Mastering Keyword Research and Rank Checking with Rank Tracker (2023)
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Setting Up Your First Project
- Features and Settings in Rank Tracker
- Monitoring Search Engine Rankings
- Collecting Target Keywords
- Checking Positions in Different Countries and Search Engines
- Customizing the Project Workspace
- Creating Sub-Workspaces
- Applying Filters and Rearranging Columns
- Exporting Results
- Monitoring Competitors
- Adding Competitors to Your Project
- Updating Competitor Positions
- Evaluating Keyword Quality
- Keyword Difficulty Metric
- Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI)
- Analyzing SERP Data
- Understanding SERP Analysis
- Analyzing Top-ranked Pages for a Keyword
- Conducting Competitor Research
- Discovering Major SEO Competitors
- Finding Niche Competitors Based on Topic Keywords
- Analyzing Top Pages
- Generating Reports
- Saving and Publishing Reports
- Customizing Report Templates
- Automating Tasks with the Scheduler
- Conclusion
Introduction
Welcome back to another tutorial on Rank Tracker, the all-in-one SEO toolkit by SEO PowerSuite. In this tutorial, we will guide you through setting up your first project and exploring the main features and settings available in the software. Rank Tracker is a powerful tool that allows you to monitor your search engine rankings, analyze keyword data, evaluate competitors, and generate comprehensive reports. Let's dive in and get started!
Setting Up Your First Project
Once you have installed Rank Tracker on your computer, you can easily create your first project. Simply double-click the application icon on your desktop to launch the software. Upon startup, Rank Tracker will prompt you to enter the domain name you would like to monitor. Once you've entered the domain name, click "Finish" to create your first project. The default project workspace will display all your project records, and you can customize it to suit your needs.
Features and Settings in Rank Tracker
Rank Tracker offers a wide range of features and settings to enhance your SEO workflow. Some of the main features include the ability to collect target keywords, check rankings in different countries and search engines, monitor competitors, evaluate keyword quality, analyze SERP data, conduct competitor research, generate reports, and automate tasks using the Scheduler. In the following sections, we will explore each of these features in detail.
Monitoring Search Engine Rankings
Collecting Target Keywords
Rank Tracker automatically collects your target keywords and their corresponding ranking positions in search engines. By default, the software analyzes your domain and offers search engines associated with your country. However, you can also monitor positions in other countries or choose different search engines like Bing or Yahoo. To do this, navigate to the "Preferences" section and select your preferred search engines.
Checking Positions in Different Countries and Search Engines
Rank Tracker allows you to monitor your positions in various countries and search engines. By adding the desired countries and search engines to your project, you can track your rankings in specific locations. To add a country or search engine, click the "Preferred search engines" button in the "Preferences" section and select the desired options from the list. This feature is particularly useful for businesses targeting international markets or using alternative search engines.
Customizing the Project Workspace
To make your project workspace more organized and tailored to your needs, Rank Tracker offers various customization options. You can create sub-workspaces to categorize your records, apply individual filters to focus on specific data, rearrange columns for better visibility, and sort records based on different factors. These customization options allow you to stay organized and gain valuable insights from your data.
Creating Sub-Workspaces
Rank Tracker allows you to create sub-workspaces within your main project workspace. Sub-workspaces help you organize your records more efficiently, especially if you are dealing with large amounts of data. You can create sub-workspaces based on specific sets of columns, such as keyword groups or competitor data. This feature enables you to analyze and compare different aspects of your project more effectively.
Applying Filters and Rearranging Columns
To further customize your project workspace, Rank Tracker allows you to apply filters and rearrange columns. Filters help you focus on specific data by setting criteria for what records to display. You can apply filters based on keyword attributes, ranking positions, competitor data, and more. Rearranging columns allows you to change the display order of columns for better visibility and analysis.
