SEO without SERP tracking is like driving with a blindfold on. You might hit the accelerator, but who’s to say you’re ever going to reach your destination?
But what is SERP tracking?
It is the process of monitoring a website’s performance on the search engine results page, typically focused on which keywords it’s ranking for. The process lets you identify your current SEO standing, so you can future-proof your strategy and ensure better ROI later.
With information extracted from tracking the SERPs, you can easily take data-driven decisions and optimize for better rankings.
What is SERP Tracking & Why It Matters In The New Search Era?
SERP tracking refers to the process of assessing a website’s search engine rankings on a regular basis to monitor the performance of target keywords. In general, when a brand is doing well, it will show up for relevant queries in their niche. Neil Patel describes it as:
“SERP tracking, or SERP monitoring, involves analyzing a website’s ranking in the search engine results pages over time.”
These rankings can fluctuate due to numerous reasons, like:
- Website upgrades or major modifications.
- Your competitors doing better than you.
- Google core updates and algorithmic changes that may penalize your website.
Tracking SERP positions allows you to keep a check on the kind of keywords you’re ranking for, as well as their ranking positions. You can use the process to gauge signals and gaps in your SEO strategy, and plan accordingly to push for better performance. However, SERP tracking is not only limited to analyzing keyword positions, but is also a good technique to gain insights into profitable content optimization and backlinking techniques used by competitors. When done right, this process can be a valuable resource for:
- Identifying what kind of queries your website pages are appearing for.
- Exploring which positions you currently possess for your target keywords.
- Assessing which strategies are working for your top competitors, so you can replicate them to improve rankings.
- Stay up-to-date with SERP features and modifications for your most important keywords.
Regular SERP tracking not only helps visualize ranking performance, but also predicts a website’s click-through rate. According to Backlinko, the first organic result on Google’s search results page has a 27.6% CTR. That’s considerably high and indicates an exceptional capability to generate capital.
But the first result isn’t always what you see at the top of the page. You may see several other things like sponsored listings, AIOs, or Featured Snippets. For example, for the keyword “how to paint wood furniture,” the top result is an AI Overview.
SERP tracking in 2025 is all about adapting to the shifting SERP layouts and results. As we optimize for the dynamic search era, it’s also important to keep an eye out on the Featured Snippets, Local listings, People Also Ask, Google Maps, and Local Packs.
Featured Snippets alone take up 8.6% of clicks for queries where they appear. Let’s take an example for the keyword “how ai is used in speech recognition.” It shows a Featured Snippet ranking in zero position. Niche-focused SERP monitoring lets you visualize which SERP feature you should be optimizing for when targeting a specific keyword in your industry.
Source: https://seranking.com/blog/featured-snippets/
The next commonly seen feature on the SERP is the visual results. Many search queries result in image or video snippets that appear like this.
Google’s video snippets have the capability to yield up to 6.4% click-through rate. They’re likely to appear for queries where the user can extract more value from a step-by-step guide in a video format.
Keywords-focused SERP tracking serves to analyze if the type of content you’re creating is suited for your target keywords. It helps determine the user intent behind targeted searches, so you can better address those queries. Analyze which type of content ranks for particular keywords, and replicate it in your SEO strategy to generate organic traffic.
Let’s review the example above. The keyword “how to fix tyre puncture bike” reveals videos in top results. This suggests that the most effective content format for this keyword is video.
Moreover, since the Google and Reddit partnership, it became evident that forum posts and discussions will be featured more frequently on the search engine results page. As you monitor SERP, you’ll realize that more and more forum discussions are displayed in the search listings. Consider the keyword “best cities to visit in japan.” If a Reddit thread appears at the top of the page, it signals that brands need to engage in community conversations to effectively target this keyword.
