Organic Rank Tracker
Last updated
Last updated
This tool enables you to track keywords ranking in organic search results on Google or Bing. You can customize tracking for desktop or mobile searches, as well as target specific locations. It also generates insightful reports, helping you compare your websiteβs performance against competitors.
You can access the tool from the Organic SERP menu, where youβll find an βAdd Rank Trackerβ button in the top-right corner.
After clicking the button, a modal will open. Letβs walk through the fields step by step.
Domain: Enter the target domain here, typically your websiteβs domain.
Keywords: Add a list of keywords you want to track, placing each keyword on a new line. Thereβs no limit to the number of keywords you can enter. You can add more keywords later.
Search Engine: Choose whether to track keywords on Google or Bing.
Location / Language: Select the location and language you are targeting. SEO Utils uses this selection to gather keyword metrics like CPC and search volume.
Geo Target: If youβd like to specify a more precise location, such as a city or state, enter it in this field. When a Geo Target is provided, SEO Utils will prioritize it over the selection from the Location / Language field.
Desktop Devices: Enabling this field simulates desktop devices when scraping SERP data. If disabled, SEO Utils will simulate mobile devices.
Rerun Every: Specify how often you want the tracker to run, in days. For example, set it to 1 for daily runs, 7 for weekly runs, or 0 for on-demand runs. The value can range from 0 to 30. Choose the frequency that fits your project budget and requirements.
You will need to leave the SEO Utils app open for scheduled runs to occur.
Just like the SERP Clustering tool, you can also select the method to scrape the SERP data. There are 3 options:
My Own IP: Uses your machineβs IP to scrape SERP data. This is suitable if youβre tracking only a few keywords. For larger keyword sets, consider using the Proxies or SERP API method.
Proxies: The best choice when tracking millions of keywords per month. Click here to learn how to set up a proxy.
SERP API: DataForSEO: Ideal for tracking hundreds to thousands of keywords per month. Youβll be charged an additional $0.60 per 1,000 keywords via the SERP API, with a pay-as-you-go model. Itβs affordable and easy to get started.
Important: To use the SERP API, you must have your own DataForSEO account. Renting API key services isn't viable because DataForSEO restricts certain endpoints that I utilized to implement the Queue mode. If multiple users rely on a rented API key from my account, it will slow down the process for everyone. For the quickest results, using your own DataForSEO account is the best approach.
When you choose the Proxies option, three additional fields help you scrape SERP more effectively.
Workers: Select the total number of workers to scrape SERP data. The more workers you choose, the faster the process will be, but it will also require more CPU power and proxy quality. You can enter 1-50 workers.
Request delay: Enter the number of seconds you wish to have between each request to scrape SERP data for keywords. The more delay time you set, the slower the process will be, but it will help you avoid being blocked by Google. Set '0' to scrape SERP data without any delay.
Back-off Time: Enter the number of seconds you wish to wait before retrying the failed scraping request. SEO Utils retries the request up to 3 times before skipping a keyword. The more back-off time you set, the slower the process will be, but it will help you avoid being blocked by Google. Set '0' to use the default back-off time.
My favorite setting when using rotating residential proxies is:
Workers: 10.
Request delay: 1.
Back-off time: 1 (sometimes 2 if I notice many failed requests).
Once all the fields are set up, please click the Add Tracker button.
At the top of the page, you will find all the essential information about the report, including the location, language, search engine, total keywords, and competitors. You can also hover over the updated date to see when the next run is scheduled.
You can always edit the report by clicking the pencil icon button.
To manage your keywords, simply click on the keyword count. This will redirect you to a page where you can add or remove keywords as needed.
You can update tags for several keywords at once by selecting them and using the "Update Tags" bulk action.
You can instruct SEO Utils to check rankings immediately after adding keywords by toggling the βRerun Tracker After Adding Keywordsβ option. If left off, the tool will check the rankings of new keywords during the next scheduled run.
By adding tags for keywords, youβll be able to tag and filter keywords for more efficient tracking and organization.
