This post will explain keyword tracking tools. Do you know the effectiveness of your keyword research and optimization plan? Since keywords are an essential component of SEO, you must be aware of their progress. You must utilise the appropriate tools for that.
The top keyword tracking tools were discussed with 107 SEOs. They suggest the following.
- The importance of keyword tracking
- How to Select the Correct Keywords for SEO
- The 23 Best SEO Tools for Keyword Ranking
The importance of keyword tracking
You may check the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and the results of your optimization efforts by using keyword tracking. Here are the top 5 reasons to monitor keywords:
- Tracking your rivals
- Increased awareness
- Reduced monitor rank
- Determine keyword possibilities
- Increased revenue
In order to make an informed selection and select the phrases you can genuinely rank for, you should keep an eye on your competition. Keyword tracking enables you to discover which keywords your rivals are ranking for and ignoring. Additionally, tracking and analysing keyword data exposes how your rivals fare in relation to your target keywords, as well as their top-performing content, high-quality backlinks, social media engagement, and much more.
The 15 Best Keyword Tracking Tools
In this article, you can know about keyword tracking tools here are the details below;
Boost visibility: Monitoring the performance of your target keywords in the SERP can be done via keyword tracking. This information enables you to decide which keywords are best for boosting the exposure of your company or customer.
Track rank declines: Keyword tracking tools can also be used to track rank declines and determine their root cause. Rank decreases often happen as a result of your rivals surpassing you, technical issues, penalties, and other similar factors. Early detection of this information allows you to quickly take the appropriate action to address the issue or, in the case of a technical fault or penalty, to prevent a recurrence of the issue.
Determine which keywords to prioritise by identifying a variety of keyword opportunities based on search volume, competition, search intent, and ranking pages by consistently monitoring your most critical keywords.
How to Select the Correct Keywords for SEO
Have a specific objective in mind: It’s critical to comprehend the value of your target keywords for your company before selecting them. Are you trying to increase leads or revenue for your company? to raise consumer involvement or brand awareness? Plan how to successfully produce quality leads by utilising particular keywords or themes based on the overall objective.
Recognize the various keyword kinds available to you when you attempt to rank your company highly in search results. Long-tail keywords and short tail keywords are most frequently employed (high search volume, high competitive rate, broad search intent, poor conversion rate) (low search volume, low competitive rate, specific search intent, high conversion rate).
Additionally, there are “evergreen” keywords and “fresh” keywords. Fresh keywords, as their name implies, are those that have an unexpectedly high search traffic yet are only relevant for a brief period of time.
For instance, when a brand-new film is released (like Avengers Infinity War in 2018) or a major event takes place (like the Coronavirus epidemic in 2020), terms associated with these events pop up and experience a massive increase in search volume. These keywords have a high conversion rate, a medium level of competition, and targeted search intent.
Evergreen keywords, as opposed to recent short tail keywords, are always relevant. Examples include phrases like “how to lose weight,” “advice for losing weight,” and similar expressions that incorporate important and perennial search terms.
From primary, secondary, and contextual keywords to intent-targeting keywords, geo-targeting keywords, customer-defining keywords, and so forth, there are numerous other types and categories into which keywords can be classified.
Examine search intent: Keyword research and your whole content marketing strategy should both take search intent into account. Fortunately, you don’t have to hazard a guess as to why people use particular keywords. You can discover the broad purpose of a given keyword and its applicability to your goods, services, or content offerings by performing those searches on Google on your own.
Check your competitors: Perform a competitor analysis to learn which of your target keywords are currently performing well for your competitors, as well as the websites that appear on the first page of Google for that keyword. Utilize this information to choose the themes and keywords that you should focus on developing the most content for in order to outrank your competitors who are currently ranking for them.
Utilize keyword research tools: There are many incredible SEO tools on the market that you can use to assist you generate more keyword suggestions as well as to check the search volume and projected traffic for phrases you’re thinking about.
Furthermore, tracking your site’s position in organic search results for target keywords takes time without the proper tools.
If you only periodically look at your rankings, it won’t be as much of a hardship. Few SEOs, however, are prepared to wait months to observe how their efforts are affecting rankings. It takes a lot of effort to manually verify Google’s search results for your chosen keywords when you monitor rankings so closely and frequently. An solution that is considerably easier, more effective, and more affordable is using a keyword tracking tool.