Exporting Results
If you need to export your results from the project workspace, Rank Tracker provides convenient export options. Enterprise license users can use the quick CSV export button to save results in a CSV file on their local hard drive. Professional license users can copy the results from the workspace and insert them into Excel or Google Sheets for further analysis. These export options make it easy to share and analyze your data outside of Rank Tracker.
Monitoring Competitors
In addition to monitoring your own domain, Rank Tracker allows you to track your competitors' rankings as well. You can add competitors to your project and continuously update their positions alongside your own. This feature provides valuable insights into your competitors' SEO strategies and helps you stay ahead in the competitive landscape.
Adding Competitors to Your Project
To add a competitor to your project, navigate to the "Preferences" section and click "Competitors". From there, you can add the competitor's website address and click "OK" to save. Once added, the competitor's rankings will be displayed alongside yours in the project workspace. Rank Tracker allows you to monitor up to five competitors per project with the Professional version, and up to 40 competitors with the Enterprise license.
Updating Competitor Positions
Once you have added competitors to your project, you can update their positions alongside your own by clicking the "Check Rankings" button. This will update the rankings for both your domain and your competitors. Regularly updating competitor positions allows you to track their progress, identify areas of improvement, and refine your own SEO strategies accordingly.
Evaluating Keyword Quality
Rank Tracker provides useful metrics to help you evaluate the quality of your keywords. These metrics include the Keyword Difficulty Index (KEI) and keyword difficulty. Understanding these metrics can help you identify valuable keywords and prioritize your optimization efforts.
Keyword Difficulty Metric
The Keyword Difficulty metric provides a percentage value estimating the work required to rank a website on page 1 for a given keyword in a specific search engine. A higher score indicates a higher level of competition. By analyzing the keyword difficulty scores of your top competitors, you can determine whether it's worth targeting a specific keyword or focusing on alternatives. A difficulty score above 70% suggests fierce competition, and pursuing long-tail keywords or synonyms may be more effective.
Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI)
The Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) helps you determine the usefulness and efficiency of your keywords. KEI indicates the ratio between competition and search volume. Keywords with high KEI values have a high search volume and low competition, making them potentially valuable for driving traffic to your website. Rank Tracker highlights keywords with high KEI values in green, allowing you to quickly identify keywords with significant traffic potential.
Pros:
- Accurate keyword position tracking.
- Provides valuable metrics for evaluating keyword quality.
- Allows you to make informed decisions regarding targeting specific keywords or alternative strategies.
- Highlights high KEI keywords for potential traffic opportunities.
Cons:
- Keyword difficulty scores rely on accurate and up-to-date competitor data.
Analyzing SERP Data
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Analysis is a powerful feature in Rank Tracker that provides comprehensive insights into the top-ranked pages for any keyword. By analyzing SERP data, you can assess the level of effort required to outrank competitors and identify key factors contributing to high-ranking pages.
Understanding SERP Analysis
To perform SERP Analysis in Rank Tracker, navigate to the module and choose the desired search engine. Enter the keyword you would like to analyze and click "Analyze SERP". Rank Tracker will then gather data on the top 50 ranking pages for the keyword. This data includes overall page strength, authority and backlink factors, domain traffic and ranking keywords, and performance scores. The SERP Analysis feature helps you understand the competitive landscape and formulate effective SEO strategies.
Conducting Competitor Research
Rank Tracker provides powerful tools for competitor research, allowing you to identify your main competitors and gain insights into their SEO strategies. These tools help you analyze competitor keywords, detect gaps in their strategies, and discover new keyword opportunities.
Discovering Major SEO Competitors
The domain competitors method in Rank Tracker allows you to discover your major SEO competitors. By entering your domain or a specific landing page, Rank Tracker will provide you with a list of websites/pages you compete with for overall visibility across the SERPs. This information helps you identify key competitors in your niche and analyze their strategies for inspiration.