To check keyword metrics (Search Volume, CPC, KD, etc), you can simply select the keywords you want to check and run the bulk action: Check Keyword Metrics.
You can also click Analyze SERP bulk action, to pull valuable insights on the top 10-100 URLs, including:
Backlink count for each URL.
Total keywords each URL ranks for.
Estimated traffic each URL receives.
Domain rating (DR) and URL rating (UR) of each URL.
These insights empower you to assess competitor strengths and uncover opportunities to boost your own rankings.
You can also export SERP data of all keywords to view more metrics: Referring IPs, Referring Pages, Referring Main Domains, Broken Backlinks, etc
To manage your competitors, click on the competitors count. This will redirect you to a page where you can add or remove competitors as needed.
Once youβve added competitors, youβll be able to filter them using the Competitors Filter for more focused analysis.
SEO Utils automatically populates keyword ranking data for newly added competitors starting from the date you originally created the tracker, not just from the date you add competitors. This ensures you donβt lose any historical data.
In this tab, youβll be able to view the average ranking. The line chart displays how your keywords and competitors perform over time within a specified date range.
The below table also reflects the changes when you update the filters.
In the screenshot above, youβll see that the keyword βhαΊ‘t Δiα»uβ ranked at position 90 on Sep 24 (From Date) and improved to position 84 on Sep 30 (End Date), showing a gain of 6 positions. The green badge highlights this positive change in the keywordβs ranking. Conversely, if a keyword declines in ranking, the badge will appear red.
Important to know
If a keyword ranks outside the top 100, SEO Utils will display its position as β100+β in the position column.
If a keyword wasnβt added by a selected date, SEO Utils will display βββ, indicating no position data is available for that date.
If a keyword is outside the top 100 on the start date and then ranks within the top 100 by the end date, SEO Utils will display a green βNewβ badge. Conversely, if a keyword drops out of the top 100 by the end date, it will show a red βLostβ badge.
A keyword can rank for multiple pages within the same domain. SEO Utils only displays the best position. To view other positions, please switch to the Pages tab.
Pro Tips
To see your keyword ranking performance over the last 7 days, set the End Date to the current date and the From Date to 7 days ago. You can then observe keyword performance by examining the Diff column.
You can also click on a specific keyword to view its ranking performance over time.
If you'd like to view the SERP data for a keyword, simply click on the SERP button next to it.
You can view the historical SERP data by using the Date filter.
You can also switch to the SERP Comparison tab. That tool allows you to instantly view side-by-side SERP results for any keywords to easily spot trends and competitors.
You can rerun the tracker at any time. This is particularly useful when you need to check the keyword ranking on-demand, without relying on a scheduled run.
When you re-run the tracker, SEO Utils only scrapes SERP data for keywords missing current date information. This helps save time and costs.
This feature let you highlight key events or changes in your data. For instance, if youβve just wrapped up a major content audit, you can mark that event on the chart to track its impact on your rankings.
When adding new keywords, SEO Utils creates a System annotation to indicate the date you added those keywords.
You can watch this video to see how to manage annotations.
You can see all the ranked pages in this tab. Like the Overview tab, you can filter by Dates or Competitors.
The Status column displays the ranking status of each page. You can filter based on this column. This is particularly useful for identifying good or bad performing pages within a specific date range.
You can also filter the pages with the status "Unchanged" to improve their ranking.
Important to know
New: Keywords that have no ranking on the From date but have a ranking on the End date
Lost: Keywords that have a ranking on the From date but no ranking on the End date
Improved: Keywords that have moved up in ranking position between the From date and End date
Declined: Keywords that have moved down in ranking position between the From date and End date
Unchanged: Keywords that have maintained the same ranking position on both the From date and End date
The Keyword Count column indicates how many keywords the page is ranking for. You can also click on the down arrow icon button next to the page URL to view all ranking keywords of that page.