But which keyword tracking software need to you employ?
We conducted a survey of 107 SEOs to learn more about the keyword tracking tools they employ to monitor the performance of their websites and individual pages in organic search results.
The Best SEO Tools for Keyword Ranking
According to the quantity of suggestions, these are the top keyword tracking tools. We have alphabetically listed the tools that received an equal number of recommendations.
1. Ahrefs
Ahrefs received the most recommendations out of all the keyword tracking tools on this list, totaling 31.
Ahrefs is a simple tool to use, according to Alayna Okerlund of Best Company, to monitor your keyword ranks. You can obtain a complete list of all organic keywords for each page on your website, and it gives you a thorough picture of keyword movements and new keywords for which you are ranking.
Other respondents gave a variety of explanations for why Ahrefs is their preferred keyword tracking software:
Many respondents also mentioned that Ahrefs is their preferred option because it enables you to keep track of keyword rankings and use other beneficial SEO tools.
Paul Teitelman of Paul Teitelman SEO Consulting says, “I’m already in Ahrefs every day looking at backlinks, and it’s fantastic to have one tool that you can trust for keyword rankings and backlink analysis.” Its keyword ranking tools have advanced significantly and are quite precise.
Additionally, all of the tools Ahrefs provides as part of its subscription, according to Abhijith VM of Geek’s Framework, make planning simpler:
The ability to display SERP characteristics like site links, image packs, and local packs, as well as the option to report ranks based on geography and browser language, makes it easier for us to grasp the impact that a keyword’s position will have on our website.
It’s important to note that some SEOs believe Ahrefs’ rank tracking feature to be a shortcoming. Because Ahrefs only refreshes every 3–7 days, Ryan Prior of Marketing Arsenal does not suggest it as a rank tracking tool. The vast majority of SEOs check their rankings every day, so that’s something to keep in mind. Also check spy competitors tools
2. SEMrush
With 30 total recommendations, SEMrush was the second-most-recommended keyword tracking tool, trailing only Ahrefs by one. This is another keyword tracking tools.
Colin Mosier of JSL Marketing & Web Design states, “I use SEMrush on a daily basis to track both our keywords and our clients’ keywords.
“We utilise SEMrush to choose the keywords to focus on for the campaign before we launch it. The monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, cost per click, and other information are all available to us.
SEMRush enables us to enter the keywords into a tracking application that monitors the rankings, visibility, and average traffic from the keywords once we’ve decided which ones to target.
Overall, I recommend SEMrush since it is very user-friendly and has a variety of tools that enable thorough keyword tracking and optimization, according to Mosier.
Other respondents gave a range of explanations for why SEMrush is their preferred tool, including:
SEMrush is simple to use and reasonably priced, according to Jonathan Aufray of Growth Hackers. “You can check 10 URLs for free during the trial period, and the paid version is reasonably priced. Both SEO and SEM (Google Ads) can be done with it.
It is a complete SEO tool. You may examine your backlinks, your competitors’ ranks, and much more in addition to keyword rankings, according to Aufray.
3. Google Search Console
Google Search Console received eight votes, placing it as the second-most-recommended keyword tracking tool.
According to James Green of Offer To Close, Google Search Console is the only keyword tracking tool he use. In addition to having access to its own data, Google is also able to take into consideration the variations in search brought on by tailored search results.
For its accuracy, Google Search Console is used by several respondents:
The most accurate tool is Google Search Console, which also happens to be totally free (Kris Gunnars, Search Facts)
- “Rank is difficult to track, however one of the most reliable tools for using for tracking most SEO indicators is Google Search Console” (Alice Stevens, Best Company)
- “I used Ahrefs for keyword tracking, but after conducting an audit, I discovered that many of the listed keyword ranks were false. The results were significantly more accurate once I switched to Google Search Console (McCall Robison, Best Company)
- “It is the only tool that provides accurate rankings and click-through information. The majority of the others display your overall rankings and projected traffic” (Brooks Manley, Engenius)
This is another keyword tracking tools. According to Casey Bryan of Grand Cru Digital, “Within the Performance report, you can see what keywords are causing your website to show up on Google search result pages, along with their click-through rates and average placements.” You can change the date range to view a website’s performance throughout a specific time period.
