Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is a term that's used to describe the set of results that come up each time you "search" for something on a search engine like Google.
If you want to improve your website's SERP visibility and attract your share of the traffic generated through search engines, you need a rank tracking tool to get the job done.
A SERP tracking tool monitors the keywords that you add to it and helps you improve your rankings.
The SERP tracker will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and point out the areas that you need to work on to rank higher on search results.
Before we walk you through a list of hand-picked SERP checker tools, we’re giving you a list of features that you need to be looking out for when you’re hunting for a SERP tracker.
Top SERP checker tool features:
Historical data
A lot of SERPs only offer a ranking update for a moment in time. But you need a tracker that will allow you to view the full rank history over time to see how your website or the page has fared against your competitors.
Ability to view mobile and desktop rankings separately
Many tracking tools will only show you the ranking on the desktop. Opt for a tracker where you will get to see both the rankings via desktop and mobile devices separately.
Location-based tracker
The best SERP rank tracker will let you track keyword rankings at international, national, state and city levels all the way down to the zip code level — this will enable you to cater to local clients better.
Accuracy
The SERP tracker that you decide to go with must provide you absolute accuracy when it comes to tracking.
Why is keyword rank tracking important?
Monitoring your keyword rankings is important when you are trying to optimize your website to rank higher in the search engine.
Keyword rank tracking will help you understand the rank position of your target keywords and this will, in turn, help you tweak your SEO efforts accordingly.
Let’s look at 3 top reasons to monitor keyword rankings:
- It helps you identify keywords and phrases with high search volume and rank your pages for these specific keywords
- Reviewing keyword ranking will help you identify ranking fluctuations or a drop in the traffic — you can then fix the issue by using keywords or phrases with a higher keyword position
- Keyword rank tracking will also help you understand how your competitors are ranking for specific keywords and if they are using any new set of words or phrases. You can then fine-tune your content to improve your rankings.
List of 13 best SERP trackers
We’re here to break down the top SERP tracking tools that you will need to win at search engine optimization. Let’s get down to it…
SERP Inbox
We’re kick-starting this exhaustive list with a free SERP checker - SERP Inbox. This is a widely used tool to track keyword rankings on Google.
Pros:
- This tool is ideal for freelancers and small businesses
- You will receive daily email reports with the rankings of your keywords
Cons:
- The tool is relatively new and has a limited feature set
FatRank
FatRank is a free tool and it provides you with real-time SERP analysis and data, that will help you better optimize your website for target keywords.
If you don’t show up in the top 100 results, it will show that you are currently not ranking for that specific keyword.
Pros:
- FatRank offers a Chrome extension making it extremely easy to use
- The tool is trusted to be very accurate and it pulls up data in real-time
- It’s available on the mobile app for both Android and iOS
Cons:
- The tool only scraps data for the given keywords in the first 100 search results
- This SERP checker allows you to track ranking for only one keyword at a time
Majestic SEO
Majestic SEO helps you in tracking the SERP rankings and pulls up insights on both current as well as historical data.
The tool lets you get started for free — their pricing plan starts at $39.
Pros:
- The tool helps you identify the average position on the search engines
- It gives you insights into your webpage’s visibility
Cons:
- There are concerns that the data is not up to date
- The UI is very plain and old school
SERPwatcher (Mangools)
SERPWatcher is a tool by Mangools that is perfect for anyone who is just starting out. The tool is offered at an affordable price of $30 per month.
Pros:
- If you sign up for the monthly or yearly plans you can avail great discounts
- They have a very responsive customer support service
Cons:
- The tool has limited features and besides SERP tracking, it does not offer any auditing solutions
- Featured snippets are not accounted for on this tool
Wincher
Wincher is a SERP tracker where you have a bunch of filters to streamline your search, you can group your keywords — and you can even set a specific date range for the keyword tracking data that you are looking for.
While you can get started for free, their starter plan is offered at $24.
