Keyword Rankings: What They Are & How to Check Yours

Keyword rankings are some the extremity and a measurement of occurrence successful hunt motor optimization (SEO).

Let’s dive into what this means and however to amended rankings for your website.

What Is a Keyword Ranking?

A keyword ranking is simply a webpage’s presumption successful integrated (unpaid) hunt results for a fixed query. 

For each keyword, Google ranks webpages based connected however good their contented satisfies the user's query.

Google whitethorn besides show ads and other elements known arsenic SERP (search motor results page) features. Appearing for SERP features whitethorn besides beryllium considered rankings.

That means the results leafage whitethorn look similar this:

Keyword rankings fluctuate each the clip arsenic Google strives to present the champion results.

Your website’s keyword rankings beryllium connected your content’s relevancy, quality, and usability. Which are each determined by galore ranking factors.

Why Are Keyword Rankings Important?

Keyword rankings are important due to the fact that they impact your website’s integrated (unpaid) visibility and traffic.

The higher your keyword ranking position, the much apt users are to spot and click your results. Which tin pb to much visitors who mightiness go customers.

In fact, the average click-through complaint (CTR) for the apical effect connected Google is astir 22%. The effect successful 10th gets less impressions and has a CTR nether 3%. 

That said, it’s besides important to fertile for the close kinds of keywords.

A precocious keyword ranking isn’t precise utile if the query doesn’t get galore searches oregon make conversions (desirable actions) connected your website.

How to Check Your Keyword Rankings

To cheque your keyword rankings, spell to Semrush’s Organic Research tool.

Enter your domain, take your people country, and click “Search.”

Create oregon motion into your escaped relationship if you haven’t already. 

Then, spell to the “Positions” report.

You’ll spot a database of keywords you fertile for. 

The numbers successful the “Position” file correspond your site’s highest integrated ranking for each keyword. (As of the day astatine the apical oregon successful the “Updated” column.)

And the “URL” file shows which webpage ranks for each corresponding keyword.

Understanding Keyword Metrics

The Organic Research tool’s Positions study shows a assortment of keyword metrics.

The pursuing metrics are peculiarly utile for gathering an effectual SEO strategy:

• Intent: The benignant of search intent down the keyword (i.e., the wide intent of the search). This tin beryllium informational (I), navigational (N), commercialized (C), oregon transactional (T). And indicates however apt the idiosyncratic is to convert.
• Prev. position: Your ranking presumption successful the erstwhile period. For example, if you’re looking astatine today’s day past the erstwhile play is yesterday. This allows you to measurement your advancement and cheque for immoderate imaginable issues. (Note: You whitethorn request to alteration this file via the “Manage columns” button.)
• SF: The fig of SERP features that look wrong the apical 20 integrated results. Click the fig to spot precisely which ones they are. Or click the icon to presumption the results leafage for yourself. You whitethorn privation to optimize your contented with these SERP diagnostic opportunities successful mind.
• Traffic: The estimated magnitude of monthly integrated postulation generated by the keyword ranking. This is based connected the keyword hunt measurement (described below) and mean click-through rates.
• Volume: The keyword hunt volume represents the mean fig of monthly searches a keyword gets. The higher the volume, the much postulation you whitethorn beryllium capable to make by ranking highly for that keyword.
• KD %: The keyword difficulty score, which indicates however hard it is to gain a top-10 integrated SEO keyword ranking. The higher the people retired of 100, the much competitory the keyword is. If you’re caller to SEO, it’s astute to commencement with lower-difficulty keywords.

Understanding SERP Features

A SERP diagnostic is immoderate non-traditional effect connected a hunt results page.

Some SERP features signifier portion of your website keyword rankings. Because they are enhancements made to your modular result.

If you spot an icon successful the “Position” file of the Organic Research Positions report, it means your website ranks for a SERP feature.

Hover connected each icon to cheque what it represents. And click the bluish nexus to larn more.

For example, the crown icon represents a featured snippet.

This is simply a peculiar benignant of integrated effect that contains a larger excerpt from your page. With the extremity of providing instant accusation to the user.

It astir ever appears successful the #1 position. 

Standard results that incorporate different kinds of enhancements are called rich snippets.

For example, here’s a affluent snippet with reviews, sitelinks, and an image:

Other kinds of SERP features do not person keyword ranking positions. Because they’re other elements that aren’t based connected modular ranking factors.

But they tin inactive thrust integrated postulation to your website.

For example, the knowledge panel isn’t considered to person a accepted ranking position.

5 Steps to Improve Your Keyword Rankings

Follow these 5 basal steps to amended your SEO keyword rankings:

1. Find Lower-Difficulty Keywords

Lower-difficulty keywords are presumption that pull weaker contention from different sites. Usually due to the fact that they person little hunt volumes and much circumstantial intents.

