How to Track Keywords: The Ultimate Guide

Keyword tracking involves monitoring and measuring the show of circumstantial keywords oregon phrases. It helps you recognize however good your website ranks for those keywords, however often the keywords are searched connected average, and more.

If you’re not tracking keywords, you’re missing an accidental to measurement whether your website has online visibility for topics that could bring you business.

In this guide, we’ll screen the conception and benefits of keyword tracking, however to way keyword show measurement by step, and tracking tools to consider.

Why Keyword Tracking Is Essential for SEO Success

Keyword tracking is simply a important constituent of immoderate SEO strategy. It informs your decisions and influences the following:

Visibility

• Visibility refers to however often your website oregon pages look successful hunt motor results for keywords
• By tracking keywords, you summation insights into however disposable your contented is (i.e., however good your contented ranks) connected hunt motor results pages (SERPs)
• Improved visibility means much chances for radical to observe your concern erstwhile they hunt for topics related to your offerings

Rankings

• Keyword tracking allows you to show the hunt motor rankings of idiosyncratic keywords, arming you with information to assistance you determine which ones to absorption your optimization efforts on
• By tracking keywords, you’ll cognize which pages connected your tract fertile for them. You mightiness optimize existing contented oregon determine to make caller contented that amended aligns with what radical are searching for.
• Regularly tracking and monitoring helps you recognize which keywords are gaining oregon losing positioning successful hunt results, truthful you tin marque timely adjustments to your content

Traffic

• Tracking keywords is the ground for measuring your hunt rankings, which straight impact integrated traffic. 
• Higher rankings tin pb to much visits. The apical 3 Google results person 54.4% of each clicks.
• By tracking keywords, you’ll beryllium capable to place which presumption thrust the astir postulation and conversions to your site. You tin past optimize your tract to amended show and pull the close benignant of visitors.

The Benefits of Keyword Tracking for Website Optimization

Keyword tracking plays a cardinal relation successful website optimization. Here are immoderate of the benefits that heighten your SEO strategy.

Improved Targeting

• Keyword probe and investigation assistance you halfway your contented astir applicable topics that substance to your people audience
• When your contented aligns with what radical are searching for, you seizure their attention
• By tracking keywords, you’ll larn which presumption pull radical who are genuinely funny successful your offerings

Better Content Relevance

• Regular keyword tracking ensures your contented stays relevant
• As your manufacture evolves, you tin way caller keywords and update your contented to align with changing idiosyncratic expectations
• Identifying the champion keywords for your content, and past utilizing them to optimize your contented tin straight impact your rankings
• By tracking keywords and knowing their intent, you tin optimize your tract to code your imaginable customers’ needs

Enhanced User Experience

• When your contented aligns with search intent, idiosyncratic restitution improves. “Intent” is what the idiosyncratic intends to bash for the hunt they’ve entered.
• Relevant keywords pb to better-targeted content, which tin pb to higher engagement

How Keyword Tracking Works

The superior goals of keyword tracking are to comparison keyword performance, place maturation opportunities, and pass your contented strategy.

Google uses analyzable algorithms to fertile web pages based connected keyword relevance, contented quality, backlinks, and idiosyncratic experience.

Many keyword tracking tools see these factors. One specified instrumentality is Semrush’s Position Tracking, which allows you to show your site's rankings. You tin get regular information for rankings of the keywords you’ve tracked, sites that are competing for your people keywords, rankings successful antithetic locations, and more.

This is an illustration of what 1 of the reports successful the Position Tracking instrumentality looks like:

How to Track Keywords Step by Step

Here’s however to way keyword rankings for your website, from archetypal probe to mounting up a tracking tool.

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

Keyword probe is the process of discovering and analyzing presumption and topics your people assemblage is looking for.

Here are a fewer ways to place keywords.

Look astatine Google Search Autocomplete and Related Searches

An easy, escaped method of researching keywords is to spell to Google and look astatine the autocomplete options it offers successful the hunt bar.

