We assume that you are already familiar with the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This marketing tactic focuses on getting your web blog content to rank higher in Google search results. The main idea is that when your construction website ranks higher in searches, you will gain more web traffic. However, you do not want to run an SEO campaign while being totally in the dark about how it is performing.
It is critical to track vital metrics and analyze the collected data to determine how the campaigns performed and how you can improve them. One crucial part of the process is rank tracking. But what is rank tracking? Why should you regularly track your rankings? What tools must you be using for rank tracking?
Read this blog to discover the answer to these questions.
What is Rank Tracking?
Rank Tracking is the process of keeping up with your construction website’s search rankings on Google. Rank tracking is very important because it helps you better understand what pages and keywords need your attention the most. But that is not the only reason why it is important. It gives you a lot of insights about whether your Search Engine Optimization efforts are paying off and so much more.
As a contractor, you may use rank tracking to help you learn:
- Which website pages rank?
- Which keywords do your web pages rank for on search results?
- How high do your pages rank?
- What pages changed position in search results?
Rank tracking is the main SEO function. Another thing why it is essential is that it measures the effectiveness of your SEO. It shows your visibility at the outset as well as the end of your SEO campaign. Rank tracking serves as your constant monitoring tool, helping you constantly improve your transparency in search engines.
Why Should You Regularly Track Your Rankings?
You may be wondering, why track rankings at all? Here are the five primary reasons to check Google rankings for your construction website:
1. To better optimize your SEO
Allowing you to improve your SEO efforts is the first reason why you should track your rankings. Ideally, you opt for ranking high in Google with the keywords you choose. The only way to know if you are not ranking high enough is to track rankings. With rank tracking, you can determine how high or low your rankings are so that you can further improve your pages and eventually boost your rankings.
2. To see the impact of rankings
Another good reason to track your rankings is to determine how rankings impact the traffic coming straight into your website. Remember, not all keywords are equal. Some can drive more traffic compared to others. Pay attention to the specific keywords you’ll be using. Perform keyword research to brainstorm the right keywords to use. And from there, you will know how to re-optimize your page.
3. To see how competitors perform
The third major advantage to tracking search rankings is that it can allow you to see what your closest competitors are doing. Tracking your rankings is indeed useful, but you can also determine where your competitors rank and for what keywords.
Tracking competitor ranking will show you what areas you need to improve. You do not want those competitors of yours to beat you in rankings. Therefore, you will want to know what searches to optimize fully and which keywords to target.
You can always best learn how to take advantage of your competitor’s weak areas and surpass them if you track their rankings.
4. To monitor targets
Rank tracking can bring the most benefit if you utilize it throughout the whole process. And as soon as your keyword targets are being set, you must track them using a tracking tool and monitor the progress as it advances. By the end of your SEO cycle, you will be estimating outcomes by simply looking at the number of positions you have gained.
5. To use Position Monitoring
In an SEO, position monitoring plays a vital role at various stages during the process.
- On-Page SEO: This is where you can find URLs that you can optimize based on pages before ranking.
- Link Building: You can cross-check all ranking keywords with backlinks profiles.
- SEO dashboard: You may use top keyword performance as a relevant KPI in your dashboard.
How Can You Check Google Rankings?
Having covered what rank tracking is and why you essentially need it, we are now heading to the next question of how to check Google rankings. Where can you go to see how your pages fare via search results? There are many options at your disposal, and we will cover each of them below.
Below are the three methods for tracking search rankings:
1. Google search results
Probably the simplest way to check out Google rankings is to go straight to the source – the search results. If you are looking for an easy and quick way to check on a specific keyword ranking, this one is an excellent method to try – search for the keywords you want, and start looking at where your page ranks.
But bear in mind that this particular method is only suitable for a specific keyword here or there. If you are trying to get a detailed grasp of your website’s overall ranking, this is not the way.
Moreover, be aware that Google rankings are significantly affected by personalization – they will change based on the history to suit your interests. Therefore, if you prefer a more objective look at your rankings, go to private/incognito mode.
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console can offer a more expansive look at your rankings compared to standard Google searches. With Search Console, you view not just the ranking of the page but also the progress it has made over time. Therefore, you can see if the page is going up or down or staying in a similar position.
In addition, Search Console gives you enough information about total clicks, Click-through-rate (CTR), and more. You can even set many filters to refine the info you view.
3. Rank tracking tools
The third alternative is to use a tool mainly built for tracking search rankings. There are plenty of options available online, including:
The tools above allow you to view advanced metrics related to your rankings, including insights into how these rankings affect your website traffic. You also do not need to do a lot of manual work; you have to input all the data and let the tool run in the background.
How to Choose the Best Rank Tracker?
We mentioned Ahrefs, Moz Pro, SemRush as the top three rank tracking tools you can use for tracking. Given that most of these tracking tools include a rank tracker, perhaps the best rank tracker for you is the one included with your favorite SEO toolset.
However, if you are yet to invest in an SEO toolset or prefer a separate rank tracker, what specific features should you be looking for? Below are the top features you should need:
1. Location support
Rankings usually vary from one location to another. If your construction website serves the U.S. construction market, your focus is the U.S. rankings. Ahrefs’ Rank tracker can support a lot of countries. Presently, Ahrefs encompasses one hundred eight seven countries and counting
2. Language support
If your construction website targets a locale with more than one common language, you will possibly want to track rankings using multiple languages with that locale. Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker has supported different languages. Pick this tracking tool, especially if your target has many languages.
3. Device support (Mobile/Desktop)
Mobile and desktop ranking signals are not identical. Therefore, it is never uncommon for ranking to vary between mobile and desktop. For instance, desktop users have a much faster internet connection compared to mobile users. Here are a few other things that might cause ranking inconsistencies across devices:
- Poor mobile-friendliness
- More intrusive ads on one device to another.
With Ahref’s Rank Tracker, you can quickly and easily toggle between desktop and mobile rankings and check average positions through different devices.
4. SERP feature ranking
The SERP feature is a non-traditional search result such as featured snippets and story carousels. Ranking in any of them helps drive more traffic to your construction website. Many rank trackers can give you this capacity, especially Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker, which is programmed to track the ownership and prominence of most SERP features for tracked keywords.
ConstructionMarketing.io Can Help You Boost Your Rankings
Do you need help when tracking and optimizing your Google rankings? ConstructionMarketing.io is here for you. We can help you monitor how your target keywords are positioned in Google and other search engines. We have a strong background in construction and work exclusively with construction professionals.
When you partner with us and choose our SEO services, we will help you implement a range of SEO tactics on and off your construction website, helping you rank much higher in Google searches. We will also keep you updated on all the results we specifically drive for you so that you are never left behind.
Contact us online today. Let’s start reinforcing your SEO efforts!