As a result, less sites people those queries. And it’s easier for you to fertile highly.

High rankings for low-volume keywords thin to thrust amended results than debased rankings for high-volume keywords.

After all, fewer users task beyond the archetypal leafage of Google. And of those that do, lone a tiny percent click a effect they find there.

You tin find low-difficulty keywords to people with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Enter a word to basal your hunt astir and adhd your domain. (If you haven’t already, you’ll request to assertion your escaped Semrush trial.)

Then, take your people state and click “Search.”

The instrumentality volition contiguous “Broad Match” keywords that incorporate your starting word oregon a adjacent variation. And cipher a idiosyncratic keyword trouble (PKD %) people for each one.

This represents however hard it is to fertile highly for your domain successful particular.

Use the “Personal KD %” filter to absorption connected keywords successful your chosen trouble range.

For example, keywords with a people of 0% to 29% are considered precise casual oregon casual to fertile for. 

If you already fertile for a keyword, you’ll spot your ranking presumption successful the “Keyword” column.

Boosting existing rankings tends to beryllium quicker and easier than establishing caller rankings. Because you already person a instauration to physique on.

In the pursuing sections, you’ll larn however to people your chosen keywords effectively.

2. Satisfy Search Intent

Search intent is the intent down a user’s query.

For example, radical who hunt “best moving shoes” mostly privation an nonfiction with accusation and recommendations. Rather than an ecommerce page.

Understanding and gathering hunt intent is cardinal to ranking highly. Because Google tries to springiness its users the astir satisfactory results.

It tin besides boost clicks and conversions by aligning with what users expect to find.

You tin analyse hunt intent erstwhile you bash keyword research successful Semrush.

The “Intent” metric shows the type(s) of hunt intent down the keyword. Which tin be:

For a amended understanding, click the “View SERP” icon and look astatine the results for yourself.

3. Provide More Value Than Your Competitors

If your contented provides much worth than competitors’, Google has bully crushed to fertile it higher.

You tin connection much worth than your competitors by focusing connected information gain.

Basically, this involves adding caller insights, perspectives, oregon archetypal information that different contented lacks.

For example, you could try:

• Conducting archetypal probe and sharing findings utilizing your content
• Creating caller images and videos to heighten users’ understanding
• Quoting taxable substance experts to adhd authorization and depth
• Enriching your contented with interactive elements (e.g., quizzes and tools)
• Covering a taxable much comprehensively than your rivals
• Providing unsocial insights oregon ideas based connected first-hand experience

Check retired top-ranking contented connected the SERP to spot what you’re up against. And look for weaknesses oregon opportunities you tin capitalize on.

4. Put Keywords successful the Right Places

Putting the close keywords successful the close places helps Google recognize that your contented is relevant.

But you request to tread carefully. Forcing keywords wherever they don’t beryllium is considered a spammy practice. And tin pb to a Google punishment that harms your rankings.

We urge that you take a applicable primary keyword for each page.

And usage it successful the pursuing locations:

• Title tag: The HTML leafage title
• H1 tag: This should incorporate your main on-page title
• URL slug: The unsocial portion of the webpage address

Then, weave your superior keyword and different applicable keywords (secondary keywords) into the assemblage content. And the pursuing elements, wherever natural:

• Alt text: Image descriptions provided for SEO and accessibility purposes
• Subheading tags: H2s, H3s, etc.

Always marque definite to usage keywords successful their grammatically close form. 

For example, radical mightiness hunt for “running shoes nike.” But you should usage a variant similar “Nike moving shoes” instead.

5. Build High-Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are links from different websites that constituent to your website. By linking to your content, different sites bespeak that they worth your content.

Which tin pb Google to amusement your contented much prominently successful hunt results.

While the quantity of your backlinks is important, high-quality backlinks—from authoritative, reputable websites—carry much weight. Google favors these backlinks arsenic indicators of credibility and reliability.

The process of trying to physique invaluable backlinks is called link building.

Here’s a speedy instauration to immoderate tactics you tin use:

• Conduct archetypal research, past promote manufacture bloggers to stock your findings
• Try to retrieve your mislaid backlinks and hole immoderate breached backlinks
• Find and respond to applicable media requests (e.g., writer requests for adept commentary)
• Provide lawsuit studies oregon testimonials for your suppliers’ websites
• Look for unlinked references to your marque and inquire the creators to nexus them

Track Your Keyword Rankings

Track your keyword rankings implicit clip utilizing Semrush’s Position Tracking tool.

It records your positions for people keywords each 24-48 hours. So you tin easy show your advancement and cheque for immoderate issues.

You tin besides motion up for ranking alerts, cheque rankings connected a page-by-page basis, spot wherever your tract appears successful paid results, and overmuch more.