How Can I Check my Website's SEO Ranking?

Companies worldwide spent an estimated $65 billion on SEO services in 2016. Estimates for 2018 put a worldwide price tag on SEO services at about $72.02 billion. Why do companies spend so much money on SEO services? Companies around the world invest in SEO services because they are keenly aware of the fact that websites that rank at the top of Google’s rankings for high traffic keywords attract the majority of the consumers who are responsible for submitting the 62,000 searches Google processes every second.

In fact, websites on Google’s first search engine results page (SERP) capture about 91.5% of the traffic for a particular search term, but in order to maintain a high ranking on Google’s first organic SERP, you have to be constantly monitoring your website’s rankings, especially if you are targeting highly competitive keywords. Moreover, updates like the broad core algorithm update Google launched in June of 2019 and similar updates can have an unintentional negative effect on a website’s rankings. So, all website owners need to be vigilant in monitoring their website’s rankings on Google, but how exactly can you check your website’s SEO rankings?

How to Check Your Website’s SEO Rankings?

There are two options when it comes to checking your website’s SEO ranking, free and paid-for tools, and both have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, you should consider using both of these tools together to maximize their efficacy.

Free Rank Checker Tools

The free rank checker tools are excellent when they are used properly. Their biggest strength is that they are free, but due to this, they often have limitations in the number of features they offer. The best uses for these tools include:

  • Quickly checking a web page’s position for a single search term
  • Checking your website’s ranking for a group of keywords on a use-by-use basis
  • Providing your staff members with ideas for new content based on the ranking data these tools yield

Some of the most common free tools website owners utilize include:

  • Fatrank: This tool allows you to check a web page’s ranking for a single search term, but if your page is not ranked in the top 100 search results, Fatrank will not show its position. Moreover, Fatrank is an extension that is added to Google Chrome, so if you do not use chrome, you may only be able to use Fatrank on your IOS or Android device.
  • The Hoth: The Hoth is an online rank checker tool that allows you to check up to 100 keywords your website is ranking for. The downside to this tool is that it only allows you to see the keywords you are ranking for, which may not include specific keywords that you are wanting to track.

There are several other rank checker tools that claim to be free, but the majority of them only allow you to check your website’s rankings or a specific page’s ranking for a limited number of times before requiring you to pay for the service or create an account with the website that offers the tool.

Premium Rank Checker Tools

The main difference between free and paid-for ranking tracker tools is paid-for tools usually track every keyword your website ranks for and alerts you regarding any positive or negative changes in your website’s rankings. Moreover, paid-for tools usually allow you to view all of the information for your website simply by logging into the rank tracking program or website. In addition to your website’s rankings on Google, paid-for SEO rank tracking tools typically offer users access to additional data such as:

  • Search volume for a specific search term your website ranks for
  • The number of backlinks your site has
  • Historical changes in your website’s rankings

Some of the most common paid-for SEO ranking tracker tools include:

  • Semrush
  • AccuRanker
  • Ahrefs
  • SERPWatcher

Tips for Using Data from Your SEO Ranking Tools

Rank tracking tools are a critical aspect of effective SEO because they allow you to anticipate SEO-related problems your website will encounter as it grows. Consequently, you should develop a ranking strategy to maximize the value of the data your rank tracking tool yields, which is why the SEO experts at On the Map Marketing have a few tips that will allow you to build and execute your strategy.

1. Use Ranking Data to Identify SEO-Related Problems with Individual Web Pages

The web pages on your website will fluctuate in Google’s rankings, and this is a normal anomaly. However, when a web page begins to drop in Google’s rankings consistently over time, it can be a sign that the content needs to be updated or that there are on-page SEO factors that need to be addressed. As such, you should monitor the data from your rank tracking tool daily to identify any problems an individual web page may experience.

2. Use Ranking Data to Gauge the Effectiveness of SEO Techniques

Analyzing the impact of targeted SEO techniques have on a web page’s rankings is one the best metrics you can use to gauge the effectiveness of your SEO efforts, but the main thing you have to remember is that once you have revised an existing piece of content or created a new piece of content, seeing the full effect of your efforts will take time. So, make sure you monitor the effect that your SEO techniques have on your website’s rankings over a set period of time in order to properly gauge the effectiveness of a particular technique or piece of content.

3. If You Need Help with Your Website’s Rankings, Contact an SEO Expert

Implementing effective SEO techniques takes time, knowledge, and experience, so many website owners often employ the services of SEO experts to assist them with the implementation of SEO techniques and the creation of new content. On the Map Marketing is an internationally recognized leader in the SEO services industry, so if you need help with SEO for your company’s website, contact the SEO experts at On the Map Marketing today.