Website Rankings – How to check your website's rank in search results – quick answer

 Website Rankings – How to check your website's rank in search results – quick answer

How to know where your website is ranking

Website rankings (not the same as page rank) are not as cut and dried as you think.  For starters, if you search your own website right now, you might see it in slot one page one.  Unfortunately, you'll be the only one!  So, how do you check your website rankings? 

Stripping Code – FOR THE WIN

You can accurately check how your website is ranking by adding some code when searching for your keywords.  The code strips away personalised search and adds country data.  The result is the search results you'd see if you were in Australia, searching for a product or service you've never used before.  When it comes to checking your website rankings – this is EXACTLY what you want.  The example and directions below are for Australian websites:

1. Decide which website keywords you want to check.

2. Create the test code using the example below (and save a copy for next time you want to check):

https://www.google.com/search?q=INSERT YOUR KEYWORD HERE&gl=au&pws=0

3. Highlight and copy it (Control + C or right click copy)

4. Paste it into the address bar (Control + V or right click paste)  Note, don't paste it into the search box on Google, paste it into the address bar at the top of the page where you see http://www.talkaboutcreative.com.au/blog/website-rankings-how-to-check-your-websites-rank-in-search-results-quick-answer.aspx  right now.

5. You will find yourself on a Google results page.

6. For Chrome users, click the Spanner Tool and go Find.  Type in your website name – if it's not on the page, try the next page.  If you don't have a find tool, simply scroll down until you see your website.

7. Repeat with other keywords you'd like to be ranking for.  If you're not ranking for any of them, we offer keyword research and on page SEO as part of our Web Copywriting pacakages.

What about the other ways?

Personalised Search - Inaccurate

Search engines are terribly helpful.  They help by making websites that you visit often, or that are shared and liked by your friends, appear at the top of the search results that you see.  So, if you visit your own website all the time, it will come up in the first slot.  That doesn't mean it's REALLY in the first slot, it means that the search engine is trying to make your life easier.

Webmaster Tools - Inaccurate

In the search queries section of your Webmaster Tools account, you'll see a ranking for each keyword on your website.  This is also inaccurate as it doesn't take your region into account – so it tells you where you rank globally.  If someone is using google.com.au – they'll get a different result.  Google has announced that they're working on something to fix this.  Stay tuned!

Incognito search – Inaccurate

If you use Google Chrome, you can do an Incognito Search (click the spanner in the top right corner and select New Incognito Window).  This is designed to let people visit porn websites without their partners finding out J  It does this by blocking any imprint made on your computer by the website.  It's a good start but again, it's not accurate as it doesn't deal with "regions" very well.

This is one of the things you need to watch when hiring an SEO company!  Unethical SEO companies my allow you to believe that your website rankings are on page one when really you're way down the list!

Did you find this article helpful?  We'd love you to click like or share above – it'll help us rank better so more people can learn how to improve their web rankings.

Related Pages and Blogs:

Keyword Research Tools

SEO Backlinks

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