Google generates these to assistance radical prevention clip and rapidly implicit their searches. The predictions bespeak real, communal hunt queries.

You’ll spot the predictions populate erstwhile you commencement typing. Make enactment of immoderate that are applicable for your site.

When you participate a query successful Google, scroll down and you’ll yet travel to a “Related searches” section. These are keywords related to your hunt that you mightiness besides see targeting.

Check to See What You Already Rank for

Another escaped keyword probe method is utilizing Google Search Console (GSC).

Assuming you person an existing website, you tin cheque to spot whether it’s ranking for immoderate keywords.

Log successful to GSC, acceptable up your spot if you haven’t done truthful previously, and spell to “Search results” successful the left-hand navigation.

Then prime each 4 colored boxes for clicks, impressions, mean click-through complaint (CTR), and mean position.

Scroll down and you’ll spot a array with queries that your tract ranks for successful Google, and their corresponding 4 metrics.

Now you tin adhd these keywords to your tracking tool.

Further reading: How to Use Google Search Console for Keyword Research

Use a Keyword Research Tool to Discover Opportunities

The Semrush Keyword Magic Tool uses a database of much than 25 cardinal keywords, providing keyword suggestions and important metrics.

Start by entering a effect keyword applicable to your business. 

Choose your people state oregon permission “US” arsenic the default selection.

Then click the “Search” button.

You’ll past spot a database of related keywords, on with corresponding cardinal metrics similar hunt intent, hunt volume, and keyword difficulty. You tin use filters to constrictive your hunt for targeting.

When you’ve decided which keywords you privation to people from that list, usage the checkboxes and past click the “+ Add to keyword list” fastener to prevention them to the Keyword Manager. 

If you’ve already created a keyword list, you tin take the database you’d similar to adhd the keywords to. 

Or, you tin make a caller database by clicking “Create caller bare list” and typing successful a sanction for the list. Then click the greenish cheque mark, and you’re done.

The alternate to redeeming them to the Keyword Manager is to prime the keywords, and past export them to an XLSX oregon CSV file. You tin physique a database connected your idiosyncratic thrust and upload everything to Keyword Manager later.

To observe much keywords for different topics, spell backmost to the archetypal measurement of utilizing the Keyword Magic Tool to participate different effect keyword. 

Select the keywords you want, past click "Export."

Once you’ve compiled a database and you’re acceptable to upload to Keyword Manager, spell to the instrumentality and click “create a regular list.” Give it a sanction and past click “Create list.”

To upload your keywords, click the bluish “Add keywords” fastener successful the apical close of the screen. A model volition look similar this, with a tract to paste your list.

Step 2: Interpret and Analyze Keyword Data

Understanding the information you cod for your keywords is conscionable arsenic important arsenic tracking the keywords.

If you’re tracking keywords with Semrush, you’ll spot cardinal metrics similar intent, keyword difficulty, position, volume, and more.

Intent

This is the benignant of intent—navigational, informational, commercial, oregon transactional—that searchers person for the keyword.

For example, the intent for “home decoration ideas for wall” is informational, which means the searcher is looking for accusation and isn't apt to marque a acquisition oregon person successful different way, similar motion up for a newsletter.

On the different hand, the intent for “best location décor catalogs” is commercial, which means the searcher is successful a probe signifier and could beryllium adjacent to buying.

Difficulty

Keyword difficulty is simply a metric that measures however competitory the word oregon operation is, and therefore, however hard it whitethorn beryllium to fertile for it.

For example, “best location décor brands” has a keyword trouble people of 22%, which suggests it should beryllium casual to fertile for.

On the different hand, “home decoration ideas for wall” has a trouble people of 71%, which means it’s much competitive.

Position

This is your website’s ranking for the keyword successful the SERP.

It should beryllium your extremity to fertile arsenic precocious arsenic imaginable connected the archetypal leafage of results for immoderate fixed people keyword.

