Rank tracking

What rank tracking measures#

Rank tracking (in the left menu under SEO tools) checks where your website appears in Google's organic results for each keyword, from the target location of the project. It is not the map: Google Maps positions are in Google My Business › Rankings (Map grid scans).

Each check is called a run. A run asks Google for every keyword on the devices you chose and stores the full results page, so you can look at it later for free.

Adding keywords#

You can add keywords in four ways:

1. Add keywords — type them one per line and click Add.
2. Import CSV — upload a CSV or Excel export (comma, semicolon or tab; UTF-8 or UTF-16). You see a preview first: new keywords, duplicates, invalid lines, and lines over your plan limit. Download the example file if you are unsure of the format. Up to 5,000 lines per file.
3. From Research or Keyword with + track.
4. From Search Console › Keywords with Track in Rank Tracking.

Adding keywords is free and does not start a check. After adding, search volume and other data are filled in for the new keywords.

Running a check#

Click Run tracking. A confirmation shows the price, how many keywords, which devices and the depth. Click to confirm.

While a run is in progress you see "Sending to Google · batch N of M" and then the results arriving. If you click Run again while a run is already going, you get a warning with the time left instead of a second run.

Costly runs started within a week of the previous one ask "Continue?" with the breakdown (keywords × devices × depth) and a hint to lower the depth if you only need the top results.

To check one keyword, open the row menu and choose Run this keyword only.

A run can end as done, partial or failed. For partial runs, Why it is partial explains: the monthly cap stopped the rest, some results never arrived, or some keywords were not found within the searched depth. You pay only for what was delivered.

Devices and depth#

Set both in Settings › Project › Advanced settings › Automation:

• Rank tracking devices — Desktop + Mobile (default), Desktop only, Mobile only. Rows for a device you do not track say "not measured", not "not found".
• Rankings depth — Top 20 up to Top 100. A keyword not found within the depth shows as "Not in top N". Deeper checks cost more; the price is shown next to the setting.

Scheduling#

Click Automatic at the top of Rank tracking:

• Check automatically — on or off.
• Frequency — Daily, Every 3 days, Weekly, Every 2 weeks, Monthly.
• Which keywords — All, or Only selected.

The panel shows the estimated monthly cost as you change the options. Schedules are off by default.

Reading the table#

The KPI cards above the table: Keywords up, In top 3, In top 10, Found and Avg position, each compared with the previous run.

Each keyword has one row per device:

• Position badge — the colour shows the bucket: 1–3 solid green, 4–10 light green, 11–20 amber, 21–50 orange, beyond 50 or not found grey. The number is always shown.
• 1d / 7d / 30d / Life — change in positions. ▲ green is up, ▼ red is down, "=" is no change.
• Start — the position on the first run.
• SERP — the search features on the page. An AIO badge means Google showed an AI Overview; "AIO · cited" means your domain is one of its sources.
• URL — your page that ranks.
• Search Vol., Competition, Intent, Volatility, Last updated.
• Clicks / Impressions (28d) — when Search Console is connected.

Use Filters (intent, device, position, volatility, not found) and Group (by intent, by ranking URL, by device). Columns lets you hide columns. Filters are remembered.

Starred keywords#

Click the ☆ on a row to star a keyword. The ★ in the column header filters to starred keywords only. Starred keywords are also checked more often by Daily watch.

Keyword details#

Click a keyword to open its details: ranking history chart, Google update markers on the chart (to see whether an update hit your whole site, open GA4 & Search Console › Google updates — see Search Console and Google Analytics), the ranking URL over time and a Search Console tab (clicks, impressions, CTR, position, pages, and By country, for 28 or 90 days).

The SERP replica and screenshots#

Click the SERP cell to open the stored results page:

• Replica — the results as text, with your result highlighted. All result types are shown (ads, local pack, featured snippet, organic), each with its position. Filter with All / Organic only / Features.
• Desktop / Mobile — switch between the two devices from the same run.
• AI Overview tab — the AI Overview text and its sources, with your domain and tracked competitors highlighted.
• Screenshot — a picture of the page. You can take a screenshot within 7 days of the run; screenshots you take are kept for good. Turn on Take a screenshot with every rank check in settings to never miss that window.

Show 20 more results#

At the bottom of the replica, Show 20 more results reveals stored results you have not opened yet, free. When the stored results end, the button becomes Load results 21–40 · N credits and fetches the next 20 (up to 100). The official position of the keyword does not change; if your site appears in the new results, you see "Found at #N in the extended results".

Run history and compare#

Run history lists every run with date, status and keyword count. Labels "Daily sample" or "Daily watch" mark the cheaper daily checks.

• Click a run to see its table read-only.
• Compare puts two runs side by side (by default the last two): change in positions, ▲/▼, "new" and "lost", and KPI cards for up, down, top 3, top 10 and average.

Browsing history and comparing is free.

One keyword in several locations#

By default every keyword is checked from the project's location. To follow the same keyword in other cities or countries — without making a project per place — use Add keywords › Location › Change: pick one or several places, and each keyword is added once per place ("3 keywords × 2 locations = 6 tracked keywords").

• A small pin under the keyword names its location. Keywords on the project's location have no pin.
• Each keyword-and-location pair is tracked, checked and charged like any other keyword: the same price per check, its own history, its own place in the Top 3 / Top 10 / Average position numbers and in reports.
• Filters › Location and Group › By location appear as soon as one keyword has its own location.
• To move a keyword, use its ⋮ menu › Change location…. This starts a new tracked keyword at the new place with a fresh history; the earlier results stay with the old place in Run history.
• The project's own location is unchanged, and so are the Map and AI Visibility, which use the project location.

Locations: countries, cities and regions#

Every location box (on a keyword, on a project, in Keyword research) takes a city, a country or a region such as Europe. Type two letters or more and the list shows the matches with their parent place. A region is the same as its countries: a keyword added to a region is tracked once in each country, and each of those pairs counts toward your quota and the price exactly like a pair you added by hand.

Your AI client finds the exact name for you too (location_search, free), so you can say "track these in Europe" and it uses the name the app knows.

Common questions#

Why is my position different from what I see when I search? Your own search is personalised by history, location and device. We search from the project's target location without personal history.

What does "NOT FOUND" mean? Your site was not in the results up to the tracked depth. Increase the depth to look further.

Why does a row show an older date? The latest run skipped that keyword (for example a schedule for selected keywords only). The number is correct but not from today.

Can I delete a keyword without losing history? Yes. Deleting removes it from the list; past runs keep it.

Is the AI Overview badge extra? No. It is read from the results page you already paid for.