How to Track Your Google Rankings for Free (With Search Console)
You can track Google rankings for free with Google Search Console: filter your important keywords, compare two periods and check the position column. It takes a few minutes each time, and it's the real data Google reports for your site.
Why Search Console and not a Google search?
When you search a keyword from your own computer, the result depends on your location, history and device. Search Console shows your site's average position across everyone who searched, from Google's own data. It's more reliable, and it's free.
How do you set up rank tracking in Search Console?
- Open the Performance report and choose your site's property.
- Turn on "Average position" in the cards above the chart.
- Choose a date comparison: for example the last 28 days vs. the previous 28 days.
- Filter only your important keywords: Query filter → "Custom (regex)", and enter the keywords separated by a pipe, e.g.
personal trainer|gym consultant|home gym. - Sort by position difference in the table to see what rose and what fell.
- Save the URL of this view (the filter is kept in the link) to come back in one click.
How do you read the results?
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Position went from 12 to 7 | You moved up: a smaller number means higher |
| Impressions up, clicks flat | You appear more, but the title doesn't convince people to click |
| A keyword disappeared | The page no longer shows for it, or there aren't enough searches |
Remember: the position in Search Console is an average. A keyword at 8.4 may sometimes show at 5 and sometimes at 12.
What are the downsides of tracking by hand?
- You have to remember to check, and it usually gets forgotten.
- There's no alert when an important keyword drops.
- It's hard to see a multi-month trend or show it to a client.
When is an automatic tool worth it?
When you have more than a few keywords, or manage several sites. AutoWriter's rank tracking pulls the same Search Console data every week, flags ups and downs and emails you an update. The first 5 keywords are free.
What is a few positions worth? A numeric example
Say a keyword gets 1,000 searches a month. At position 8, by an average click curve, you'd get about 3.2% of searches, roughly 32 clicks a month. At position 3 you'd get about 11%, roughly 110 clicks. Moving from 8 to 3 is worth about 3.4× the traffic, with nothing else changing.
That's why it pays to watch keywords in positions 4–15: a small improvement there brings the biggest jump. Run the numbers for your keyword with the clicks by position calculator.
A 10-minute weekly checklist
- Open the saved view with your important keywords.
- Flag every keyword that dropped more than 3 positions.
- Check its page: did anything change, did a competitor publish new content?
- Mark keywords in positions 4–15 as candidates for more content or internal links.
- Log the week's average position in a sheet to see the trend over months.
Which common mistakes should you know?
- Reacting to one day's change. Rankings move constantly; a 2–4 week trend is what matters.
- Tracking dozens of broad keywords. Better 10–20 keywords that bring customers.
- Forgetting clicks. A good position with no clicks signals a title to improve.
Frequently asked questions
Is rank tracking in Search Console accurate?
It shows the average position from Google's data, so it's more reliable than searching by hand. Data arrives with a delay of a day or two.
How far back can I see data?
Search Console keeps 16 months of data.
Why doesn't a keyword I'm targeting show up at all?
If it has too few impressions, or your page doesn't appear for it in the first pages, it won't be listed.
How often should I check rankings?
Once a week is enough. Daily changes are usually noise.
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