This happens because the definition of flapjacks varies between nations. If we use Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar to simulate the exact same search from the US, the results are completely different:

The answer is that manual rank checking rarely gives an accurate view of reality because Google’s search results are heavily personalized based on things like your:įor example, these are the search results for “how to make flapjacks” in the UK: But if you only have a few keywords to track, you might be wondering why not just type them into Google and check ranking positions manually? Rank trackers save time by automating the rank tracking process. Why can’t you just check rankings yourself? Most rank trackers also give you various ways to slice and dice the data for even more actionable insights, which we’ll talk about shortly. If visibility were declining overall, that might be something we’d want to investigate further to hone our SEO strategy. This tells us that our SEO efforts are having the desired effect on the whole. It also gives you some insight into whether your SEO efforts are paying off.įor example, our visibility for all our tracked keywords is improving over time: But that’s not the only reason it’s important.

Rank tracking helps you understand which keywords and pages need your attention most.

Ranking tracking