Additionally, Dale Broadhead of Conversion Hut claims that integrating Google Analytics with Google Search Console is a fantastic tool to monitor keyword rankings:
“By doing this, you’ll be able to analyse the keywords that are bringing visitors to your website much more thoroughly. You can learn more about the click-generating devices and nations, as well as impression and click-through rates for specific search queries.
Although Google Search Console already has all of this information, Broadhead notes that Google Analytics makes it much simpler to examine the data.
4. AccuRanker
According to Powerphrase’s Newaz Chowdhury, “I’d suggest using AccuRanker.” It’s the fastest rank tracker in the business, and it’s fairly accurate.
“AccuRanker has a fantastic user experience for an SEO tool,” affirms Amrita Jaswal of RestroApp. Key indicators can be understood without having to wade through extensive data lists.
And Signity Solutions’ Priyanka Mehra provides a long list of justifications for promoting AccuRanker:
- “Its ranks roughly resemble the results you’d get from manual Google searches.”
- “Browser and location-based keyword rankings are available to view.”
- “You can add an infinite digit of domains and give your clients and team members access.”
- “Segmenting and filtering your data to target specific datasets is simple.”
- “Changes in your prior keyword rankings can be reviewed with ease.”
- “Their tag cloud and landing page capabilities make it simple to organise vast keyword data.”
5. Moz
With Moz’s keyword ranking tools, Colibri Digital Marketing’s Andrew McLoughlin claims, “We have had great success.” “Our process is much streamlined by the automated checking and reporting, and the data are fairly trustworthy.”
According to Danny Peavey of One Week Website, Moz is “clear and easy” but also provides an in-depth analysis of what’s working and what isn’t, as well as recommendations for development.
According to Alex Vale of Attio, “Moz is a terrific tool for tracking keyword ranks across numerous search engines and locations.” This is another keyword tracking tools.
In addition to being the market leader and maintaining the largest keyword database in the world, Vale advises using it since it offers precise keyword quantities and ranking challenges for keyword research.
“Moz can do so much across the entire SEO/keyword lifecycle: locate keyword ideas, track rankings, identify long-tail keyword markets, find featured snippet chances, and do site audits,” says Jordan Daly of ADK Group.
6. GrowthBar
GrowthBar was the next-most-recommended keyword tracking programme. Among the advantages and characteristics stated, there was enthusiasm for the tool’s use, attractive design, and price in comparison to alternative solutions.
Because it offers keyword research to me when I’m already on Google, GrowthBar is one of my favourite keyword tracking tools. Adam Enfroy comments, “I enjoy the tool’s integrated design and how simple it is to track fresh keyword ideas, rivals, and traffic numbers in one spot.
Dean Ramadan of Wheel says, “I started using GrowthBar just a few months ago, and now I can’t image managing SEO and keyword tracking without it. You can access your keyword tracking dashboard immediately from the SERP, and it’s quite simple to use.
“You can simultaneously track a number of keywords and track several websites over time. It offers a gorgeous dashboard that lets you keep track of your ranking position as well as the typical word count of the first page of search results and how difficult it is to rank for a certain query. Simply put, it greatly simplifies your life and enables immediate action.
Your Google Chrome extension can be upgraded by GrowthBar to become a potent SEO analysis tool. You may perform keyword research, position tracking, competitor analysis, and much more with this small extension. Anyone who wishes to rank higher in search results and increase their organic traffic must use this addon (Sandeep Mallya of 99Signals). Also check Taboola
“GrowthBar has less clutter than other keyword tracking tools, therefore I use it to examine our keyword ranks every day. It’s simple to look at and utilise. I quickly receive what I require. Additionally, I could check ranks again at any time, when in other tools, I could only do so once a day. The element that I enjoy the most is that GrowthBar also suggests additional keywords I might target depending on the ones I am currently focusing on, which makes it simpler for me to plan our content strategy (Adrian Crisostomo of SEO Hacker)
7. STAT
This is another keyword tracking tools. If you don’t mind paying a membership fee, Emily Banks of Inseev Interactive advises strongly considering STAT for a thorough keyword tracking tool. STAT enables you to monitor tens of thousands of keywords per day across numerous marketplaces and continents.