To sum up, when you consistently monitor search engine results for target keywords, you come across valuable insights that drive important decisions. It lets you analyze what type of content you should be producing when pursuing a specific query. From rich results to Video/Image snippets, AIOs and Local results, the SERP is full of possibilities. But only with the use of the right optimization techniques can you obtain top positions.
When Do You Need Local SERP Tracking?
Local SERP tracking refers to area-targeted monitoring of keywords and competitors. This is important for local service and supply-based businesses — such as home-based businesses and physical stores — that operate within a restricted geographic location.
Let’s review the SERPs for the keyword “wood furniture in orlando”. Here, the top result is a map listing highlighting best-reviewed places selling wood furniture in Orlando.
This type of search indicates that the user is trying to explore businesses focused on providing services in a specific area. Therefore, the results mirror the same search intent by showing Map Listings, and other local features like:
- Local Pack
- Knowledge Panels
- Google Posts
- Local Finder, and more.
Tracking the SERPs for your niche keywords also helps figure out which local features should be optimized for in order to appear in the top results. For example, a wood furniture business in Orlando competing with Artisan Furniture, Exotic Wood Depot, and Fama Creations should establish a Google Business Profile, register on GMB, build local backlinks, and actively manage online reviews.
The Importance Of Tracking SERPs: Why Should You Do This?
Google distributes top positions based on a number of ranking factors specified in the Google’s ranking systems guidelines. But how do you track these positions? By monitoring the SERPs on a regular basis.
Tracking SERPs can be very useful when trying to visualize how a query is being addressed on the search engine. Getting a dynamic view of the SERPs for your niche queries is a great place to start, particularly when you want to optimize for search engine features and top ten listings.
Moreover, real-time SERP tracking keeps you updated on keyword fluctuations as they happen. You can put that against historical data to see what kind of SEO practices result in rise and decline of rankings.
Simply put, SERP tracking is a mandatory process of search engine optimization for a website. It can be utilized for multiple purposes like reviewing progress, exploring competitors, discovering best practices, and strategizing on-page and off-page SEO.
Monitor Your SEO Performance
SERP tracking gives you a clear picture of your overall SEO performance. This includes current rankings, and changes in positions. In most cases, when a competitor outranks you, it’s an indication that there is a gap in your on-page or off-page SEO that needs to be addressed.
Let’s use an example here. At Link Building HQ, we track keyword positions on Ahrefs for our most relevant queries. For the query “white link building”, it was noted that the website position declined from 4th to 6th. Tracking this helped us timely diagnose and address the reason. Thankfully, we were able to reclaim our 4th position on the SERP with a few changes in content and obtaining more backlinks.
Examine Your Competitors
Your competitors are the ones pushing you down the ranking charts with a better SEO strategy. That is why, it’s essential to keep an eye on them by tracking their positions on the keywords you are going after. SERP tracking serves as a valuable method to identify your business adversaries and beat them at their own game. How? By replicating their success tactics.
Assess how they have optimized on-page factors like meta tags, URLs, and content structure to identify what is working on SERP. These rising stars can be your strongest competitors but also your ultimate success playbook — all with the use of effective competitor tracking and monitoring techniques.
Minimize The Impact Of Algorithm Updates
Google algorithm is constantly upgrading and evolving, with updates such as HCU, Panda, and BERT shifting the face of the SERP like never before. SERP ranking can help mitigate the impact of unprecedented algorithm changes with automated SERP reporting.
Turn on alerts for sudden ranking drops and address any issues proactively to reclaim your positions. Consistent monitoring lets you initiate firefighting before the fire spreads too far, giving you enough time to improve your SEO approach and customize it to the latest standards.
Identify & Address Dropping Keyword Rankings
Adapting to the shifting behavior of search engine algos and ranking dynamics is contingent on how well you monitor the SERPs. Regular checks ensure you’re always one step ahead in identifying and managing a ranking crisis.
With SERP tracking, you instantly get intel on your dropping pages. The drop may be attributed to several reasons like:
- Site migration
- Thin or outdated content
- Loss of backlinks
- Major alterations in content
- Increased competition
A significant decline may be indicative of the fact that you need to re-evaluate your SEO strategy. With a clear picture of which pages and keywords have suffered, you can effectively devise a plan to kickstart the recovery phase.
How To Track the SERPs for Data-Driven SEO Decisions
Spotting wins, abandoning flop tactics, & ranking higher is only possible with a data-driven approach. SERP tracking gives you a complete historical overview of your search positions, so you can assess which strategies work and which ones don’t.
But how to perform SEO SERP tracking? Let’s answer this question below.
Manual Assessment & Reporting
While the preferred method for SERP tracking involves the use of SEO tools, SERP analysis will always be incomplete without manual tracking. The process for manually tracking performance on SERP is easy and can be done using one of two strategies:
Keyword Search: Insert target keywords in the search bar and analyze the results.
Domain Search: Enter a domain in the search engine to analyze which website pages show up. These are likely your top-performing pages.
Why is manual tracking effective? It gives you a one-on-one perspective of how your website is viewed by the search engine itself, rather than relying on a third-party view. Searching the web for the keywords you want to target and examining all competing pages can unearth important information. With data extracted directly from the SERP, you can make decisions about which optimization strategies should be employed on your website to rank for specific keywords.
To get a wider view of the SERP, consider using the 100-page display on Google search. Previously, this could be changed in the settings, but Google has removed this option from search settings. What you can do is add “&num=100” at the end of the search URL to view the top 100 results for a search query.
To check if you are ranking in any of these positions, use the Ctrl+F short key to search for your domain. You can use this technique to track any keyword you are interested in.
Although reviewing every single keyword separately will take a lot of time, integrating manual search with a web scraper can automate and expedite the process. It will help gather and store search results for a selected list of niche keywords. Learn the step by step process to track your website on GSC using our comprehensive guide.
Monitoring With SERP Tracking Tools
SERP tracking tools are perfect for those who want to assess granular search attributes to gain an edge over their competitors. Many modern SERP tracking software and tools are designed to catch the slightest shift in ranking positions across a number of targeted search engines.
There are different tools you can use to carry out the process.
Google Search Console
Google’s OG Google Search Console (GSC) is the best free SERP tracker. This tool not only gives an overview of your website’s positions for niche keywords, but also evaluates which keywords are driving the most traffic. Once you learn to interpret this data correctly, it can be extremely valuable in pinpointing weaknesses and exploring opportunities areas.
Register your website on Google Search Console. Select the property you want to assess, and go to Performance Report. Scroll down to find Queries. This section highlights the top keywords on your website with metrics like clicks and impressions.
This tool also provides valuable insights into technical SEO factors, like indexation errors and HTTPS status. You can assess Core Web Vitals for any page and review the performance of your website’s mobile and desktop versions.
Third Party Tracking Tools
Third party tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz play a primary role in tracking historical trends, reviewing performance lags, and reporting position fluctuations. You can use them for enhanced capabilities when researching keywords, exploring competitors and monitoring domain stats over time.
With third party tools, you can get keyword data alongside a complete picture of the new search features like Featured Snippets, AI Overviews, Image /Video Snippets, and Local Pack. How to assess, analyze, and report this data? Get a complete breakdown in our recent blog that shows the step-by-step process to use rank tracking tools.
Moreover, you can practically search for any given keyword and assess top-ranking positions to discover competitors. Further analysis of those competitors will give you a 360-degree overview of their SEO strategy, which you can replicate to gain an edge.
Conclusion:
To sum up, SERP tracking plays a pivotal role in sustaining your SEO strategy. By giving you a foundation to assess your current performance and predict success tactics, it works like a driving force to push your website forward on the SERP.
To successfully monitor search engine results pages for your target queries and competitors, it’s great to use a combination of third party tools and Google Search Console. Combined, these will give you insights into the search trends that matter!
