track the ranking of your site and keywords and receive notifications when there is volatility in your positioning. It is also useful for developing a strategy to increase organic traffic. The only drawback is that it works best only with Google and Bing.

Conclusion 

Rank tracking is essential for creating a successful marketing campaign. It provides information about your site’s performance for specific keywords. Monitoring this aspect allows you to develop a solid SEO strategy and compete with your tough competitors. Furthermore, you increase the likelihood of receiving quality leads by incorporating relevant search terms.