Did you know that over 91.61% of searches take place on Google?
Given Google’s dominance in search, understanding your website’s SEO rankings is crucial for reaching your target audience and driving organic traffic.
In this article, you’ll learn how to check your SEO rankings using both free and paid tools.
We’ll also provide actionable tips to help you improve your website’s visibility and boost your online success.
In This Article
What Are SEO Rankings?
SEO rankings refer to your website’s position in search engine results pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a specific word or phrase, search engines use algorithms to find and rank the most relevant websites for that query. Where you appear in that list is your ranking position.
A higher ranking means your website is more relevant to the user’s search. This translates to greater visibility, higher clicks, and more traffic for your site.
In fact, the top 3 search results get 68% of all clicks.
Most website owners aim to be on the first page of Google because only 0.78% of users go to the second page.
This SEO statistic underscores the importance of ranking high in search engines to maximize your visibility and support your business’s overall success.
Why Should You Check Google Rankings?
Checking your Google rankings is essential for several reasons:
- Track progress: Monitor your website’s performance over time and see if your SEO efforts are paying off.
- Identify opportunities: Find keywords where you rank well but could improve your position further.
- Identify issues: Discover keywords where you’re ranking poorly and need to take action to improve your visibility.
- Benchmark against competitors: Compare your rankings to those of your competitors to understand your market position.
- Optimize for user intent: Understand a keyword’s search intent and tailor your content to meet user needs.
How to Check SEO Rankings for Free [3 Methods]
Here are 3 methods for checking your website’s rankings for free:
1. Perform a Google Search in Chrome Incognito
This is the easiest way to learn if you’re ranking for a specific keyword in Google. And it doesn’t cost a dime or require any software.
Why use incognito mode?
Google personalizes search results based on your browsing history. Chrome’s incognito mode temporarily disables most of Google’s personalization features, providing a more neutral search experience.
However, it’s important to note that your IP address will still determine your location. This can be helpful when performing local searches but may require a VPN if you don’t want results in your area.
To open Chrome in incognito mode on a Mac, use the shortcut Shift + Command + n. Alternatively, click the three dots at the top right of Chrome and select “New Incognito Window” from the drop-down menu.
For Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + n.
Now, enter the search term you want to check your ranking for.
Once Google has populated the search results, scroll down to see if your website appears.
Caveat to this method: If you’re not ranking on the first page of search results, you’ll have to check subsequent pages. This can become time-consuming when you’re checking the SEO rankings of multiple keywords.
2. Use Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful free tool for monitoring your website’s SEO performance. It allows you to see which keywords you rank for, track their positions in search results, and get organic key performance indicators (KPIs).
To check your rankings using Google Search Console:
- Sign in to your Google Search Console account. If you haven’t already, create a new account and verify your site ownership.
- Go to the Performance report. This report provides an overview of your website’s search rankings and KPIs.
- View your top queries. This page will show you queries (keywords) your website ranks for, along with their position, impressions, clicks, and organic clickthrough rate.
Using GSC is an accurate and time-efficient method for getting your website’s Google rankings. The various metrics and reports also provide further insights into your SEO performance, making it a valuable tool for every website owner.
3. Mangools SERP Checker
Mangools has one of the best free SERP checkers, and it’s super easy to use.
Just a heads up — you’ll need to create a free account to access results from the SERPChecker. It only takes a few seconds and asks for basic information.
Once you’re in, enter your keyword and select your location and device type.
Then, click Analyze SERP.
By default, the report will show you the top 7 results for your search. You can click a button at the bottom of the list to Load More Results if you don’t see your website in these top positions.
In addition to finding your own rankings, this report also supports competitor keyword research.
You can find metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and backlinks to inform your SEO strategy against the competition.
The caveat?
Like the earlier incognito Google search, you’ll have to perform these keyword checks manually. This can be time-consuming when you’re checking multiple keywords.
How to Check Google Rankings [4 Tools]
Our next recommendations require a paid account. With that said, these are some of the best SERP checker tools for getting a comprehensive look at your website’s rankings.
1. LowFruits: Best for Small Business Owners
LowFruits is a user-friendly SEO tool designed specifically for small business owners.
It combines keyword research with SERP analysis to provide ranking results and competitor insights.
There are a few different ways to see if you’re ranking for specific keywords in LowFruits, but I’m going to show you the fastest.
Navigate to the Extract tool in the left menu, then select Ranking.
Enter your website’s URL and click Extract.
Note: The Extract tool requires a LowFruits subscription to access.
Once the report is ready, you’ll find it by scrolling down.
To get all your SEO rankings, click the blue download button. This will download an Excel spreadsheet to your computer.
Here’s an example of what your report will look like:
In addition to the keyword and ranking position, you’ll also get the monthly search volume, cost per click (CPC), and ranking URL.
This is by far the fastest way to get all your search engine rankings in one go.
Now, you could stop here.
But if you want competitor insights on your keywords, I suggest looking at some of your top keywords in LowFruits.
To do this, select either the Top 10 or Top 100 report from the earlier Extract options.
This will open another window that imports the top keywords based on your selection.
