How do you track keyword ranking changes over time?

In my experience, paying too much attention to keywords rankings can be problematic, especially if clients start looking at specific positions and obsessing over them. Instead, use keyword tracking as an indicator of growth in more of a holistic manner. For example, there are likely 10-20 keywords in array of terms that all solve for the same user intent. Rather than focusing on the 1 or 2 that have the highest volume, focus on the aggregate of the 10-20 using metrics such as Share of Voice and Visibility versus just Average Position. Also, don't focus on the website level for a keyword, really focus in on the specific webpage that you'd like to appear within the search engine results.

I agree with the points made in this section and would like to add that ranking for 'relevant keywords' is key. Many times I find sites ranking for random keywords with no alignment with the User Sales funnel. What does this do? It leads to more organic traffic but does nothing to bolster revenue or get more sales for the business. Please steer clear of 'keywords' that only serve as vanity metrics. Instead, focus your efforts on keywords that'll move the needle for your business.

Its important to be clear about your selection when it comes to keyword. Having too many searches for an informational keyword and ranking higher for it in searches for an ecommerce site will surely give you high number of traffic but probably less conversions. Intent and relevancy with user's search is the key.

I would say that keyword ranking matters because it directly affects your website's visibility, credibility, organic traffic, lead generation, and overall success in the digital landscape. It's a key component of SEO and online marketing efforts that should not be underestimated. Tracking keyword rankings allows you to measure the impact of your SEO efforts and adjust your strategies as needed

Tracking keyword ranking changes over time is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. 1. Select Keyword Tracking Tools: Choose reliable SEO tools that offer keyword tracking features. Some popular options include SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and Google Search Console. 2. Identify Target Keywords: Compile a list of the target keywords you want to track. These should be keywords that are relevant to your content, products, or services. 3. Set a Baseline: Before implementing any changes, record the current rankings of your selected keywords. 4. Monitor Local and Mobile Rankings: Depending on your audience and goals, consider tracking local and mobile rankings separately.

Recently, I've come across a script that allows ranking keywords manually using it and the Google Search API in the desktop version. Therefore, I believe that manual checking or utilizing various Google APIs is the best approach for keyword tracking.

For small businesses, the best way to activate keyword rank tracking is to use affordable SEO software such as SE Ranking or Mangools, and set a weekly cadence for tracking the target keywords. Access to 'historical ranking data' costs extra money on most platforms. So, I'd suggest maintaining a weekly Google sheet or Excel Sheet to capture and record ranking data, over time. Most softwares segment rankings by Search Engines ( Google, Bing, even Yahoo!), Device (Desktop, Mobile) and also provide Google My Business local ranking data. Finally, you can easily patch the rank tracking sheet to Google Data (Looker) Studio for creating visual charts and graphs of your keyword ranking performance, tracking improvements, over time.

In my experience, for small businesses, the best tools are Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, using Google Looker Studio to pull in multiple data sources. For mid-sized businesses, popular tools include SEMRush, Ahrefs, Wincher, Moz, and RankChecker.io. These platforms include a suite of tools beyond just monitoring keyword rankings, such as technical SEO issues, link-earning, and even local SEO (Google/Bing Maps). For larger enterprise brands, SEO suites such as Conductor, BrightEdge, Searchmetrics, and SEOClarity may be more appropriate. These tools leverage big data and have built in AI to assist with optimizations.

To check keywords ranking one can use Google Search Console which limited data on keyword rankings for your website. Follow these steps: a. Log in to Google Search Console. b. Select your website property. c. Go to the "Performance" report. d. Review the data for queries to see where your website appears in Google search results. Some browser extensions, like MozBar or SEOquake, allow you to see ranking data for specific keywords as you browse the web.

As someone heavily exposed to the travel/experience booking niche, I used a SerpWoo that tracked the top 30 - 100 results for the desired keyword based on the locality, language, and device. That tool was discontinued just a couple of days ago, but there are alternatives popping up now. I like to keep track of who's doing what in the SERP for the keyword because losing a ranking for a month could often mean -50% of bookings coming from Organic Source. By tracking the whole SERP for keywords in different languages and areas I was able to quickly fine-tune my strategy to keep the top spot.

A best practice is to have a KPI tracking sheet with columns for each month and rows for each SEO focal point you wish to track, including tech issues, links-earned, traffic, leads, revenue, and of course, ranking metrics such as Share of Voice, Visibility, and Average Keyword Position. The last 3 columns might be 12-Month Goal, Progress, and Progress %, allowing the SEO team to share their progress on hitting KPI's quickly and easily. One strategy to help stay organized, is to group keywords into categories (content segments) to breakout performance by business objectives and where users are in the buyer's journey (i.e.: lower funnel vs upper funnel, takeout vs delivery, long tail vs head terms, etc).

To analyze keyword ranking data: Track Rankings: Use SEO tools to monitor where your keywords rank on SERPs. Compare Competitors: Look at where your competitors rank for the same keywords. Identify Trends: Observe how rankings change over time to spot trends. Analyze SERP Features: Note if keywords trigger special features like snippets, local packs, etc. Evaluate Difficulty: Consider keyword difficulty scores to assess competition level. Check Traffic: Use analytics to see if higher rankings correlate with increased website traffic. Assess Conversions: Determine if keywords with good rankings are leading to conversions. Adjust Strategy: Use your findings to refine your SEO strategy and content creation.

