SEO library
Rank tracking that gets read
Four strategies for the person who has to show someone a number every month: which keywords to track and how many, where Search Console's free data stops, how to track a local business from where its customers stand, and how to write the ranking report that gets read.
How to track rankings without wasting the budget
Start from what Search Console already shows, track only what someone will read, measure local positions from where customers stand, and report movement as an explanation for the business number rather than a table.
- 01
Which keywords to track, and how many
Twenty to fifty terms from Search Console, tied to pages that earn money, priced before they go in. A 500-row tracker is a report nobody reads.
Read the guide - 02
Is Search Console a rank tracker? Where the free data stops
Search Console gives an average across searchers and devices, with preliminary recent data. Enough for many sites. How to tell whether yours needs more.
Read the guide - 03
Local rank tracking: position depends on where the searcher stands
Nine points three kilometres apart, four different businesses at number one. Why a local business needs a grid before a tracker.
Read the guide - 04
The keyword ranking report your CEO will read
Lead with the business number, group movement into four counts, explain three rows, say what happens next. One page, every month.
Read the guide
Why rank tracking gets bought and then ignored
A rank tracker is the easiest SEO tool to justify and the easiest to stop reading. It gets bought because positions are the number everyone understands. It gets ignored because a table of 300 keywords with green and red arrows does not tell the person paying for it whether anything happened that matters, and after a couple of months they stop opening it.
The fix is upstream of the tool. Track a short list chosen from Search Console, so every row is a query Google already shows your site for and a page that earns something. Then report positions as the explanation for what clicks did, not as the headline. The four strategies above are that sequence: choose, measure, measure locally if you are local, report.
What Ranktide rank tracking checks
A tracker is a domain, a location and a language. You choose the devices (mobile, desktop or both; mobile by default), how deep to look (the top 10 to 100 results, 40 by default), and a schedule (manual, daily, weekly or monthly). Each check records, per keyword and device, the position, the previous position, the URL that ranked, and the SERP features on the page. A project can hold several trackers, which is how you track several locations for one business.
Creating a tracker and adding keywords cost nothing. Checks use credits, and the app shows the most a check can cost before every scheduled add and every run. Keyword count, devices, depth and schedule multiply: tracking both devices doubles the cost, and daily checks multiply it by about seven. Plans track from 25 keywords on Free to 25,000 on Scale (see pricing). Search Console reads, which the strategies here lean on, use no credits.
You can run all of it from the rank tracking page, or through the Ranktide MCP, which gives an assistant in Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor the tracker: create it, estimate the cost, add and remove keywords, run a check and read the latest positions, alongside Search Console and local map rankings in the same conversation.
Where rank tracking ends
Three things a tracker cannot tell you, and where to get them.
- Whether anyone clicked. Positions describe a results page; clicks describe what people did on it. Search Console is the record, and programmatic discovery with Search Console is how to read it at scale. It is an incomplete record: a share of clicks arrive on queries Search Console never reports.
- Whether the keyword was worth it. A term can move from 14 to 4 and change nothing, because the demand was never there or the intent was wrong. Search-intent mapping comes before the tracker, not after.
- Whether an AI assistant recommends you. Tools that monitor that, including AI search visibility, are directional: answers are personalised and there is no first-party report behind them. Report it as a signal next to the tracker, never as the same kind of number.
Rank tracking FAQ
What is rank tracking?
Checking where a website appears in Google's results for a chosen set of keywords, from a chosen location and device, on a schedule, and recording the position each time so you can see movement. It answers a narrower and more precise question than Search Console, which reports an average position across every searcher.
How many keywords should I track?
Twenty to fifty for most sites. Take them from Search Console, where you can see which queries already show your site at positions 4 to 20 with real impressions, tie each one to a page that produces leads or revenue, and add one or two brand terms as a control. A tracker with 500 rows is a report nobody reads.
How often should rankings be checked?
Weekly is the useful default. Positions move day to day for reasons that have nothing to do with your work, and a daily check mostly records that noise at about seven times the cost. Check daily during a migration or a launch, then go back to weekly.
Should I track mobile or desktop rankings?
Mobile, unless you know your customers search from desktops. Most queries are mobile-first now and the two result pages differ. Ranktide defaults to mobile and can track both, which doubles the cost of each check.
Is Google Search Console a rank tracker?
Not quite. It reports an average position per query blended across devices, countries and dates, for your own site only. Its 24-hour view shows recent preliminary data, and finalized reports arrive later. That is enough for a single-location site that wants direction. A tracker adds a precise position per keyword and device, the ranking URL, SERP features and competitors, and costs money for each check.
How much does rank tracking cost in Ranktide?
It depends on keywords, devices, depth and schedule, and the app shows the estimate before anything runs. Checks use credits: 1,000 once on the free plan, then 10,000 a month and up on paid plans. Plans also cap tracked keywords, from 25 on Free to 25,000 on Scale.
Can I track local rankings for a specific city?
Yes. Each rank tracker measures organic website rankings from a chosen location, so you can track the same keywords from several towns. For Business Profile positions in Google Maps, use local map rankings, which search from each point of a grid around an address: 3×3 on Free, up to 9×9 on Pro, Agency and Scale.
Track rankings in Ranktide
Positions by country or city, mobile and desktop, with the cost shown before every check. Start with 1,000 free credits. No card needed.