[Do you like this? Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and then share it for me!]
Video Summary
If you’ve ever wondered how your website is performing on the internet, you’re not alone.
Today, we’re diving into the world of Google Keyword Rankings. Knowing where you stand is a key part of knowing you have a meaningful online presence. So let’s take a look at a couple ways to monitor your keyword rankings and stay ahead in the game.
Monitoring your Google keyword rankings helps you understand how well your website is doing in the search results compared to your goals. It helps you see how well your SEO is working, measure your online presence, and check out what your competitors are up to as well.
Here are 7 benefits of tracking your keyword ranking and tips on how to monitor it…
Video Transcript
Hello, Jeffrey Kirk here.
If you’ve ever wondered how your website is performing on the internet, you’re not alone.
Today, we’re diving into the world of Google Keyword Rankings. Knowing where you stand is a key part of knowing you have a meaningful online presence. So let’s take a look at a couple ways to monitor your keyword rankings and stay ahead in the game.
When you’re planning your SEO strategy, one of the first things you should do is think about the words you want to rank high for in the search results.
If you’ve never done any keyword research in the past, then I would suggest you watch a couple of my previous videos to familiarize yourself with the basics. And then, once you know the keywords you’re targeting, and you set your plans in motion, don’t you think it would be helpful to know how well you’re doing?
Why Should You Keep an Eye on Your Keywords?
Well, monitoring your Google keyword rankings is like having a compass for your online journey. It helps you understand how well your website is doing in the search results compared to your goals.
Also, by keeping an eye on your keyword rankings, you gain insights into what’s working, what needs tweaking, and how you can stay at the top of the game. Monitoring helps you see how well your SEO is working, measure your online presence, and check out what your competitors are up to as well.
Here are 7 benefits of tracking your keyword rankings…
#1 Spotting Trends
People’s interests and search trends change a lot. By tracking your keyword rankings, you can stay on top of emerging trends and see what topics are hot right now. If one of your target keywords is doing great, that’s a sign you should create more content around that topic.
On the flip side, if you’re not ranking well for a keyword, you need to figure out why. Is the keyword no longer popular? Are there seasonal fluctuations? Is the competition just too fierce compared to your efforts?
These are all possibilities. And, speaking of competitors, the second benefit is…
#2 Keeping an Eye on Competitors
When you watch your keyword rankings, you can see which websites and competitors are ranking for the same keywords you’re going after. This gives you insight into the competitive landscape within the search results. If big, authoritative sites are targeting the same keywords, it’s a tough battle.
Comparing your rankings with competitors helps you see where you stand and make adjustments to boost your SEO results.
#3 Checking Your ROI
Keyword rankings are linked to website traffic, conversions, and revenue. By analyzing your rankings alongside your conversion and traffic data, you can figure out which keywords are making a difference for your business and which ones aren’t.
In short, tracking can tell you if you’re getting a good return on your investment.
#4 Optimizing Your Content
Tracking your keyword rankings helps you identify which pages are doing well and which ones need a boost. If certain keywords aren’t doing well, it might indicate a problem with your content. Maybe it’s time for a content audit!
But remember, you don’t want to practice keyword stuffing. Adding your keywords to content in a way that isn’t natural will hurt your content quality and that will impact your rankings.
#5 Understanding Search Intent
To rank well, your content needs to match what users are looking for. If it doesn’t, search engines won’t consider it a relevant result. Remember, it’s not just about the keywords, it’s about satisfying the user’s query.
If there’s a mismatch, users will bounce, and Google won’t be impressed.
#6 Local Visibility
Imagine someone in your area is hunting for something you offer. You want your business to pop up first, right?
Tracking your rankings ensures you show up when people nearby search for your product or service. It’s like making sure your business is the go-to choice in your area. By the way, at the end of this video, I’m going to give you a link so you can download a checklist to help you get better local visibility. Watch for that.
#7 You Gain Performance Insights
Tracking your keyword rankings is your GPS for navigating the success of your SEO efforts. Without it, you’re driving blind.
With insights from tracking, you can figure out which keywords bring in the most customers, and this is like having a roadmap to online success.
So now that you know why tracking your keywords is important, here’s…
How to Monitor Your Google Keyword Rankings
I’ve got two methods for you: using SEO tools like Google Search Console, and the good old manual method. Let’s start with the manual method…
Using Google search as the tool is a simple and straightforward approach. You simply do a search yourself to figure out where your pages stand for specific keywords. It’s pretty simple, right?
But wait a sec! A lot of people mess this up. You might think all you need to do is hit up Google, type in your keyword, and voila! You see results, and it looks like you’re in good shape because you show up in the #1 position.
But—and this is a big but—those results might not be what another person sees when he or she does the exact same search. So, while the process I just described gives you a taste of your Google ranking, it’s not exactly the same as what most other Google users will experience.
When you’re searching on Google, your location, the time of day, the language you use, and the device you’re on can all affect the search results. And, your search history also plays a significant part. And what I mean by all this is that most businesses overestimate how well their business shows up in the search results.
You know the part of the search results that has a map to local businesses? Distance to the business is a major factor, so if you do a search for your business while sitting at your office, your business is likely to appear in the top map position!
And, if you have often visited your business website, then any valid search for your site is also likely to put your site at or near the top because Google knows you like to visit that site. They’re making access convenient for you. But neither of these conditions describes what your typical prospect will experience. You have to do something different to get closer to the real search results.
To see the raw search results which are not specifically personalized to you, you have to go incognito. So open up a tab in “Incognito mode” or might be called a “New Private Window,” then type in the keyword you’re curious about. You might see some big changes in the search results, or maybe it looks the same.
Either way, this helps give you a better picture of where you stand in the ranking game without Google playing favorites based on your search history, though incognito doesn’t solve your location problem.
So, if you’re going the manual method to check your rankings, I would suggest making Incognito mode your sidekick for more accurate readings, and then go to another location to do the search.
Of course, you’re not going to go through this type of process on a daily basis. If you’re dealing with a small website with just a handful of important keywords, sure, the manual way works. And, it’s good to do from time to time. It’s better than doing nothing.
Google Search Console
But if you’re juggling a big site with a ton of target keywords, this process would be too time consuming and not accurate enough. So, in the next video I am going to introduce you to the Google Search Console.
Keeping track of your keyword rankings doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. Google Search Console is a fantastic tool that’s not only quick but also budget-friendly. It’s free!
Before we dive into the details, you’ll want to make sure your site is already set up on Google Search Console. If you don’t have the address, just do a quick search for the words “Google Search Console” and click on it. You’ll be able to get started by entering your website details.
Once you have the search console set up, you need to give it some time to gather all the data. You can plan on checking in a month or so after setup. It’ll certainly be ready by then, and most of the time it’s ready much sooner. Then, watch my next video where I go into the search console and show you how to drill down into some of the data to get some good insights.
In the meantime, would you like help getting your business to show up at the top of search results? I put together a Local SEO Strategies Checklist for you. It’s free. You can get it at upatdawn.biz/10local. You’ll see 10 strategies, each with 3 action steps you can take. Go ahead and get that now.
Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there.
Thanks for watching and have a great day!
