Rank tracking is seeing what position keywords that a website is ranked in a search engine result page. Here is an example of these keyword types:
– Keywords that are in the content of a website.
– Other words that you don’t optimize for.
– Keywords that a competitor rank for.
Rank tracking is about analyzing and tracking the organic position on current and historical data. This allows you to see the site’s progress and the impact of organic traffic clicks.
In the past, SEO professionals felt rank tracking was one of the most critical things for a website to be successful.
These methods gradually changed over time, as SEO professionals soon realized that ranking alone wasn’t a very accurate way to indicate success. If the website was ranked no.1 because of a certain keyword, however, that keyword wasn’t relevant to the site, the site might have got more traffic however it wasn’t much use to the visitor. Many of these resulted in a high bounce rate.
For further information or to help improve your rank tracking contact professional SEO services.
Do SEO Professionals use Rank Tracking Nowadays?
Most SEO professionals continued to use rank tracking practices, however, they would combine it with other metrics. Metrics like conversions and organic search traffic were taken very seriously.
Because of Google’s constant updates and improvements, keyword rank tracking has got harder. It’s thought that Google is not keen on rank tracking tools. Rank tracking tools go on search engines and can take a lot of the server’s resources without any benefit to Google. Google is a business, and its main goal is to generate revenue. The world’s biggest search engine wants visitors to click on their clients paying ads or sponsored results.
Rank tracking is still a very important part of the SEO workflow. It can provide you with details on how the website stands on the market. Today, keyword rankings are still one of the most critical KPIs in SEO.
What are the Factors that influence Keyword Tracking?
Here are the seven factors that influence keyword tracking:
– 1. Personalized results
– 2. Location / Internet Protocol address (IP address)
– 3. Device used: Is the device a mobile, desktop, or other.
– 4. Google data centers synchronization
– 5. Time
– 6. Search settings
– 7. Other factors
Don’t concern yourself with which SEO tool you use as all the rankings will not be completely accurate. Sometimes there are minor problems, and remember that rank tracking is the only priority of SEO.
How do you Track Your Keyword Positions?
Google Search Console is a free tool to use. It provides its users with lots of valuable information such as the progress of positions that the webpage ranks in organic search results.
You can find each report in the ‘’Performance’’ tab. It allows you to set specific filters and lets you view:
– 1. The sites average position
– 2. CTR: Click-Through Rate
– 3. Number of impressions for each search query
– 4. Number of clicks for each search query
This tool can prove to be very beneficial to SEO professionals. If the site is having lots of organic clicks, it is great data to provide their clients and potential clients.
Another option is to get a rank tracking tool. These rank tracking tools provide users a lot more insight in comparison to the Search Console. There are lots of rank tracking tools available on the market, and many of them offer users a free trial. For example, one such tool is the Keyword Rank Tracker by Sitechecker.
Perhaps reading some of their existing client’s reviews before you spend your hard-earned money might help.
What is the Main Goal of Rank Tracking?
Professional SEOs are advised not to prioritize ranking no.1 for every keyword. Don’t waste time obsessing about track positions, as you could spend more time improving your site.
The main aim of rank tracking is to keep track of the changes in keyword positions and how they help organic traffic. Even if you are ranking on the highest for 5 keywords, it might bring you less quality traffic in comparison to 5 keywords for which the website ranks in the middle of the first SERP. If a keyword that is relevant to the site is added, this can prove more critical in comparison to the 5 highest keywords.
How to Check Your Bounce Rate
If you are obsessing with rank tracking, perhaps focusing on improving your site’s bounce rate might be a better option. Bounce is when a user visits one page of your site and leaves. This also includes all the visitors who visited the page but failed to make any interaction while on it. These are visitors who wouldn’t have clicked on a button, inserted text into a field didn’t and, use any of the plugins that the website might have on display, etc.
If your bounce rate is high, the less your visitors enjoyed their experience on your page. For instance, if 50 people visited your site. 25 people left without interacting with your site at all, then your bounce rate will be at 50%.
Bounce rate is one of the most critical metrics for web page analysis. Google Analytics includes it in every annual report. You can see the bounce rate of visitors from different countries, referrals, campaigns, etc.
A websites bounce rate depends on these factors:
Type of content and type of website: Content like blog posts tend to have a high bounce back rate while product landing pages seem to have a low bounce back rate.
Traffic Source: Organic and referral traffic tend to have a low bounce back rate.
Targeting: Is the website targeting people who have never heard about your site or your products. Predict a high bounce rate if this is the issue.
Website speed: Slow loading sites have a very high bounce back rate. The average internet user doesn’t wait around all day to wait for a page to upload.
Design: If the website looks good on both a mobile device or a desktop, your bounce rate should be low.
Webmasters should spend more time making sure the site is running smoothly, user-friendly, and how quickly the page takes to load rather than focusing on rank tracking, however with rank tracking and all the other metrics combined, your site is on the right road for success.
