- Search Console gives you measured, free, impression-weighted average positions for your own site, for every query you were seen for. It cannot show competitors or a live results page.
- Top-100 rank trackers check the results page for keywords, locations and devices you choose, and can show competitors and SERP features. They are snapshots of one search, usually paid.
- Check weekly for decisions and daily only for alerts. Google says small position fluctuations happen at any time.
- Report movement like for like: two equal periods, only keywords seen in both, and clicks and impressions beside the position.
- You can start free: Search Console itself, or a tracker built on it that keeps a daily copy and flags movement for you.
How do you track keyword rankings?
To track keyword rankings, pick a fixed list of keywords that matter to the business, record each one's position on a regular schedule from one consistent source, and compare equal periods. The source is the big decision. You can read the average position Google itself measured for your site in Search Console's Performance report, or you can use a rank tracker that checks the results page for chosen keywords from a chosen location and device. Most teams that track rankings well use the first for truth about their own site and add the second only when they need competitor or SERP-feature data.
What you should not do is search your keywords by hand every morning. Google says results are specific to the time, place, device and recent history of the person searching, so your own search is a sample of one.
The three ways to track rankings
Every rank tracking method falls into one of three groups: manual checks, Search Console average position, or a SERP-based tracker that checks the top 100 results.
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Manual searches
Free and immediate, and almost useless as rank tracking data. A logged-in search on your laptop in one city tells you what one person saw once. It is fine for looking at what the results page contains, such as an AI Overview or a map pack. It is not a measurement.
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Search Console average position
Google records the topmost position of your site every time it gets an impression, and averages it across those impressions. You get position, clicks, impressions and CTR for each query, page, country and device, from Google's own logs. It is free, and covers every query you appeared for rather than a list you guessed. Our guide to Search Console average position explains exactly how the number is calculated.
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SERP-based rank trackers (top-100 tracking)
A tool checks the results page for each keyword you enter, for a location and device you set, and records where your domain and your competitors appear, often down to position 100. Semrush's Position Tracking, for example, checks rankings daily, targets locations down to postal code, and reports SERP features including AI Overviews. Ahrefs' Rank Tracker page lists mobile and desktop tracking, more than 190 locations and 19 SERP features.
Search Console vs top-100 rank trackers: which should you use?
Use Search Console data to judge your own site and a SERP-based tracker when you need to see competitors, exact locations or SERP features. They measure different things, so they will rarely show the same number for the same keyword.
Rank tracking methods compared
| Manual search | Search Console average position | SERP-based top-100 tracker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the number is | One result for one searcher | Average of your topmost position across every impression | Your position in one check of the results page |
| Source | Your browser | Google's own logs for your verified property | The provider's collection of results pages |
| Keywords covered | The ones you type | Every query you got impressions for (rare queries are hidden for privacy) | Only the list you enter |
| Competitors | Whatever you see | No | Yes |
| SERP features | Whatever you see | Only your own, in Search appearance | Usually |
| Location detail | Where you are | Country | Often city or postal code |
| Position when nobody saw you | — | None recorded | Recorded if within the depth checked |
| Clicks and impressions | No | Yes | Depends on the tool |
| Cost | Free | Free | Usually paid |
A fair summary: a SERP tracker tells you where you would appear in a specific search; Search Console tells you where you did appear, on average, in the searches that actually happened. The second is the one tied to clicks.
Do not script your own rank checker against Google. Google's spam policies list scraping results for rank-checking purposes as machine-generated traffic that violates its policies and Terms of Service.
Is top 100 rank tracking worth it?
Top 100 rank tracking is worth it when you need to see keywords before they earn impressions, such as a new page sitting at position 60, or when you track a competitor's keywords. For everything else, positions beyond the first two pages rarely change a decision.
Search Console records a position only when a result gets an impression, and Google counts an impression when your link appears on the page of results the searcher is viewing. So a page that sits at position 70 for a query nobody scrolls that far for has no position in Search Console at all. That is not a bug; it reflects that nobody saw it. If you need to watch that page climb from 70 to 25, a SERP-based tracker will show it earlier. Once it reaches the first pages, Search Console will start to record it, with real clicks and impressions beside it.
How often should you check keyword rankings?
Collect rank tracking data daily, look at it weekly, and make decisions on four-week or longer comparisons. Google's guide to traffic drops says small fluctuations in position can happen at any time and advises against radical changes when a page is already performing well.
- Daily: only for alerts. A keyword that disappears overnight, or a page that suddenly loses its position, is worth knowing about the same week.
- Weekly: a short review of the biggest gains and drops, compared with the week before.
- Monthly or quarterly: the numbers you report and plan from, compared with the previous equal period and with the same period last year for seasonal sites.
One Search Console detail matters here: Google says collected data is normally available in 2 to 3 days, and the newest data can be preliminary. Do not judge the last two days of a chart.
How to report keyword ranking movement
A keyword ranking report should compare two equal periods, count only keywords that had a position in both, and put clicks and impressions next to every position. Most misleading ranking reports break one of those three rules.
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Compare like with like
Last 28 days against the previous 28 days, or this month against the same month last year. Never a month against a week, and never a period that includes days still being finalised.
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Count movement only for keywords seen in both periods
A keyword you added yesterday, or one with no impressions last month, has nothing to move from. Including it invents a gain or a loss.
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Report bands, not just an average
“14 keywords in the top 3, up from 11” is easier to act on than “average position 18.2”. Use bands such as top 3, 4–10, 11–20 and beyond.