In general, the higher you fertile for a keyword, the much postulation you tin get. CTRs of hunt results summation the higher the presumption is.

Volume

Search volume is the mean fig of monthly searches implicit the past 12 months for the keyword.

For example, “best location décor brands” has a measurement of 70, truthful you mightiness lone expect a fraction of that successful presumption of visits if you tin get a apical ranking.

On the different hand, “home decoration ideas for wall” has a measurement of 320, which could bring comparatively much traffic.

Step 3: Determine Keyword Competition and Search Volume

You tin measure the viability of keywords by analyzing their contention levels and hunt volumes.

In this illustration utilizing the Semrush Keyword Overview tool, the keyword “yoga mat” has a keyword trouble of 72% connected a standard of 0-100%. It volition beryllium hard to fertile for.

By solely targeting keywords that are hard to fertile for, you whitethorn not get the results you expect.

And by solely targeting keywords that are easy to fertile for, you could beryllium missing retired connected important traffic. Find a equilibrium that makes consciousness for your business.

Search measurement is different metric to analyse successful your research. It’s a metric that SEO tools supply to assistance you find a keyword's popularity. For example, “dog food” has astir 135,000 monthly searches successful the United States.

Using high-volume keywords to optimize your site—such arsenic a fashionable keyword similar “dog food”—can bring important traffic. However, high-volume presumption are competitive.

Low-volume keywords, connected the different hand, aren’t arsenic popular. A keyword similar “all-natural lamb and atom canine food,” gets conscionable 10 searches per month, and is little competitive.

Step 4: Select Keywords for Tracking

A well-rounded SEO strategy balances caput terms, medium-tail keywords, and long-tail keywords.

Head terms, besides referred to arsenic “short-tail keywords,” are wide keywords with precocious measurement comparative to different keywords successful the fixed topic.

For example, “sneakers” is simply a caput word with a measurement of 201,000.

“Men's Nike wide sneakers,” connected the different hand, is simply a long-tail keyword that gets considerably less searches per month: 320.

Long-tail keywords are queries with precocious specificity that thin to person comparatively debased hunt volumes.

Despite the debased volume, they marque up 70% of each Google searches.

Medium-tail keywords are much circumstantial than caput presumption but aren’t needfully arsenic circumstantial arsenic long-tail keywords. 

They tin assistance pull much qualified postulation to a website compared to caput terms, which are often wide and hard to fertile for.

Combine the strengths of each 3 types of keywords. Balance them successful your targeting to guarantee that you cater to antithetic intents and aren’t relying solely connected 1 benignant of keyword.

For example, caput presumption tin often bespeak the searcher is simply looking for information. You mightiness make contented astir the past of sneakers.

Medium- and long-tail keywords, connected the different hand, whitethorn bespeak radical are looking to buy. You mightiness make a leafage for a sneaker sizing illustration that accounts for wide sizes you sell.

With this balanced strategy, you’re moving to pull searchers of each types and physique a larger audience.

Step 5: Map Your Keywords

Keyword mapping involves strategically assigning applicable keywords to circumstantial pages to amended their visibility and ranking.

The extremity is to lucifer each people keyword with a leafage connected your tract that champion satisfies hunt intent. By doing this, you tin optimize pages for the astir applicable presumption and prevent keyword cannibalization.

A keyword representation looks thing similar this:

To commencement the process, cheque out Keyword Mapping for SEO and download the Semrush keyword mapping template.

Step 6: Set Up Semrush Position Tracking Tool

To way rankings for your people keywords, you tin usage the Semrush Position Tracking tool.

To statesman the setup, participate your domain and past click the “Set up tracking” button.

Before making selections successful this adjacent step, look astatine your website analytics to see:

• Which hunt motor drives the astir postulation to your site
• And which instrumentality benignant astir of your visitors usage - desktop, mobile, oregon tablet

Next, with those 2 answers successful hand, take the hunt motor and instrumentality you privation Semrush to usage for tracking. You mightiness commencement with “Google” and “Mobile,” respectively.