In v1.25.0, SEO Utils introduced a new report for the Organic Rank Tracker that provides a detailed ranking distribution analysis. This feature lets you see how many keywords your website or competitors rank in the top 3, top 10, top 20, and top 100.
For each ranking range, you can also track the number of keywords that are new, lost, improved, or declinedβgiving you valuable insights into performance trends.
You can click on the total number of keywords to see which keywords are ranking.
In v1.26.3, SEO Utils introduces a new report: Competitors Discovery. It helps you analyze and compare your competitorsβ search engine rankings.
This guide will walk you through how to read and benefit from the Competition Map (scatter plot) and the detailed table, along with how to use the available filters.
Understanding the Competition Map (Scatter Plot)
What does it show?
The x-axis represents the number of keywords a domain ranks for in Googleβs top 100 search results.
The y-axis represents the average position of a domain across all its ranked keywords.
The size of each bubble represents the visibility of the domain. A larger bubble indicates higher visibility.
The color represents different competitor domains for easy differentiation.
How to read it?
Bottom-right corner (low average position & high keyword count) β This means a domain ranks for many keywords and is performing well (closer to position #1).
Top-left corner (high average position & low keyword count) β This means a domain ranks for fewer keywords and is performing poorly.
Large bubbles β These indicate competitors with strong visibility across many keywords.
Small bubbles β These competitors have a lower presence in SERPs.
Overlapping bubbles β Multiple domains competing for similar keywords.
Key benefits of the scatter plot
Identify strong competitors β Look for large bubbles with low average positions.
Spot market gaps β Find competitors ranking for fewer keywords but with high visibility.
Assess keyword competition β See who dominates a niche by ranking for many keywords.
Tips:
Minimap Toggle: Enables zooming for a closer view.
Hovering Over a Bubble: Displays a tooltip with details about that domain, including: Number of keywords, Average ranking position, Standard deviation, Visibility percentage & change over time.
Understanding the Detailed Competitor Table
The table provides more specific metrics for each domain, helping you analyze competitor trends in depth.
Domain
The competitorβs website
Visibility
A percentage representing how visible the domain is in search results. Higher visibility means better rankings across keywords.
Keywords
The number of keywords the domain ranks for in the top 100.
Avg. Position
The average ranking position of all ranked keywords for the domain. A lower number means better rankings.
Std. Deviation
Measures the variation of ranking positions. A low value indicates stable rankings, while a high value suggests fluctuations.
Tips:
Sort the columns by clicking on the headers to rank competitors by Visibility, Keywords, or Average Position.
Compare visibility changes to see which domains are gaining or losing ranking positions over time.
Check standard deviation to determine ranking stabilityβdomains with a low Std. Deviation have consistent rankings.
Using Filters for a More Targeted Analysis
Date Filter
Compare ranking changes over two specific dates.
Useful for tracking ranking trends over time.
Depth Filter
Select Top 100, Top 50, Top 20, Top 10, Top 5, or Top 3 domains.
Helps you analyze only the most relevant competitors in SERPs.
Use Case: If you want to focus on high-ranking competitors, select Top 10 or Top 5.
Ignored Domains Filter
Exclude specific competitors that may not be relevant (e.g., social media sites like Facebook or large aggregators).
Use Case: If a competitor dominates rankings but isnβt a direct competitor, excluding them gives clearer insights into your true competitors.
You can also filter the data by searching for a specific keyword, allowing you to analyze rankings and competition for that keyword alone.
You can add tags to your Organic Rank Tracker reports and filter by those tags.
This will be especially useful if you manage dozens of locations for a single client. You can add the client's name as a tag, and whenever you want to view all reports for that client, you can simply filter by the tag name.
You can export the organic rank tracker report as CSV, PDF, or HTML by clicking the Actions dropdown.
When exporting a report as PDF or HTML, you can personalize the report cover with your own branding by clicking the Settings icon.
You can use placeholders to dynamically replace content in headings, subheadings, or descriptions. For example, if you include the placeholder [domain]
in a sub-heading, it will automatically replace it with the target domain of your report.