How To Monitor Keyword Rankings
Imagine having a website that doesn’t attract any traffic. You’ll agree that it defeats the entire purpose of having one. If prospective customers are unaware of the site, you need to fight for a top spot among Google searches. That means monitoring search engine rankings to check how well each of your pages is performing in the SERPs.
You should know that your website won’t appear among the top searches with zero effort on your part. An effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy to improve your website visibility is vital. And keywords are the cornerstone of any effective SEO strategy. The keywords you use in your web content will determine where you’ll be on the search engine rankings.
So, how do you go about monitoring keyword rankings? Technological advancements won’t leave you hanging. You have many SEO tools and software you can use to track your keyword ranking. But what is keyword monitoring, and why must you do it?
What Is Keyword Monitoring?
No doubt, as a website owner, you may need clear definitions for several digital marketing terms. For instance, what is Google search console? And what is keyword monitoring? Since our focus is on the latter, we'll expand on that further. We’ve already mentioned how keywords are the heart of an SEO strategy. But what are they? They are specific words that ordinary people use when searching for content on the web. If you expect Google to pick up your website, you need your content to contain these keywords.
As you can imagine, knowing the right keywords for your niche is the first step. Monitoring your keyword rankings is necessary, especially if you're in a competitive industry. Rankings tend to fluctuate dramatically due to several reasons, such as algorithm updates, changes in competitors' websites, and search engine penalties. Whatever the reason, your task is to be on top of the situation and jump on any ranking drops. That's where effective keyword monitoring comes in.
Keyword monitoring is an all-encompassing process that involves managing your keywords, tracking their performance, and identifying ranking opportunities to boost traffic. In a perfect world, you'd want to rank on the first page of Google searches. You'll soon realize that even if you scoop the number one spot on Google searches, you won't stay there forever for reasons mentioned before. The best you can do is to monitor your keyword position and continuously work to improve your rankings.
Keyword Ranking Monitoring Tools
Before you monitor keywords, the first step is to come up with the correct terms. Thankfully, there's no guesswork involved here. There are several keyword research tools you can use to boost your search engine presence outlined here:
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs has to be among the most advanced keyword tracking tools you can use. It's effective at monitoring your keywords position and highlighting rank drops. Apart from tracking keywords, the tool helps you analyze your competitors and research content ideas. Call it a one-stop shop for the SEO marketer.
- SEMrush: What you’ll like about SEMrush is that it's a multifunctional tool that can help you in several marketing areas. But for this article, we'll highlight how it's effective at discovering the best target keywords from your target audience. Once you have your set of keywords in the bag, the tool also helps you find paid keywords, track ranking, and observe the daily changes.
- Brand24: Brand24 uses extensive analytics to give you instant information on mentions of your brand across all social media platforms. The tool not only measures keyword performance but your website engagement on the internet. You might find this tool handy if you're hoping to broaden your social media reach as a business.
- Serpwatcher: This advanced keyword monitoring tool will benefit agencies more than any other business. Why? It not only tracks keywords rankings but monitors your search engine ranking appearance as a whole. Plus, you can track organic traffic and set automated reports for your convenience.
Conclusion
Navigating the digital marketing landscape is not for the faint-hearted. If you expect your business to thrive online, you must actively monitor its presence to establish whether it's indeed visible to your niche. Does it appear in the first result of relevant web searches? Tracking your site's keyword rankings is paramount to check whether it makes in on the first page of Google searches and stays there.