The Importance of Ranking Tracking Reports

The landscape of search engine optimization changes almost every day. One day a specific tactic might be working gangbusters in the next it be that to useless to help you rank highly – only before flipping back to incredibly important just another day after that!

It’s enough to make you go crazy. The one major constant, though, has to be the importance of laser targeting very specific keywords that you want to rank highly for. If there’s a solid foundation that search engine optimization can be built on top of it would definitely be that kind of ranking approach.

At the same time, you’ll never really know whether or not your SEO approach is working until you actually start to track your keywords, see how they are ranking, and then make adjustments as necessary to build and grow moving forward.

The only things that ever get improved upon (in life as well and in SEO) are the things that you track. Below we highlight the importance of tracking your rank reports closely, helping to shine a light on this major piece of the SCO puzzle. Let’s jump right in!

What Are Keyword Ranking Reports?

Truth be told, SEO ranking tracking reports have sort of fallen out of favor in the world of search engine optimization (at least as far as the mainstream of this community is concerned, anyway). People that there are better and maybe more important metrics to focus on and to track. And in a couple of ways they may be accurate. Like we said earlier, the world of search engine optimization changes, grows, and evolves faster than you would ever think possible.

All the same, though, rank tracking reports are still critically important for those “in the know” – especially when you want to do things like troubleshoot traffic drops, spot new opportunities before your competition, monitor your competitors to see what they do best (and where they are weak), and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

These rank tracking reports may be a detailed breakdown of how your targeted keywords are doing and where your ranks are positioned in descending order, but that only barely begins to scratch the surface of everything they can help you achieve – if you’re using them correctly.

What is the Importance of Ranking Tracking Reports?

Straight out of the gate, the major reason people still like to use rank tracking reports has everything to do with finding out why different sources of traffic aren’t generating quite as much flow as they were before. The online world (at least from a traffic generation standpoint) will always ebb and flow. Sometimes you’re dealing with more traffic than you ever thought possible. Other times you have next to no traffic at all, and it also happens for no real reason.

By reviewing your keyword rankings you’ll be able to identify where these drops happen, why they are happening, and what you can do to get out to confirm those issues ASAP. Another big advantage to using ranking reports is using them to identify new opportunities as they are made available.

Rank tracking reports allow you to monitor your success (or struggles) at scale, but also to look at how your competitors are doing at scale as well. This gives you a bit of “x-ray vision” into the kinds of insights you wouldn’t have had access to otherwise, spotting opportunities you aren’t leveraging the way you could as well as opportunities to leapfrog over your competition, too. The value in ethically and legally “spying” on your competition with these kinds of reports is something that cannot be overlooked.

It’s like you are sitting in their marketing meetings without anyone noticing, seeing what they are trying to do to succeed online, and watching as their progress unfolds. This lets you predict where they are going to redirect funds, redirect effort, and try to move the needle when it comes to SEO – and that lets you get out in front of them if you move quickly, too.

How Often Should I Be Generating These Kinds of Reports?

All things considered, it’s not a bad idea to be generating these kinds of reports at least every month. Some SEO professionals prefer to generate those kinds of reports every couple of weeks. Others might try to generate them every six months or so. But when it comes to consistency and when it comes to really finding a way to succeed with SEO, a monthly check up about how you’re doing keyword wise with your rankings is a great place to start.