Pros:
- It has a clean UI and displays data in a neat manner
- The tool analyzes the rankings on search engines on both desktop and mobile devices
Cons:
- With a considerably limited feature set — the prices are slightly on the higher end
- This SERP tracker only checks Google rankings
RankRanger
If you’re dealing with a large volume of keywords then RankRanger makes it easy by helping you group and tag keywords.
You can explore the platform for free during their 14-day free trial period. Their basic pricing plan ‘Lite’ starts at $79.
Pros:
- The tool supports multiple languages
- You can even create graphs to easily analyze your rankings
- You can track your performance on a global level and on popular search engines like Google, Bing, and YouTube
Cons:
- For the starting plan at $79 — you are allowed to create only 15 dashboards and you can track only 500 keywords
- This is an expensive tool compared to the alternatives in the market
Semrush
SEMRush is one of the most popular SERP trackers with over 1.8 million users. It is more than just a tracking tool. It offers competitor analysis, keyword rank research, SEO auditing, content analysis, and more.
The pricing plans for this tool start at $119 and it is more suitable for larger businesses.
Pros:
- It gives you the ranking results within minutes
- It offers international, national, state and city wise tracking
- You can build customizable reports
Cons:
- Tracking a large number of keywords across various clients can be costly
Ahrefs
When it comes to SERP tracking tools, Ahrefs stands out as one of the most preferred tools. For more all-in-one SEO platforms that include a SERP tracker, take a look at other Ahrefs alternatives that have similar features.
The backlink tracking is exceptional and acting on the analytics shared by the tool, will help you beat your competition and rank higher up in the search results. Ahrefs’ ‘Lite’ plan starts at $99.
Pros:
- One of the best tools for keyword research
- The tool offers rich insights into your search rankings
Cons:
- Historical data is unavailable
- The tool does not provide daily updates on the rank tracking
ProRankTracker
With over 60,000+ users, ProRankTracker is one of the best SERP tracking tools that gives a daily update of your keyword rankings or even on-demand requests based on the plan that you choose.
This is an affordable tool - you can get started on their free plan or opt for their ‘Starter’ plan at $13.5.
Pros:
- A great choice for searching rankings on Amazon and other exclusive search engines like Yahoo, YouTube, and Bing
- The tool even offers video tracking capabilities on Google, and YouTube
- It offers a great reporting feature, giving you access to tons of analytical statistics and even offers multilingual reporting
Cons:
- No access to Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels
- The tracker is not very responsive on mobile devices
AccuRanker
AccuRanker is known to be one of the fastest SERP trackers and its data accuracy has to be one of the best.
The tool has a monthly pricing at $109 and a yearly plan at $99. The tool also has an integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Pros:
- You can add any number of domains under a single account
- You can refresh and view the rank tracking data at any point in time
Cons:
- The tool is expensive and it does not offer a plan with less than 1000 keywords
- You can conduct a competitor analysis for only 10 competitors
MorningScore
While MorningScore was initially built as a SERP ranking tracker, the tool is now being used as a search engine optimization tool.
You can get access to the tool’s dashboard for $6 a month or get started with their plan ‘Growth suite’ at $65 a month.
Pros:
- You get to track missing links and tags as well
- The tool lets you group your keywords into folders to manage them better
Cons:
- The tool has a limited set of features to offer
SERPWoo
SERPWoo has a great reporting system that helps you understand why some websites outrank you and what you can do to grow your traffic.
The tool’s pricing plan starts at $49.9 but you can get started for free.
Pros:
- You can add tags and create sub-accounts
- It will send you alerts about the SERP rankings to your email
Cons:
- The free plan lets you track only 3 keywords
Serpstat
The pricing for Serpstat starts at $55. This tool not only helps in tracking the rankings but also can be a great tool to analyze your website’s backlinks profile or do a complete site audit.
Pros:
- The tool takes into account Featured Snippets
- It has the best visualization for keyword rankings
- The tool also shares insights on your website traffic
Cons:
- The tool lags at times
- It is not easy to use and makes it hard for users who are just starting out