At the bottom of this window, you’ll be given the option to Analyze All before clicking Import. I recommend leaving this button checked, so you can get the competitor insights we’re after. (If you don’t have enough credits, you can leave it unchecked and analyze the keywords manually.)
After clicking Import, you’ll get a report of your top keywords.
This is where things get really interesting.
Pay special attention to the following columns in this report:
- Weak Spots: Each icon represents a website with low domain authority. These are considered weak websites that are easy to outrank. Green icons represent other websites, and yellow icons represent your website.
- Position (Pos.): This is your website’s ranking position for that keyword.
These competitor insights can inform your content strategy and help you improve your SEO rankings.
For example, “vida hair products” has 8 weak domains ranking for it and a 140 monthly search volume (MSV). That is a very appealing keyword because it has a decent search volume and would be super easy to target and rank for.
If I owned the website we used for this example, I would add this keyword to my content strategy and target it.
Here’s another example:
Imagine there’s a keyword where you rank in position 8. It has 3 weak spots ranking in positions above yours.
This would be a prime opportunity to investigate what you can do to rank higher for that keyword. By learning what the competition is doing, you could improve your own content and outrank the weak domains.
Ultimately, Weak Spots are a LowFruits-exclusive metric that can be a total game-changer for your SEO. It makes finding low-competition keywords easy, so your small business can rank higher in search results.
LowFruits Pricing: To use the Extract tool, you’ll need a subscription, which starts at $249/year. LowFruits also offers pay-as-you-go (PAYG) credits, which start at $25 for 2,000 credits.
2. Semrush: Best for Advanced SEOs
Semrush is one of the most popular SEO platforms and provides ranking data for your website and competitors.
To check your SEO rankings in Semrush, navigate to the Organic Research tool and enter your domain.
Once you reach the results, scroll down until you see Top Keywords and click View All.
This will bring you to a list of all your SEO rankings and their positions in the SERPs.
Like LowFruits, Semrush provides monthly search volumes. It also shows additional traffic metrics and the last time it updated rankings for that keyword.
When used in this context, Semrush is really easy. However, it has several other capabilities that may better serve users who are already familiar with SEO.
It’s also not the cheapest tool out there, making it a better option for advanced SEOs or digital marketers.
Semrush Pricing: Semrush plans start at $139.95/month.
3. All in One SEO: Best for WordPress Users
All in One SEO (AIOSEO) is a leading SEO plugin for WordPress.
And, like LowFruits, it was designed with small businesses in mind.
AIOSEO recently added a new Keyword Rank Tracker that connects your WordPress website and Search Console account to fetch up-to-date and accurate SEO rankings.
What makes it even better is that it gives you this data directly in WordPress.
Note: The mentioned tools require an AIOSEO Elite plan.
To get started, click the Search Statistics tool from the left menu.
From here, click the Keyword Rank Tracker tab. You can then select Rank Tracker to see your tracked keywords or All Keywords.
For our example, I’m going to look at the tracked keywords.
You’ll get a report like the one below, which shows your keywords, clicks, CTR, and impressions. You’ll also see your current position and historical ranking data (position history).
Overall, the Keyword Rank Tracker is a beginner-friendly option for discovering your SEO rankings and tracking their performance in search results.
As someone who frequently uses WordPress, I’ve really enjoyed accessing this data directly in WordPress instead of jumping into other tools. This integration makes it easy to stay on top of your rankings while saving time.
AIOSEO Pricing: Search Statistics and Keyword Rank Tracker require an Elite plan, which is $299.60/year. AIOSEO also offers other plans, starting as low as $49.60/year.
4. Ahrefs: Best Budget-Friendly Option
Ahrefs is another well-respected SEO tool for checking your Google rankings.
To get started, navigate to the Site Explorer and enter your domain.
Ahrefs will fetch your ranking keywords, along with their performance metrics.
The reason I chose Ahrefs as the budget-friendly option is because they recently added a new Starter plan to their pricing packages.
It only costs $29/month and gives you limited access to the following tools:
- SEO Explorer
- Site Explorer
- Keywords Explorer
- Site Audit
- Rank Tracker
- Ahrefs SEO Toolbar
This is a great option for those who don’t need all the features of a regular Ahrefs plan but are looking to go beyond the basics.
You can check your SEO rankings using this plan and even track up to 50 keywords.
Ahrefs Pricing: The Starter plan offers limited access to specific tools at $29/month. Ahrefs also offers additional standard plans, starting at $129/month.
Next Steps: Improve Your SEO Rankings
Now that you know how to check your SEO rankings, it’s time to take action to improve your website’s visibility.
Here are some key steps to consider and resources to implement them:
- Keyword research: Identify relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. (Resources: Keyword Research for Small Business Owners, How to Do Local SEO Keyword Research, How to Find Competitors’ Keywords)
- On-page SEO: Optimize your website’s content for search engines. This includes using relevant keywords in your titles, headings, and content. (Resources: Focus Keywords Explained, How to Write Meta Descriptions, What Is Keyword Density?)
- Monitor and analyze: Regularly check your search engine rankings and use data-driven insights to inform your optimization efforts. (Resources: Most Important Google Ranking Factors, How to Do a SERP Analysis, How to Increase Organic Traffic)
