If you are just starting out with your SEO strategy it can be difficult to choose the best keywords to align with your businesses offerings. But, once you’ve chosen these keywords, how do you track them?
The best way to track keyword rankings on Google is to use a tool such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. These tools tell you where your pages rank for a given keyword as well as rich result features such as snippets, images, People Also Ask and more. These tools are great, but work best as part of a tailored SEO strategy.
Read on to find out more about tracking keyword positions, how to improve them and why it’s important.
To view rankings for the keywords you are targeting on your website, you should use a live rank checker. Tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs and Ubersuggest are great options, however most of them require monthly or yearly payments in order to access most of the necessary features. Alternatively, you can perform manual checks by simply searching for your keywords on search engines. This can be very time consuming and is dependent on your location, meaning users outside of your area may see different results for their query – although SerpAPI is great for getting around this!
These tools have other useful features that can help fully optimise your SEO campaigns including competitor analysis, domain authority and backlink profile. You can use this information to evaluate where your website stands compared to your competitors.
The best way to monitor your keyword rankings is to work alongside a digital marketing agency who can send regular progress reports. An agency should already have access to the tools mentioned above, meaning your business doesn’t have to invest additional time and money into them. They are experts in their field, meaning they can determine why keywords are improving or declining and create an effective plan to improve the rankings further.
The size of your website can help to determine how many keywords you should track. If you target too many keywords on one page, it can be hard to include them all in the content and see the best results. It is better to stick to one main keyword and one or two secondary keywords depending on the amount of content you can reasonably include on the page.
A good mix of both short and long tail keywords can allow you to reach a wider range of users based on their queries. Also ensure that you only target individual keywords on one page of your website to avoid keyword cannibalisation.
Keyword rankings can be improved by implementing the following steps into your SEO strategy:
Content is key when it comes to SEO and improving keyword rankings. Without including your target keywords in the text on each of your pages, you have practically no chance of ranking for them. Google is more likely to rank your website higher if you produce good quality and relevant content to align with E-E-A-T.
Before even starting to produce content, it’s a good idea to map your chosen keywords to the most relevant pages so you have an idea of how to structure it. Once all of the main service or product pages have been optimised, you can then start to work on blog content relevant to your niche. For more information on the SEO content process, read our in depth blog.
Meta data on a website includes title tags, image alt text and meta descriptions. Along with on page content, meta data can be optimised for your chosen keywords and to encourage users to click through to your site with call-to-actions.
As your backlink profile and domain authority grows, Google is more likely to boost your rankings as you are producing good quality, useful content to users. Reaching out to other websites with high domain authority is a great way to gain backlinks to your website. Check out our recent blog for more information on how backlinks impact rankings.
At Wildcat Digital, our SEO experts can help you monitor and improve your keyword rankings with a tailored SEO strategy. Starting with a review of your current site and your competitors, we choose the best keywords for your niche, continuously adapting your strategy to align with trends. Find out how we can help your business punch above its weight today.
Founder
Our founder, Will Hitchmough, worked at a number of high profile Sheffield Digital Agencies before founding Wildcat Digital in 2018. He brings an extensive knowledge of all things related to SEO, PPC and Paid Social, as well as an expert knowledge of digital strategy.
Digital Marketing can be a minefield for many businesses, with many agencies ready to take your money without knowing how to deliver results. I founded Wildcat Digital to deliver digital success to businesses with smaller budgets in a transparent way.
Content Strategist Team Lead
With a degree in Marketing and a background in more traditional, offline marketing, Chloe joined Wildcat in 2021 after deciding to move into the digital marketing industry. She joined us as a Content Specialist and quickly moved up the ranks, becoming a Content Strategist and later an SEO Team Leader.
Outside of work, Chloe is an avid creative. If she’s not knitting, you’ll likely find her behind a sewing machine or in the kitchen trying (and often failing!) to make sourdough.
SEO Account Director
Paul has a strong background in SEO, having previously founded and ran a successful eCommerce business, as well as running a personal blog that achieves an average of 17K users per month. Paul’s knowledge of SEO is extensive, with a strong emphasis on client handling and technical SEO.
Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time with his family and staying active with weight lifting and combat sports.
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