Tools We Use To Track Google Search Rankings: Organic & Local Map Pack
Rankings is a leading SEO indicator. By monitoring search rankings we can tell if a website and Google Business Page is moving in the right direction. If rankings continue to climb and they don’t stall out traffic should soon follow.
We are going to look at 6 tools to do that. I pay the following for each tool:
Google Search Console: Free
Nightwatch Chrome Extension: Free
Localo: Free
Mangools: We pay a lot. But it starts at $50/month
Bright Local: $249/month.It starts at $39 for a single location
Ahrefs: $250/month. It starts at $129/month
We also get freaky in the sheets. Of course I’m talking about Google sheets. We don’t have fancy automations to import our data but that certainly could be built out (if anyone reading this wants to build that out for us, email me).
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free web-based Google tool for tracking, maintaining, and troubleshooting your website’s positions in Google search engine results pages (SERPs).
It’s important to note that your website still appears on Google search results even if you haven’t signed up for the Search Console. The tool is ideal if you want to see and improve how the search engine sees and treats your website.
I find Google Search the most useful tool, even more helpful than Google Analytics (GA4), when it comes to insights on a website’s performance.
How to Use Google Search Console to Check Google Rankings
Here’s a step-by-step guide for checking your site’s ranking using the Search Console:
- Open the Google Search Console dashboard for your website and go to “Search Results” to display the “Performance” interface.
- Click “Full Report” and set the time to, for instance, the “Last 28 Days”.
- Scroll down the queries to see the number of impressions and clicks each generates. You’ll also see the average position for each query.
Note that it’s not ideal to rely on Google Search Console entirely for exact rankings—its rankings for some keywords may be skewed, especially if those keywords have place names that refer to more than one location.
For example, you may not get very accurate ranking results if the keyword is “local SEO Vancouver” because that can be in British Columbia, Canada, or Washington State, USA.
Nevertheless, the tool is excellent at showing which pages on your website rank for a particular query:
- Click on “New” on the “Performance” tab.
- Scroll down to “Query”.
- Type the keyword for which you want to check rankings.
- Hit the “Apply” button.
- You’ll see the number of impressions and how many clicks the ranking pages generate for that keyword.
Additionally, Google Search Console lets you compare data for a given time frame:
- Click on the pen symbol in the date section and go to “Compare”.
- Choose a period or amount of time to compare to the previous or last period, such as “Compare last 28 Days to previous period.”
- You’ll see what pages have gained or lost traffic, the number of clicks and impressions, and the ranking positions.
- You’ll also see the differences between each corresponding metrics mentioned above.
Made by Google itself, Google Search Console remains one of the most reliable and effective free tools for checking your website’s rankings across both mobile and desktop devices.
SEO Search Simulator by Night Watch Chrome Plugin
SEO Search Simulator by NightWatch is a free Chrome plugin that checks search rankings manually. The tool allows you to geolocate yourself by country, providing better ranking results.
To search for a keyword in a city or other specific place, add the place to your keyword, select your desired country, and then use the “Perform Search” button.
This search gives you a clear picture of who ranks at what position.
Additionally, you’ll see what type of content ranks for that particular keyword. Is it video or text-based content?
The tool’s one limitation is that it becomes a little less effective if you don’t rank anywhere in the first few slots. You have to keep scrolling before you see your position, which can be tedious for multiple keywords.
Localo
Localo offers Local Rank Checker, a free tool for checking the visibility of your website and Google Business Profile.
The automatic local rank tracker tool allows you to type your business name, add keywords your customers may use to search for you, and see how your business is on Google.
The tool also shows the changes in your Google Maps rankings per month, week, or day.
Besides your rankings, you can also see your local SEO health and visibility score. The tool also monitors your position for the best keywords and notifies you when changes occur.
Mangools
Mangools is a suite of various tools for keyword research, SERP analysis, and rank tracking.
KWFinder
Mangools’s KWFinder is a keyword research tool ideal for local SEO searches.
To use the tool, search for a keyword using “Search by Keyword” and add a location, such as “local SEO near me”.
You can play around with the keyword to see if the SERP overview captures your website or company. This type of appearance will be a truly geolocated result.
If you are doing competitor research and note that the other pages on the SERP overview don’t belong to companies located in your city, those companies probably have pages built and optimized for multiple cities, including yours.
Besides rankings, the SERP overview shows keyword difficulty, search volume, domain authority, page authority, and the number of links to that page.
SERPChecker
SERPChecker is a SERP analysis tool from Mangools. To use the tool, enter your preferred keyword and select your location or desired area.
The tool shows the top ranking pages, URLs, domain authority, keyword difficulty, link profile, and SEO titles.
SERPWatcher
SERPWatcher is Mangools’s rank tracking tool that lets you track your domain’s performance across different locations.
The tool shows the keywords your website ranks for, the rank position, changes in rank positions, and search volume. You can track these metrics over a certain period.
The cheapest Mangools paid plan will cost you slightly over $19 per month.
BrightLocal
BrightLocal is an excellent tool for gathering local SEO information or data. I’ve recently started using it and found it good at showing a company’s website’s Google ranking positions.
BrightLocal offers tools like Local Search Grid and Local Rank Tracker.
Local Search Grid
To use this tool, type a keyword, such as SEO. Since the tool already has your location, it shows the grid map for that keyword in your company’s location.
This means that the proximity of your business will impact what the map shows and where you rank on it. For example, if you were searching near your business location, your company would appear in a better position—it could even appear as number one.
The Local Search Grid assigns your ranking positions in different metros surrounding your business location. The positions start from one.
You can rank in the same position across different metros. For example, your site can rank in position two in Vancouver, BC, and position one in Surrey.
To see how your rankings have changed across different days, click on different dates on the number line in the tool.
Local Rank Tracker
BrightLocal’s Rank Tracker shows the keywords your site ranks for, search volume, rank, changes in rankings, and local pack where applicable.
Note that you can choose what keywords to track, with or without geolocating. The ability to search from anywhere makes the tool ideal for businesses that serve multiple areas.
The tool also lets you sort keywords by volume to exploit opportunities for improving your rankings.
BrightLocal will cost you at least $39 monthly to track one location and $59 monthly for 2-5 positions. The cost can rise sharply as you add more locations to track, reaching $249 monthly for 41-50 locations.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is pricier than all the paid tools we have seen, but for good reason. The tool shows more data than most other tools. Such data includes backlinks, domain rating, URL rating, and the amount of monthly organic traffic for a keyword.
The tool tracks the keywords your website ranks for in your country of choice.
You can see details such as keyword difficulty, keywords you rank for, traffic, keyword volume, ranking position, URL, and SERP ranking changes across different days. This last metric shows the day or time you attained a particular ranking position.
As with most other tools, you can filter your results further by location (geolocating).
The least costly Ahrefs plan for small businesses and hobby projects starts at $129 per month.
