SEO Keyword Rankings Guide

As search engines like Google add more elements to search result pages, including generative AI, effectively tracking your and your competitors' keyword rankings is more important than ever. Keyword rankings that drift even one or two positions can have dramatic impacts on your traffic and revenue from organic search. Knowing what keywords are driving the traffic and what conditions are leading to changes in rankings is critical for effective SEO. Today, SEOs need to not only understand how they rank in traditional organic results, but also how AI-powered elements like Google Generative Overlays, ChatGPT, and AI-first engines like Perplexity are sourcing results.

Check out our articles on keyword rankings to learn how to effectively track and optimize your positions across traditional and AI search.

Blog Posts on SEO Keyword Rankings

SEO Measurement:
A Guide to Reporting, Platforms and Tools

Search for guides about measuring the success of your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and you’ll be met with an array of what are, in effect, glossaries—lists of metrics and accompanying definitions. Unfortunately, there’s very little information about organizing those metrics into an effective plan. In order to track your SEO activities in a valuable and sustainable way, you need to organize metrics into a broader long-term plan. What’s more, it’s crucial to leverage...

Keyword Gap Analysis: The Key to Successful SEO

Use Competitive Analysis to Rank Higher in Search Results Competitive analysis is often overlooked in digital marketing strategies, as search marketers instead focus on keywords and backlinks. Without successful competitor intelligence, however, it will be a challenge to really succeed in the SERPs. For your brand to have a strong digital presence, ranking well on the SERPs is nonnegotiable. BrightEdge research has shown that as much as 51% of your traffic arrives through organic...

SEO Rank Checkers: Know Where You Stand in the SERPs

A central truth of search engine optimization (SEO) is that not all optimization opportunities are created equal. Additionally, because there are usually more keywords relevant to your brand than time to optimize for them, it’s important to identify and prioritize the keywords that have the most potential to drive motivated people to your website. This starts by knowing where your website stands in the search rankings for target keywords. By performing SEO rank checking, you can gather...

A Beginner's Guide:
Understanding SEO Keywords 101

Updated March 2022 Keywords are among the first things that budding search engine optimizers learn about. They’re part of the fabric of the internet itself. And they’re fundamental when it comes to building an effective, data-driven strategy for generating organic traffic. However, it’s common for SEOs to fall into a trap when they first encounter keywords. They find a straightforward definition, get to grips with the core features of their preferred keyword research software, and...

7 Things You Must Do to Rank for Your Keywords

In this age of Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird, ranking for your keywords in the search engine results pages (SERPs) requires both strategic SEO intelligence and a systematic approach. SEO is very much alive and well -- when done correctly -- and is integral to a winning organic search content strategy. With that in mind, we’ve distilled seven essential steps you need to take to rank for your keywords. 1. Keyword research Keyword research lays the foundation for optimizing your site....

A Basic Keyword Research Guide

A fundamental first step to optimizing your site to boost your organic search traffic and generate leads is keyword research. By identifying the keywords that prospective visitors are most likely to use when searching for your industry’s products and services, then targeting content around those keywords and optimizing existing content for content marketing with them, your Web pages are more likely to surface in response to a query in the Google or Bing search engine results pages (SERPs),...

Keyword Ranking SEO Glossary Terms

Keyword Placement: Where Should You Put Keywords?

Does keyword placement matter? Keywords should be strategically placed throughout content to make it clear both to the search engines and the users what topics the content will cover. This means that keywords should be used naturally throughout the content, but they should also be included in the headings and tags, including the H1 and H2 tags, the title, the meta tags, and the meta description. Note that some of the features, such as meta description, are not directly used by Google in...

What Are Local Search Engine Rankings?

Local SERPs describe the results that show up for a local-based query based upon where the customer is. Local SERPs usually include a local 3-pack on top and show the most relevant results on the map. Why are local SEO rankings important? If you have a brick-and-mortar store or other local business listing, then local SERPs can have a significant impact on how easily people can find your business online. Local SERPs, as we mentioned, are the results that show up for a...

How To Increase Site Ranking for an Unranked Page?

How to increase rank on Google for an unranked page? When you have a page that does not have high rankings that will bring in interested readers or help with your site organization, it can be frustrating. Here is how to increase rank on Google for an unranked page. First examine the content you have on your page. Is it well-written? Does it have a strong opening that pulls in readers? Does it use visuals to help communicate its meaning and engage people further? Is the content itself...

How Do I Improve SEO Rank?

Your SEO rank refers to where your website falls on the search engine results page, or SERP. Improving your ranking revolves around a better understanding of what visitors and the search engines want to see and then addressing these issues on your site. When people type or speak a query for the search engines, they receive a list of sites that are ranked in the order of their likely relevance to the query. Google continues to refine their algorithm as they gain a better understanding...