Why does my Rank Checker result differ to SERPs
-
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
-
Thanks Jassy. I'm beginning to think you are right. I'll keep the bubbly on ice for awhile longer!
-
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.
-
Thanks that is good practical advice.
-
Thank you that's very helpful I'll try that.
-
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.
-
Thank you that clearer - I'll put the bubbly in the fridge. Good to know I'm not the only one!
-
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
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Latest from ... feature SERPs
Hello Mozers, this is probably (as per) a naive question, but, is the 'Latest from ***.com' element in SERPs an extract of Google News? I've added an example of what appears for 'Moz' in SERPs. MYn7Kh2
Algorithm Updates | | SEO_Selectaglaze1 -
How can I discover the Google ranking number for a keyword in Brazil?
Hello, how can I discover the Google ranking number for a keyword in Brazil location. I need to know what is the position in Brazil location for the keyword "ligação internacional" in the Google search engine for the webpage www.solaristelecom.com/ligacao-internacional. I tried to use the Moz tools to discover it but only shows that I am not in the top 50, then I want to know where I am, and if I am listed or not. I tried to search it in my browser and didn't show the name of my website. Thank you.
Algorithm Updates | | lmoraes1 -
Consistent drop every time after ranking good for few days: Same experience?
Hi all, We been facing this ranking fluctuation issue for over an year. Every time we made some changes for better optimisation. We improve rank but eventually drop after few days. Most of the changes we employed are On-page like page loading, fixing broken links & redirects, page titles optimisation, etc. When can see the ranking improvement for our main keywords and related keywords for a while and we drop with in a week eventually. I wonder if someone face the same issue and any thoughts on this scenario? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
What are you doing differently after Carousel?
Especially Restaurant and Hospitality marketers, have you changed your SEO or (as in my case much of my) overall online strategy for your Hospitality Clients after Carousel? Carousel's functionality as a SERP is so different that it does seem to have larger implications for businesses that will be presented in this SERP format. Now rather than one click to a client's website where you have much more control over the experience, Carousel will create more clicking and comparison shopping within the SERP. Clicking on a Thumbnail in Carousel doesn't click through to the business' website, instead it now returns a new SERP with a search phrase on the business name. As a result, things like online ratings sites (Yelp, Urbanspoon, etc) are much more relevant to the client's overall digital presence. Hence in many cases the need on the part of clients for more digital marketing services. And while on first blush, it appear to potentially be a negative for SEO and a boon to other disciplines, I am currently of the belief that this raises the stakes for SEO for restaurants in competitive markets immeasurably. All of the Carousel SERPs that I've seen have been limited to two panels of horizontal thumbnails. If your restaurant doesn't appear in those results, you're much less likely to have online traffic turn into real world traffic. Interested to hear the input of the community, especially those that specialize in Hospitality Marketing.
Algorithm Updates | | JohnVanDekker0 -
Merging Multiple Domains into a Single Domain and Its Effect on Ranking
My client had multiple top-level-domains. Each one represented an insurance program within a specific vertical. For all the sites at these alternate domains, there was a 30/70 mix of duplicate vs. original content. Some of the alternate domains ranked very well for their target keyphrase groups, where others were absent in results pages. We advised the client to merge multiple domains into their existing main domain, for usability and SEO reasons. We recently ran the merger. Here was our process: On the main domain, transfer the content such that it matches 1-for-1 content on the various alternate domains Setup Google Webmaster tools on the main domain Push the new content on the main domain live and submit a corresponding sitemap to Google Establish 301 redirects on the alternate domains, such that each alternate domain URL points to its respective page on the main domain We did this 12 days ago, and pages (previously on the alternate domains) that had ranked well on Google have now plummeted or are entirely non-existent. Did we do the right thing by merging multiple top-level domains into a single domain? Is this initial dip in rankings normal? How soon should we expect to see it return to its normal rankings?
Algorithm Updates | | PinckneyHugoGroup0 -
Rank Tracking & Personalized Search
How effective is rank tracking when google tends to deliver personalized search? I tend to clear out my browser of all info, cookies and cache so I can get the best results but how effective are rank tracking algo's in delivering accurate results. I run various apps and tests and I get different results.
Algorithm Updates | | bronxpad0 -
Affect in SERPs when moving footer links off the homepage
I have several pages that rank highly in the SERPs and these pages are linked directly to my homepage in the footer. I want to clean up my footer because I have too many site wide links but don't want to hurt the SERP rankings during the transition. Will removing these page links from the footer impact SERP rankings?
Algorithm Updates | | braunna0 -
Is there a way to pull historical rankings for a keyword?
I have someone who's come to me and said that they have lost all of their organic keyword rankings. They did launch a site redesign a few months back so that could be a reason as to why. But after looking at the site, link profile, etc. It doesn't look like they could have been ranking for the terms they say they were. They have never implemented any SEO on their sites btw. I did not build this site and have not done any SEO, they are coming to me to solve the problem. I did notice in SEM rush that a couple months ago they were ranking organically for more terms (20 in July vs. 5 now), so they did lose some. Is there any way to see what terms they WERE ranking for?
Algorithm Updates | | MichaelWeisbaum0