“You can discover more about your target audience and their hobbies by acquiring a thorough perspective of the most relevant keywords dictating your market’s specialty,” says the author.
According to Banks, “you may also find trends in the data by sorting based on different qualifiers like SERP attributes, rank position, or URL—actions not offered by many free keyword tracking tools.
Additionally recommending STAT is Tom Donohoe of Tom Donohoe Consulting: “It enables you to scale keyword rank tracking effectively and affordably. The API, which enables you to take the data and save it in your own database, is the best feature. Data visualisation is another feature of the user interface for ad hoc analysis.
In his nine years as an SEO, Steve Toth of SEO Notebook claims that STAT is by far the best tool he has ever used. When you are tracking hundreds of keywords, it enables you to pull back from tracking individual terms and look at the wider picture.
It features a special function called’share-of-voice,’ which examines keyword sets (could be 10 keywords, could be 10,000). It examines each keyword’s position in the SERPs, giving higher-ranking terms in SERPs with greater traffic more weight, and vice versa. Then. You are given the top 10 websites based on those weighted scores.
Additionally, it keeps track of these shifts week to week. Therefore, you are observing the development of large topic clusters rather than just a single keyword. It’s awesome! ”
Its user interface has a Screaming Frog-like quality to it, but I find that to be part of its beauty. Although the visualisations don’t appear to have been produced by a graphic designer, the manner in which the data has been combined speaks for itself.
“Moz purchased STAT in late 2018, but little has changed since then. I sincerely hope that continues. You can also track your rivals if you’re tracking more than a thousand keywords, Toth advises.
8. Advanced Web Ranking (AWR)
According to Julien Raby of Nerf Gun Center, who has been handling SEO for 15 years, no other tool is more trustworthy than Advanced Web Ranking. It is really inexpensive and trustworthy. I used to be able to automatically email ranking information to my clients when I managed an SEO service.
Also included is a valuable metric known as visibility score. It can be challenging to determine whether or not we are improving globally because search rankings are constantly changing. This measure (which is monitored every week) combines all search positions across all search engines into a single, straightforward number.
I’ve been using Advanced Web Ranking for years, and I adore it, says Kenzi Wood of Kenzi Writes. You can automatically pull client reports, and it’s simple to understand.”
9. Pro Rank Tracker
Kyle Sanders of Complete SEO writes, “I’ve tested practically every keyword tool available and found Pro Rank Tracker to be the best accurate for tracking keyword ranks by location, area, device, etc.” This is another keyword tracking tools.
The great degree of variation in local search, where location and device type can seriously skew results, causes the majority of keyword rank trackers to be inaccurate. When we spot-check against ranks we can replicate manually, Pro Rank Tracker is consistently the most accurate, according to Sanders.
Pro Rank Tracker is another tool recommended by Jordon Goodman of Blue Digital: “The best feature is the historical data that you receive along with the phrase’s current rankings, allowing you to compare how the keyword is performing.”
10. SE Ranking
According to Dan Christensen of Pest Rank, “We have explored a variety of tools for rank tracking, but what we found was that we just needed something simple and trustworthy without all the bells and whistles.” We profited from SE Ranking’s fantastic lifetime deals for their rank tracking service.
They provide reports and audits, provide guest links for clients, and are always adding new fascinating services, according to Christensen.
SE Ranking is also recommended by Anastasiia Khlystova of HelpCrunch, who notes that “they have rich databases for different countries, not simply the U.S. Since I virtually always monitor my keyword ranks, it’s critical for me to receive updates in close to real time, and SE Ranking more than meets that need.
With their Website Audit being my all-time favourite SEO feature, they provide much more than simply keyword tracking, according to Khlystova.
11. SEO PowerSuite – Rank Tracker
This is another keyword tracking tools. According to John Donnachie of ClydeBank Media, “Far and away, one of the greatest rank tracker tools I have used—and continue to use—is the Rank Tracker application that comes with the SEO PowerSuite bundle.”