In my experience, identifying the positions where your keywords rank. Keywords on the first page of search results (positions 1-10) often receive the most clicks, so prioritize improving rankings for keywords outside this range. You can compare your keyword rankings with those of your competitors. Identify keywords where you outrank them and areas where they rank higher.

To analyze keyword ranking data effectively, track rankings over time, identify trends, assess competitor performance, prioritize high-impact keywords, evaluate CTR, content quality, on-page elements, backlinks, and consider mobile and local rankings. Set clear goals, and continuously monitor progress to make data-driven SEO improvements.

Focus your efforts on optimising for the most important 'money' keywords. For eCommerce sites, this would be the category and product pages. For service businesses, this would be service-based pages. 1. Start with ranking signals that you can directly control: - On-Page SEO for the relevant page that the keyword is mapped to - Technical SEO improvements - Relevant content for Blog articles with internal links to category/product/service pages. - FAQs and Schema Markup - Image optimisation 2. Ranking signals that are outside of your control - Links from relevant and authoritative sources. This may require additional resources and can be a fairly heavy lift. - Some free resources worth exploring to get backlinks: HARO, Qwoted

Optimizing keyword rankings stems from having a foundational SEO strategy, which involves the following disciplines: 1. Technical SEO - tools such as Ryte and Screaming Frog can add to insights discovered in free Google and Bing tools. 2. Competitive Analysis - side-by-side research comparing focal points such as quality inbound link metrics, top-linked content, page speed, and other metrics from third party tools. 3. Links - identify and reclaim broken incoming links, run a link intersect in Ahrefs to find common links competitors have earned, discover top traffic-driving pages of competitors and make a better version. 4. Keyword research, content hierarchy, and taxonomy planning to build a solid content roadmap for success.

Optimizing keyword rankings involves a combination of on-page and off-page SEO techniques to improve your website's visibility in search engine results. Start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify relevant and valuable keywords for your content. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer to find keyword opportunities.

Here few steps you can consider: Content Quality: Create high-quality, relevant content. On-Page SEO: Optimize titles, headers, and meta descriptions. Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks to your pages. Mobile Optimization: Ensure mobile-friendliness. Local SEO: If applicable, optimize for local search. User Experience: Enhance site speed and user experience. Keyword Research: Continuously research and target relevant keywords. Regular Updates: Keep content fresh and up-to-date. Monitor Competitors: Stay informed about your competitors' strategies. Track Progress: Continuously monitor rankings and adjust strategies.

In optimizing keyword rankings, my approach involves continuous monitoring and analysis over time. Utilizing tools like Google Analytics and SEO platforms, I regularly check the positions of specific keywords in search engine results. This ongoing assessment enables me to identify trends, track changes, and understand the impact of various optimization strategies. Moreover, I consider the broader context by examining changes in organic traffic and user engagement alongside keyword movements. By comprehensively evaluating these metrics, I can refine and adapt my approach, ensuring a dynamic strategy that aligns with evolving search trends and consistently enhances keyword rankings over time.

Many stakeholders are focused on bottom line. They want to appear for and get revenue from transactional keywords potential customers search with an intent to purchase. It is important to separate rankings and traffic by buyer stage (lower vs upper), as often times the upper-funnel (problem-solving) content has more search volume and lower conversion rates. Reporting might look like this: 1. We are up in share of voice, visibility, and average position on lower funnel keywords on pages that have increased in organic traffic and revenue by 10% MoM. 2. We are up in share of voice, visibility, and average position on upper funnel keywords on pages that have now earned over 50 incoming links, with 5 more last month alone.

In measuring the impact of keyword ranking changes over time, I employ a comprehensive approach. Using tools such as Google Analytics and SEO platforms, I consistently monitor the positions of specific keywords in search engine results. This ongoing analysis allows me to gauge the effectiveness of optimization efforts and understand the trends shaping the performance of targeted keywords. Additionally, I look beyond rankings and consider the broader context by assessing changes in organic traffic and user engagement. This holistic perspective enables me to measure the overall impact of keyword ranking changes and make informed decisions to refine and optimize my SEO strategy for sustained success.

Rankings tends to fluctuate over time, so make sure that even if you're tracking them regularly, that you set benchmarks and understand where you were at a certain point in time. Tools like Semrush can help with this, as you can check the domain history and see how a website was ranking within a certain time period & geography.

Where you stand and how are you seen. That's the bottom line. No matter what #KeywordAudit and ranking tools you are using or even if you check and note them manually, the important factor is how your site/content/post etc holds up to those kws over time in different searches and search engines. Yes everyone needs the metrics and the reports but the only thing that matters if your doing better than a day, a week, a month before...

Have in mind that SERPs features change, and keyword intention might change over time. When you're checking positions of you pages for certain keywords, have that in your evaluation checklist. Google works with an incredible amounts of data, and it can, in a day, decide that the images or videos provide more value to the visitor.

What works best for the desired keyword is hidden in plain sight - top 10 positions. If top results are populated with images and videos from YouTube, probably your planned 10k words article will not work no matter how great it is (see "how to tie a tie") Use your eyes, go and check what's ranking already, how long it is, how media-rich it is, etc. You'll pretty quickly find a common trait of the top results.