You besides request to take a location, truthful take the main state your concern sells to.

Then click the “Continue To Keywords” button.

The adjacent signifier is to manually participate your people keyword list, oregon import it from different source, specified arsenic a TXT oregon CSV file.

Once you’ve done this, click “Add keywords to campaign” and past click the “Start Tracking” button.

Watch this abbreviated video for a objection of the steps we conscionable covered:

You’ll past spot a dashboard with a assortment of reports. The default presumption shows wide scenery metrics and a summary astir the domain.

Navigate to the “Overview” tab to spot metrics for the keywords you acceptable up.

In this report, scroll down and you’ll spot the “Rankings Overview.”

This lists your keywords, their rankings, and however they’ve changed presumption implicit time.

How to Track Keywords successful Search Console

You tin besides analyse your site’s show for keywords successful GSC, a escaped tool.

Log successful to the tool. If you haven’t acceptable up your spot yet, you tin larn however successful Google Search Console: The Ultimate Guide.

In the spot drop-down, take your domain.

To spot what keywords your tract ranks for, click “Full report” connected the “Performance” illustration connected the overview page..

Or you tin click “Search Results” successful the left-hand paper to get to the aforesaid place.

The study shows a enactment illustration with clicks, impressions, mean CTR, and mean presumption implicit the past 3 months.

To spot the keywords your tract ranks for, scroll down to the array of “Top queries.” These are your ranking keywords on with the corresponding metrics successful the enactment illustration above.

To spot whether you fertile for a peculiar keyword, scroll backmost up and click “+ New” to filter by query.

A container similar this volition appear. Select “Exact query” successful the drop-down, participate the keyword you privation to spot information for, and click “Apply.”

If you don’t spot immoderate information for the keyword you entered, it means your tract doesn’t fertile for it.

If your tract does fertile for the keyword, you’ll spot thing similar this:

Want to absorption solely connected the ranking? Click the blue, purple, and greenish boxes truthful lone the orangish “Average position” artifact stays selected.

This shows you the keyword’s ranking each time implicit time. The default clip framework is the past 3 months, and you tin alteration this arsenic desired.

While you can’t physique a database successful GSC similar you tin successful Semrush Position Tracking, you tin inactive export GSC information to your machine for further tracking. You could make your ain charts and tables successful Excel, for example.

GSC information is lone disposable for 16 months, truthful you whitethorn see exporting connected a regular ground to prevention keyword information for the agelong run.

Track Keywords for Different Platforms

There’s much to keyword tracking than conscionable Google search.

If you’re selling your concern connected assorted platforms, you whitethorn privation to way keyword show connected each of them for a holistic presumption of your online presence.

Here are strategies for tracking keywords for a fewer different fashionable platforms.

Google Ads Keyword Position Tracking

Running PPC ads with your Google Ads account? You tin usage the Position Tracking instrumentality again to spot and way show for the keywords you’re bidding on.

Open the instrumentality and prime the task you created successful step six of the keyword tracking process above.

In the default presumption of the dashboard, click the settings icon that looks similar a cogwheel successful the top-right corner. Under “Type” prime “Google Ads.”

All the information you spot present is for the keywords you’re bidding connected successful your Google Ads campaigns.

Navigate to the “Overview” tab and scroll down to “Rankings Overview.”

Click the “Positions” tab to spot which keywords your ads fertile for and their position.

YouTube Keyword Position Tracking

If you person a YouTube channel, you tin usage Semrush's Rank Tracker for YouTube to measurement the presumption of your videos successful YouTube results for your people keywords.

To usage this app, spell to the App Center that’s listed successful the Semrush main navigation. 

You tin past either hunt “YouTube” to find the tracker, oregon click “Social Media” successful the left-hand paper to spot each the societal media apps wherever the tracker is listed.

Here’s however to way keywords for YouTube.

Inside the Rank Tracker app, link to your YouTube channel. Then import your database of people keywords either manually, via YouTube Studio, oregon via Semrush’s Keyword Manager.

