What Tool Do I Use to Check Google Rank?

What Tool Do I Use to Check Google Rank?

Procedure for detecting current website ranking:

All ranking checks to be done via a fresh browser, with history removed, cookies erased and IP different to normal use, ideally masked for location. The best way to achieve this is via an IP proxy server located offshore. This is what I used to do to check rankings for our clients.

[Google Search Console]

Why was this all necessary?

Google likes to serve relevant content, therefore if you visited a site before, Google thinks that site is more relevant for you and therefore will serve it higher is search results.
The opposite is also true. This means that you personally will get a biased result in search based on who you are and what computer you used, where you live, where you work etc (if you searched from there and were logged in to your browser or in Google).
Location can be a major factor, so businesses that Google determines have regional or local preference in click through rates will get ranked higher for relevant searches that occur within the geographic zone defined by the previous user behaviour. This means you will get a biased result because of where you search from and what Google thinks is relevant for locality.

It’s important to point out that I no longer check rankings via either the personal or offshore IP proxy methods because ranking on ‘fixed vision’ terms are no longer good indicators of SEO strength, progress or conversion. I now regard such a view as highly superficial. From what I’ve seen, this is a global industry trend to move away from the obsession of single keyword phrase rank entirely, but unfortunately our clients usually still cling to this as their indicators because the complexity of the reality makes it often too hard to measure if not properly guided.

Read the full article here.