It’s a fantastic tool that works flawlessly, has an easy-to-use interface, and can handle a lot of keywords while quickly producing useful data. We’ve been using it for about six months at our company, and we really appreciate the whole package,” Donnachie says.
It’s equally precise as paid competitors, plus it has a free edition that contains an infinite number of keywords, says Rob Heywood of Audana NW. Because you cannot preserve your position history in the free edition, you must copy it to Excel or Google Sheets in order to keep a record.
12. SERPWatcher by Mangools
Carlo Barajas of Surface SEO says, “I’ve been using SERPWatcher by Mangools for the last few years, and it’s great. It is a component of their relatively affordable SEO tools, which enables you to track a greater number of keywords for a lower cost.
The ‘Dominance Index’ function in the tracker effectively calculates your overall visibility for your target keywords. Last but not least, the interface makes it simple to annotate the graph to record things like verified Google algorithm modifications and similar items, according to Barajas.
Irena Zobniow of Insightland claims, “I use SERPWatcher by Mangools every day.” “You may view changes in rankings, monthly search volume averages, and traffic projections. I urge every SEO specialist to use it! ” This is another keyword tracking tools. Also check reasons to hire professional web developer
13. Hike
According to Kevin D’Arcy of ThinkFuel Marketing, “No one tool is suitable for everyone.” “For all of our clients, we use SEMrush on an internal basis. We consider it to be quite effective, and they have the best capacity to link their keyword rank tracking with their other SEO tools.
“Having said that, I wouldn’t advise a new user to utilise it. It might be frightening. I would suggest Hike if you’re searching for a fantastic tool that is simple to set up and utilise.
14. Keyword Hero
This is another keyword tracking tools. According to Branko Kral of Chosen Data, “Keyword Hero’s semantic algorithm helps you see over 90% of your keywords.” “It’s like going back in time, only better, to the days when Google shared that information publicly.
For you to link keyword rankings to a Google Analytics goal, the tool produces a Google Analytics property. Stellar.”
15. Monitor Backlinks
According to Sean Dudayev of Frootful Marketing, “Monitor Backlinks is the only programme I would suggest for keyword tracking.” It’s the most user-friendly SEO tracking tool I’ve found, and I’ve been using it for more than six years. This is another keyword tracking tools.
It is a straightforward dashboard that displays your keyword rankings, average keyword position changes over time, and how those rankings are affecting traffic as well as how your link-building efforts are affecting both.
“You can monitor your links, traffic, and keywords from a single dashboard. This makes it quite simple to determine which aspect of your SEO plan is working the best. Additionally, it displays how keyword rankings have changed over time.
You Might Need to Perform Some Manual Checking Even With a Tool.
The precision of the keyword tracking tools they utilise was mentioned by a number of our respondents as one of their most prized characteristics. Even with a precise tool, you might still need to perform some manual double-checking. Actually, 57.9% of our respondents double-check the ranks that their tracking tools provide.
However, a few people advised employing a variety of tools if you don’t want to bother with manually reviewing your ranks.
For instance, Bridges Strategies & Digital Marketing’s Jake Fisher claims, “We think SEMrush is good. However, we like having a variety of sources, so we contrast Ahrefs and Moz findings.
Additionally, Cai Simpson of Victory Digital states that using multiple keyword tracking tools is advised owing to the localisation of search engine results. While one instrument may place you in a certain position, another may provide an entirely other outcome.
According to Simpson, using SEMRush, Advanced Web Ranking, Ahrefs, and Google Search Console together will get the greatest results. Automating this method is essential for tracking average keyword rankings.
The best rank tracking tool for you will depend on your needs.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each of the online rank tracking tools we’ve studied.
We’ll offer our recommendations for the top keyword tracking tools based on a variety of circumstances to assist you in making your decision. Only the tools that have earned at least two suggestions from the people who took our survey are being taken into consideration.
- If you’re just starting out, go with Google Search Console.
- You should also use Google Search Console if you want a free tool.
- SE Ranking or SEMrush are the best options if you’re an individual or small business.
- Choose SERPWatcher, SEMrush, or Ahrefs if you want the greatest dashboard.
- Pick ProRankTracker, SE Ranking, Advanced Web Ranking, AgencyAnalytics, or SEMrush if you are an agency owner.