Have you ever been Googling your key phrase to see the place you’re rating?
By no means do this. It gained’t be correct as a result of Google personalizes search outcomes by issues like your location, language, and gadget. Even utilizing an incognito or non-public tab doesn’t absolutely remedy the issue.
To verify rankings precisely, it’s good to use instruments.
Use our free key phrase rank checker. Enter your goal key phrase, add your web site, and select your goal location.

Then, hit “Test rankings.” We’ll present you your present rating place for that concentrate on key phrase, necessary search engine marketing metrics, and the highest 10 search outcomes:

You possibly can repeat this course of for all of your goal key phrases.
Your web site can even rank for key phrases that you’re not focusing on or haven’t considered. You possibly can verify what these key phrases are by signing up for a free Ahrefs Webmaster Instruments (AWT) account.
When you’ve signed up and verified your web site, go to the Natural key phrases report back to see the:
- Key phrases your web site is rating for.
- Precise URL rating for these key phrases.
- Precise rating place.
- Search quantity for these key phrases.
- Quantity of estimated search site visitors your web site receives by rating for these key phrases.
And extra.

If you wish to observe rankings for a bunch of necessary key phrases over time, you’ll want a rank monitoring software like Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker. This may run scheduled rank place checks, plus present you:
- Whether or not they’re enhancing or declining.
- In the event you’re rating for SERP options.
- How a lot (estimated) search site visitors the key phrases are sending you.
And extra.

You’ll additionally be capable of observe key phrases in a particular state, metropolis, and even ZIP code, which is necessary for those who’re focusing on native key phrases:

You possibly can even add your rivals and see the way you’re faring towards them:

Comply with these tricks to be sure to’re truly getting worth out of monitoring your rankings and never simply losing time.
Don’t obsess over your rankings
Google is consistently adjusting search outcomes, so there may be some volatility to rankings.
It’s not unusual to flicker between, say, positions #3 and #4. In the event you’re outdoors the highest 10 search outcomes, it may be much more unstable. For instance, you might soar from place #67 to #43 “in a single day.”
The purpose is that this: Don’t obsess and verify your rankings every single day. Dropping a place or two is regular and never all the time indicative of an issue. There’s no must continually be optimizing. It’s higher to look out for rankings trending downward over time, as this will point out it’s good to do one thing.
In the event you’re utilizing Rank Tracker, you possibly can see this by way of the Grossing report:

Don’t count on to rank excessive instantly
search engine marketing takes time. Actually, most SEOs agreed that it takes between three to 6 months to indicate outcomes.

So long as the key phrase you’re focusing on is remotely aggressive, it’s unlikely that your web page goes to rank instantly. It wants time to earn backlinks, accumulate authority, and show to Google it deserves to rank.
Comply with the information under to be taught extra about how you can get backlinks to your web site.
Understand how totally different instruments “rely” positions
Google not exhibits simply 10 blue hyperlinks; it now exhibits many SERP options:

Completely different search engine marketing instruments could show them in a different way. For instance, Google exhibits a “Associated questions” SERP characteristic for a lot of queries:

Some instruments could select to disregard this, because it’s not a “true” 10 blue hyperlinks place. At Ahrefs, we rely it as a place itself. (Actually, we rely most SERP options as particular person positions.)

So there may very well be a chance that you simply’re rating in place #3 in Ahrefs however place #2 in one other software.
What’s subsequent?
In the event you’re concerned with determining the place you’re rating, you’ll doubtless additionally need to know how you can enhance your rankings (or repair them in the event that they’ve declined). Comply with these guides to be taught extra:

