Semalt Explains How To Check Where Your Website Is Ranked
On the Internet, there is a race for the highest positions of websites in search results. Every website owner, regardless of whether it is an online store, blog, service or information website, strives to ensure that his/her website occupies the highest places in the ranking.
This is a deliberate and necessary action because better visibility of the domain in search engines means more traffic, which in turn translates into an increase in the company's income. From this article, you will learn how to easily check the position of a website on Google for specific phrases, what tools you can use to monitor the position and what to do to increase the visibility of your website. I invite you to read it!
What is a Google Rank?
The position of a website on Google is its place in the search results for a given keyword (phrase). The search engine presents the results as a list of pages - Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The sum of results usually consists of paid advertisements, news from information portals, organic results, map results, graphics, videos, and product offers, all conditioned by the type and form of the phrase entered in the search engine.
The position in the SERP depends on a large number of factors, and the Google algorithm is responsible for creating the rankings - check for updates. In fact, not all the criteria the algorithm uses to rank websites in search results are known. In addition, the algorithm is reviewed and updated from time to time, which can cause unforeseen reshuffles and changes in the rankings.
Although Google keeps most of its activities in the strictest confidence, thanks to years of observation and research of people related to SEO, we know today the most important factors affecting the position of pages in the search engine, and thus, we have a real opportunity to "help" it achieve better results.
Checking the position on Google, and key phrases
To determine the position of a website on Google, you need to determine the key phrases for which it should appear in the search engine rankings. Under this enigmatic term, there are passwords that users enter into the search engine. Knowing this data, we can determine the exact position of the page. The use of key phrases may refer to general aspects, e.g. shoes, specific ones, e.g. running shoes, branded ones, i.e. those mentioning the name of the company in the query, and local ones, e.g. London restaurant.
Key phrases can be one word or a combination of words. Often, especially in very competitive industries, companies use key phrases from the so-called " Long Tail ".), i.e. precisely defined, and targeted at a specific query, e.g. shoes for running on grass, which allows for more effective positioning of the website for keywords even more tailored to the expectations of users, and thus, achieving better results.
In general, it is impossible to check the position of a page on Google without knowing for what keyword it is visible in the search engine. If you have a problem with determining what keywords your website is displayed for, you can use tools that enable such analysis, e.g. Google Search Console or The Dedicated SEO Dashboard.
Each of the key phrases has a certain number of searches, usually given in a monthly range. It may vary depending on trends or seasonality. This is important data with the help of which you can determine the strategy of your actions.
What does a high Google ranking give you?
As I mentioned earlier, the battle for the top positions is in full swing. There is a lot to fight for, as in almost all cases, it is the first pages that display traffic that has a direct impact on the potential earnings or popularity of their owner.
Users prefer to view the results from the first page, so, naturally, everyone strives to be in the TOP10. However, does the first position in the SERPs guarantee the highest click-through rate? Not necessarily. It turns out that a lot depends on the category of the query. In some situations, a page ranked 2nd, 3rd or even lower may achieve a higher CTR than the first-place result. Another interesting fact is that the rate of visits to pages occupying the first positions differs depending on whether we use a mobile device or a desktop for searching.
In any case, if your page is ranked high, a user is much more likely to visit it and convert later than if it is ranked low.
Website position on Google - how to check it
You already know what is the position of the page on Google, the importance of the right selection of key phrases and what you can achieve thanks to the high position of the page in search engines. It's time to learn how to check where your website is really located.
To ensure that your page appears in the results, it must be indexed by Google. You can easily check it with the command site:your-page.com and if the search results obtained by such a query contain your address, it means that the page is indexed and you can start checking the position on which it is located.
You can also use the Google Search Console tool, where you will get the desired information in a few simple steps.
Monitoring the position of websites is very important to check the effects of their positioning, react to sudden and unforeseen changes, as well as to obtain the necessary information to plan a further optimization strategy. In such a dynamic industry, not regularly checking your Google rankings can have disastrous consequences, so it's worth staying up to date.
Methods of checking the page's position in search results
- manual position check
- tool for administrators of Google Search Console pages
- specialized tools offering more functionality
Let's go step by step through the above-mentioned methods.
Manual position check
Manually checking your position on Google is probably the most tedious and time-consuming option, but it is still popular, especially with owners of small websites and blogs. For your efforts to produce the most credible results, you must remember to sign out of all Google tools and applications. It is also a good idea to disable GPS location, as depending on your location or the addition of location data to your keywords, you may get different results than in reality. I recommend doing the whole operation in the browser's private mode (incognito mode).
Further action is trivial - you enter the keyword you are interested in in the search engine and comb the results in the search of your website.
Manual monitoring of the website's position, due to many factors related to Google's adjustment of results to the individual preferences of users, is not a fully reliable method. Things that make it easier for us to use the search engine daily (such as determining the location or search history) in the case of analysis and constant monitoring of the position can give misleading and unreliable results.
Tool for administrators of Google Search Console pages
Few website owners can imagine their daily functioning without using Google Search Console. This powerful tool helps you easily determine the average position of a page over a selected period. However, to properly interpret the results available in the GSC, it must be properly configured.
The tool allows you to check the position of individual keywords on which your domain ranks, as well as the position of a given page by averaging the place of all terms for which it is displayed in search results. Of course, properly selected options (i.e. the key phrase + address you are interested in) will allow you to determine the average position of this particular page. The tool also allows you to easily check the average position of a phrase.
Specialized tools offering more functionality
If you are driven by pure curiosity, in the long run, you do not feel the need to carefully analyze the position of your pages on Google, and you treat your online activity strictly amateurishly, then free tools to monitor the position of individual keywords will be enough for you. One of the most popular is The Dedicated SEO Dashboard, where by entering your password and URL, you can access information about your current position on Google in a few seconds.
Professional tools for monitoring the position on Google are usually used by SEO companies, but nothing stands in the way (maybe apart from the necessary fees) for each user to use them for private purposes.
Thanks to the extensive possibilities, position checking is available for a large number of keywords. In addition, in almost every case, there is a history of positions on which the page was displayed, various reports, charts and access to other interesting and useful information.
Examples of tools for Google position monitoring: The Dedicated SEO Dashboard.
How to position the website?
You can already check where your website is in the SERP. It's time to find out what to do to reach the top positions in search engines!
It is worth knowing that you can position your website on your own so that it reaches satisfactory positions in search results, but it will require a lot of work and specialist knowledge. You can always entrust us with your website positioning. Our Semalt Agency effectively implements internet marketing for service websites and stores.
The basic element that allows for effective positioning is the optimization of the website. I have written about keywords before. Knowing them is essential because it is on their basis that you will position your website. This is where knowledge of the industry and... competition will come in handy. If you know the phrases for which your competitors are visible in the search results, you will be able to quickly approach them, and in time, perhaps even overtake them in the race for position.
Title and description
These meta tags are nothing but the title and description of the page that shows up in the SERPs. Make sure to include keywords in the meta title and a detailed description of the page content along with a call to action (CTA - Call To Action) in the meta description. This will allow for effective positioning and will also increase the CTR.
Headlines
The hierarchy and arrangement of headings are important both from the perspective of Google and the user who uses the website. When positioning your website yourself, make sure that there is only one H1 heading on each subpage. When planning the layout and content of the headlines, do not forget about the appropriate use of key phrases in them.
Website address
Another important aspect that you can influence and which will help you in positioning yourself is a friendly URL. It must be logical, indicate to the user where he/she is currently located, and also refer directly to this place (parent category, subpage). Definitely avoid random numbers or punctuation marks. Separate the individual parts of the address with "-".
Content
Your website should contain only valuable and unique content. Make sure your descriptions, articles, and any other content is unique not only to other sites but also within your domain. The easiest way to check the uniqueness of a text is to type it into the Google search box. If the results do not duplicate - congratulations, from now on the site you are working on has gained unique content!
All kinds of content available on the website is a field to show off also when it comes to the keywords already mentioned many times. Appropriate saturation of content with them is another point in the difficult task of optimization. Be careful, it's easy to make a mistake here! The content must be natural, it must primarily be of value to the user. By artificially using keywords or other "Google" treatments, you can bring your website the opposite of the intended effect.
Link Building
Backlinks are one of the most important elements when it comes to the position of a website in search engines. However, for your site to take possession of the "power" flowing from them, they must be obtained only from good sources. Thematically related pages, the right attribute or anchor - all this will ensure success. Shortcuts and hundreds of backlinks won't work these days. Building a valuable Link Building base is a long and quite complicated process, so you have to be patient and learn the rules of good linking.
These are just some of the elements that you need to focus on when trying to position a website yourself.
Summary
To effectively acquire customers, readers or users, your website must be visible in search results. Knowledge of current positions is essential to plan an effective optimization strategy. Especially with extensive websites, position analysis does not have to be easy.
However, it is worth making the effort to know and constantly monitor your "place in line", which will allow you to take appropriate actions to increase visibility in the SERPs or react early enough in the event of sudden drops.