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Show the clicks beside the position
Google's guide says impressions and clicks are ultimately the measure of success. A move from 6 to 4 that brought no extra clicks is worth less than it looks.
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Write down what changed
Note the date of a content update, a migration or a Google update next to the chart, so the next report can explain the movement.
Our scheduled reports put these numbers into a document a client or manager can read.
Track your rankings from your own Search Console dataConnect Google, pick keywords from the queries you already appear for, and see daily positions, movement and alerts. No scraping.
Start tracking freeHow to track your rankings for free
The free way to track your rankings is Google Search Console: verify your site, open Performance, and filter by query. It is a free rank tracker in all but name, with three gaps: you cannot save a keyword list, it keeps about 16 months of data, and it does not tell you when something moves.
Verify your site in Search Console
You can only see data for a property you have verified, which is also why no free tool can show you a competitor's Search Console positions.
Turn on Average position
In Performance → Search results, show average position alongside clicks and impressions.
Filter to your keywords
Filter the report to the query you care about, and compare the date range with the previous equal period.
Export regularly
If you want a record beyond 16 months, export or connect a tool that stores a copy.
If you use Google Analytics 4, you can also link Search Console to it to see organic search queries and landing pages beside your analytics. Analytics does not collect rankings of its own; it shows Search Console's data, for at most the same 16 months.
How MrKeyword tracks keyword rankings
MrKeyword's rank tracking reads the average position your own Search Console reports for each tracked keyword, stores a daily copy, and works out movement, bands and alerts from those stored rows. Bing Webmaster Tools can be connected too, and is shown as a separate engine. Every position is labelled “Measured” with its source.
- Getting keywords in. Paste up to 500 at a time, import a CSV, or add queries straight from the list your site already appears for. Each keyword can be matched exactly or with close variants (singular and plural, hyphen or space).
- Daily data. Each connected site syncs once every 24 hours. The first sync backfills Search Console's 16 months; later syncs add finished days and refresh the most recent week. Days in the last three are marked as still settling.
- The position. An impression-weighted average for the period you pick (7, 28, 90, 180 or 365 days), compared with the previous equal period, plus change over 1, 7 and 30 days and the URL that got the most impressions.
- Country and device. You can choose up to five countries and desktop, mobile or tablet, and get each keyword's daily position for each of those segments over 30 days.
- Bands and insights. Keywords are grouped into top 3, 4–10, 11–20, 21–50 and 51+. Insights flag striking-distance keywords (position 8 to 20 with at least 20 impressions), low-CTR keywords on page one, cannibalisation and lost keywords. The SEO opportunities page uses the same data.
- Alerts and digest. Rules fire on a move of a set number of positions (3 by default), entering a top-N threshold, a lost keyword, cannibalisation or a failed sync. An optional Monday email covers the previous complete week, counts a keyword as moved only if it had impressions in both weeks, and ignores moves under 0.1 of a position.
The Free plan tracks 25 keywords on one website; see pricing for larger allowances. If a whole site's clicks fall rather than a few keywords, start with our traffic drop checklist.
What MrKeyword does not do
MrKeyword does not check live search results and does not scrape Google, so it shows positions only where Search Console or Bing measured one. That has clear consequences:
- It does not do top-100 tracking of positions nobody saw. A day with no impressions has no position, and the chart shows a gap rather than a zero.
- It does not track competitors' rankings or share of voice, because that would need scraped or bought data.
- It does not track SERP features such as featured snippets or local packs for your keywords.
- It does not track sites you cannot verify in Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools.
- It does not offer city or postal-code positions; Search Console reports by country.
If you need those, a SERP-based tracker is the right tool, and you can run it alongside Search Console data.
Questions and answers
How to track keyword rankings questions
What is the best way to track keyword rankings?
For your own site, the most reliable source is the average position Google records in Search Console, because it comes from real searches and sits beside clicks and impressions. Add a SERP-based rank tracker if you also need competitor positions, city-level locations or SERP features.
Is there a free rank tracker?
Yes. Google Search Console is free and reports average position for every query your site appears for. Tools built on it, such as MrKeyword's free rank tracker, add a saved keyword list, a daily copy of the data and movement alerts.
Why does my rank tracker show a different position from Search Console?
A rank tracker records one check of the results page from one location and device. Search Console averages your topmost position across every real impression, from every location and device. Both can be right at the same time.
What is top 100 rank tracking?
It means a tracker records your position down to the 100th result for each keyword, so you can see pages before they reach the first pages. Search Console only records positions that received an impression, so it rarely shows positions that deep.
How often should I check my keyword rankings?
Let a tool collect data daily and alert you to big changes, review movement weekly, and make decisions on comparisons of four weeks or more. Google says small position fluctuations can happen at any time.
Can Google Analytics track keyword rankings?
Not on its own. Linking Search Console to Google Analytics 4 adds Search Console's organic queries and landing pages to Analytics, so the ranking data still comes from Search Console.
Sources
- Performance report (Search results) — Search Console Help, on average position, preliminary data and why your own search differs
- What are impressions, position, and clicks? — Search Console Help, on how position and impressions are counted
- About Search Console data — Search Console Help, on data delays, privacy filtering and row limits
- Debugging drops in Google Search traffic — Google Search Central, on small position fluctuations
- Spam policies for Google web search — Google Search Central, on scraping results for rank checking
- Connect Search Console to Google Analytics — Analytics Help, on the Search Console integration and its 16 months of data
- Position Tracking — Semrush Knowledge Base, on daily checks, locations and SERP features
- Rank Tracker — Ahrefs, on devices, locations, competitors and SERP features