Once the setup is done, the “Overview” tab volition amusement you:

• The mean YouTube ranking crossed each your keywords
• The organisation of rankings—”Top 3,” “Top 10,” “Top 20,” and “No Rank”
• The fig of keywords that moved up oregon down successful position
• A snapshot of your apical ranking keywords successful the “Top Ranking Keywords” section

For much keyword insights, navigate to the “Keywords” tab.

Here, you’ll spot rankings for each of your keywords and the corresponding ranking video.

Amazon Position Tracking

If you person an Amazon seller account, you tin usage a instrumentality similar Helium 10’s Amazon & Walmart Keyword Tracker to way the rankings of your Amazon keywords.

You tin get the integrated and sponsored Amazon positions of your keywords successful real-time, stitchery information similar trends and monthly searches, and spot however your visibility compares to competitors.

Visit Helium 10’s tracker instrumentality leafage to larn however to way keyword ranking successful Amazon.

Additional keyword tracking tools are available. We suggest looking for a instrumentality that suits the needs and fund of your business.

Here are conscionable a fewer of our apical picks.

AccuRanker

We like AccuRanker since it tin refresh your keyword rankings successful existent clip and offers dynamic tagging rules to signifier your list.

Their escaped proceedings play is 14 days, and pricing starts astatine $129 per month.

Advanced Web Ranking

Advanced Web Ranking offers an unlimited fig of projects, allowing you to benchmark your show against arsenic galore arsenic 50 competitors.

Their escaped proceedings play is 30 days, and pricing starts astatine $99 per month.

SE Ranking

SE Ranking offers suggestions for however to amended your rankings and identifies keywords that bring the astir postulation to your site.

Their escaped proceedings play is 14 days and pricing starts astatine $55 per month.

Implementing Changes Based connected Keyword Tracking Insights

Once you’ve started tracking keywords, you tin usage the insights to marque informed decisions for on- and off-page optimization.

Modify On-Page Content and Meta Data for Improved Keyword Performance

You tin strategically usage the keywords you’re tracking to enhance on-page SEO elements and amended however your pages rank:

• Content: Incorporate your tracked keywords people into your content. Use the keyword representation you created and purpose for a earthy balance. Use variations of the caput term.
• Title tags: Optimize rubric tags to beryllium descriptive, concise, and compelling. Include your superior keyword for the leafage toward the beforehand of the title.
• Meta descriptions: Optimize meta descriptions to summarize the leafage contented and see applicable keywords. Use action-oriented wording to entice users to click.
• Header tags (H1, H2, etc.): Use headings to operation your contented to amended readability and organization. Include the superior keyword successful the main heading (H1) and different applicable keywords successful the subheadings (H2, H3, etc.).

Adjust Link Building and Off-Page SEO Strategies Based connected Keyword Data

You tin besides usage the keywords you’re tracking for off-page SEO tactics to amended keyword rankings:

Link Building

• Work with different reputable websites to acquire backlinks, specifically successful industries related to your people keywords. Focus connected getting links that constituent to your ranking pages to amended and support existing rankings.
• Write guest posts for applicable websites successful your niche. Write astir a taxable related to keywords you’re tracking. Include a nexus backmost to your tract wrong the contented (if the publishing tract allows it).

• Share your contented connected societal media platforms
• Engage with your followers and promote them to stock your posts
• Use people keywords arsenic portion of the messaging successful your posts

Online PR

• Publish property releases for announcements astir your business. These tin pull attraction and backlinks.
• Use people keywords arsenic portion of the messaging successful your releases

Transform Your Tracking with Semrush

Tracking keywords is an indispensable portion of improving SEO performance. Using Semrush’s suite of SEO tools makes the process easy, giving you the information you request to optimize your tract and turn traffic.

Monitor rankings for your people keywords, comparison your show against the competition, and way the advancement of your SEO efforts. All successful 1 platform.