Finding Niche Competitors Based on Topic Keywords
The topic competitors method in Rank Tracker enables you to discover competitors based on your topic keywords. By entering a list of keywords relevant to your niche, you can uncover websites that are targeting similar topics. This feature helps you explore competitors outside of your direct industry and gain a broader perspective on the competitive landscape.
Analyzing Top Pages
Rank Tracker's top pages method allows you to analyze the top-ranking pages for any website or specific URL. By entering the URL and selecting the desired search mode, Rank Tracker will provide you with a list of pages the website is ranking for organically in your target region. This information helps you identify popular pages, assess their performance, and gain insights into effective SEO strategies.
Generating Reports
Rank Tracker offers robust reporting capabilities to summarize and visualize your SEO data. You can save and publish reports based on the statistical information collected by Rank Tracker. Reports can be customized to include specific metrics and insights, allowing you to present your findings to clients or team members.
Saving and Publishing Reports
With an Enterprise license, you can save reports in HTML or PDF format directly from Rank Tracker. Simply click the "Quick Save" button and choose the save location on your hard drive. If you prefer to share reports online, Rank Tracker offers the option to generate shareable links. These links can be sent to clients or team members, allowing them to view the report online.
Customizing Report Templates
Rank Tracker provides several report templates that can be customized to suit your needs. You can add or remove widgets, rearrange their order, and select the specific information to be included in each widget. This customization allows you to tailor each report to your audience and present the most relevant insights. The "Settings" button provides additional options to change the language, style, and color scheme of your reports.
Automating Tasks with the Scheduler
To optimize your workflow and save time, Rank Tracker offers a Scheduler feature that allows you to automate tasks. By creating scheduled tasks, you can set Rank Tracker to automatically update rankings, check keyword difficulty, or perform other tasks at specified intervals. This automation ensures that your data is always up to date, even when you are not actively using the software.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Rank Tracker is a versatile and powerful tool for monitoring search engine rankings, analyzing keyword data, evaluating competitors, and generating comprehensive reports. Its wide range of features and settings enables you to optimize your SEO workflow and make data-driven decisions to improve your website's visibility and performance. With Rank Tracker, you have the tools you need to stay ahead in the ever-changing world of SEO.
🔥 Highlights
- Track your search engine rankings with Rank Tracker
- Collect target keywords and analyze rankings in various countries and search engines
- Customize your project workspace with sub-workspaces, filters, and column rearrangement
- Monitor your competitors' rankings and track their progress
- Evaluate keyword quality using metrics like Keyword Difficulty and KEI
- Analyze SERP data to understand the competitive landscape
- Conduct competitor research to identify major competitors and discover new keyword opportunities
- Generate comprehensive reports to share insights with clients or team members
- Automate tasks with the Scheduler to save time and ensure up-to-date data
FAQ
Q: Can Rank Tracker handle large volumes of data?
A: Yes, Rank Tracker is designed to handle large volumes of data efficiently. You can customize your project workspace, create sub-workspaces, and apply filters to manage and analyze extensive keyword records.
Q: Is Rank Tracker suitable for international SEO campaigns?
A: Yes, Rank Tracker allows you to monitor search engine rankings in different countries and target specific search engines. This makes it ideal for international SEO campaigns or businesses targeting specific regions.
Q: Can I use Rank Tracker for competitor analysis?
A: Absolutely! Rank Tracker provides various tools for competitor analysis, including monitoring competitor rankings, identifying major SEO competitors, and analyzing their strategies. This information helps you stay informed and make informed decisions about your SEO efforts.
Q: Can I automate tasks in Rank Tracker?
A: Yes, Rank Tracker offers the Scheduler feature, which allows you to automate tasks at specified intervals. You can set the software to update rankings, check keyword difficulty, or perform other tasks without manual intervention.
Q: Can I generate customized reports in Rank Tracker?
A: Yes, Rank Tracker offers customizable report templates that can be tailored to your specific needs. You can add or remove widgets, rearrange their order, and select the information to be included in each widget. This flexibility allows you to present the most relevant insights to your clients or team members.
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