Why does my Rank Checker result differ to SERPs

[catherine-279388]

Hello SEOmoz members

I've got   yet another naive question for you.  RankChecker is telling me that my client has risen to pg 1 position 7.  Whilst SERPs is telling me they are still on position 14.  I know that SERPs is variable depending on many factors, but this holds true for separate searches on other computers in various far flung locations.

Please give me some insight into what is happening.  I'm waiting to open the bubbly!

Thanks

[catherine-279388]

Thanks Jassy.  I'm beginning to think you are right.  I'll keep the bubbly on ice for awhile longer!

[JaspalX]

I find it very inconsistent (in terms of accuracy that is). I'm really wondering whether I can share the results from it with clients because it does seem to vary so much from what we see.

I'm finding the seomoz rank checker is often out by several places - that's verified by people doing similar searches from different locations and different browsers. Logged in/out with google &pws=0 or not etc.

Perhaps it is a geographical thing? Most of my searches are in the UK and UK oriented.

[catherine-279388]

Thanks that is good practical advice.

[catherine-279388]

Thank you that's very helpful I'll try that.

[stevecounsell]

Rather than look at definitive rank position you might concentrate on improvement week on week / month on month.

That way you'll get a clearer picture of how the things you do affect your overall rlevance and google ranking.

I do this for clients to good effect. I can't promis to get them any position but I can say if I can make improvements in their overall relevance. Mostly I focus on improvements per keyword. Linking tis to content is a good way to improve the website overall.

Create great content that is keyword focused and build links to that content. Your clients will love you for being transparent too.

[catherine-279388]

Thank you that clearer - I'll put the bubbly in the fridge.  Good to know I'm not the only one!

[stevecounsell]

Hi Catherine,

This is a problem I face all the time with clients viewing SERPS for the same or similar search keywords from their browsers.

You're right that SERPs are dependant on many factors not least of which is the end user search history.

The way I explain this to clients is.

"Your browser has a history, your location has a history, your individual IP address has an effect on the results so it's impossible for you to make a search that is not influenced in some way by what Google or Bing already know. Our Rank Tracking through SEOmoz runs on a clean, server based software that helps to remove the types of factors that a computer browser makes. That's why we're seeing a difference."

I usually see the rankings around the other was (SEOmoz = lower / Browser = higher) so it's not usually a problem apart from client trust relationship. IE do they trust me when results are different.

Bit of a bland answer but I hope that helps.

Steve