10 Best Keyword Rank Trackers
Jun 30, 2022
Nightwatch
Rankings are among the most influential factors on SEO performance. Understanding where you stand in the SERPs enables you to ramp up your strategy accordingly.
However, keeping up with constantly changing search algorithms is no easy feat. Sifting through keywords manually and understanding the data can be complicated and tedious. Fortunately, some tools can help automate the process: keyword rank trackers.
We detail how to choose the best keyword rank tracker and present ten options for your review.
Features to Look For
If this is your first time hearing the term, you might be asking: what is a keyword rank tracker?
Capabilities can differ dramatically depending on the service, but they all do the same thing: track where your site ranks for specific keywords in various popular search engines.
Before we get to the reviews, let’s discuss what to consider.
Type
As with many SEO tools, you’ll find three broad categories of keyword rank tracker: plugins, desktop apps, and SaaS (software as a service). Plugins can be limited, and desktop applications are somewhat cumbersome to download and store.
SaaS is the most popular and accessible type, and there’s a wide variety of choices on the market. Many offer different tiers of subscription plans that can range from simple to comprehensive.
Basic vs Multipurpose vs Enterprise
Certain services solely track keywords, whereas others provide additional services in the realm of SEO, marketing, and more. Enterprise platforms usually offer the full package in terms of SEO insights.
Data Quality and Presentation
Inaccurate or outdated data defeats the purpose of a keyword rank tracker. Most reputable services deliver updates at least once a week, if not more often.
Other vital criteria here relate to how in-depth the information is. Ideally, the SaaS should manage to do the following:
Cross-reference and monitor all aspects of rankings (e.g., pages, subdomains, etc.).
Separate true rank vs web rank.
Keep up with changing search algorithms.
Compare competitor positions.
Differentiate between local or global SEO.
Prepare reports for easy assessment.
Allow for whitelabel customization (optional).
Price
Prices can range from as low as $30 per month to close to $1,000 for extra services and features. Bear in mind that more expensive platforms may not necessarily be the best keyword rank tracker for your business.
10 Best Keyword Rank Trackers
We scoured the market to round up the ten best keyword trackers available. Discover the highlights and specs of each one.
#1. Nightwatch - Best Overall
Nightwatch is an integrative SEO tool that companies such as Shopify and Booking.com use. You can trial any of the three tiers—Starter, Optimize, and Agency—for 30 days free. Pricing starts at $24 for 500 keywords per day.
Nightwatch tracks rankings across multiple search engines, from behemoths like Google to the notoriously discreet DuckDuckGo.
It analyzes rankings at each stage of the funnel, and factors in both local and global searches. Accuracy is all-but-guaranteed, as it can access any Google Data Center in the world. Plus, it cross-references data to minimize anomalies in your results.
The Keyword Discoverability function helps you discover new, useful keywords to implement. Finally, the Site Auditor includes automated crawling to keep an eye on your site’s SEO health.
Price: $24 to $221 per month billed annually with a 30-day free trial.
Authority Labs is a specialized software that manages all things keyword-related. It grants you 250 to over 5,000 keywords daily, based on the package. You can test it out for 14 days without commitment.
Plus, Pro, Pro Plus, and Enterprise all allow for unlimited users. Core features across all levels include daily updates, local tracking, and Now Provided reports. The latter reveals the “Not Provided” keywords that other trackers don’t, to give you the chance to target new search terms.
Authority Labs also tracks data across multiple regions and languages on Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. You’ll also be able to see how your competitors fare compared to your domain.
Price: $49 to $450 per month with a 14-day free trial.
This company has been around since 2002, with over 350 online marketing agencies as clients.
AWR offers high search volumes from 2,000 to 35,500 keywords, with 150 keywords updated daily and 1,000 updated weekly. They collect data from over 3,000 search engines, and users can request to add new ones.
Packages include Starter, Pro, Agency, and Enterprise. All levels have mobile and local rankings, Google Data Integration, and SERP features collected from millions of queries. If you want something more personalized, AWR can customize a package for you.
With the Whitelabel feature, you can easily tailor your reports with your branding to send to clients. The WYSIWYG reporting lets you use templates or build reports from scratch.
Price: $49 to $499 per month with a 30-day free trial.
SERPStat is a sophisticated keyword rank tracker that includes tools to tackle all aspects of SEO, including backlink analysis and on-page site audits. There’s no free trial, but you do get a discount if you subscribe for three, six, or 12 months.
The tiers are Lite, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise. The minimum number of keywords per day range from 4,000 to 12,000.
You can see a list of all keywords your adversaries rank for; and their keyword pools. See which keywords international searchers use to adapt your campaigns to different countries.
Spot missing keywords by analyzing how relevant pages on your site are for specific search terms. You can also gather long-tail keywords to help boost your traffic and rankings.
Price: $69 to $499 per month with long-term subscription discounts.
Pro Rank Tracker provides SEO solutions for solo consultants to startups and established agencies. There are five packages: Basic, Starter, Standard, Advanced, and Business. Take advantage of the seven-day free trial to try out 20 terms and two URLs.
Keyword search volume begins at 200 and goes all the way up to 100,000 at Business. There are no term restrictions per URL. Every keyword you’re tracking gets updated once daily, and you’ll have access to the first 100 results across numerous SERPs for your queries.
You can see how your competitors are doing with site audits, and analyze page audits too. Track terms for any location across the globe in any language, and compare between desktop and mobile results.
Price: $25 to $3,300 per month with a seven-day free trial.
AccuRanker has a unique pricing system: the integral functions remain the same, but you can vary the number of keywords. They start at 1,000 keywords per month up to 50,000 per month—although the highest-level package won’t come cheap. Still, you can test out the service for two weeks free.
There are over 50 SERP features available to tailor your data, from Featured Snippets to Knowledge Panel. Rankings update every 24 hours, and you can refresh them manually for on-the-spot data.
You’ll find sophisticated data analysis too: you can segment information with filters and tags, and use Advanced Share of Voice to see your market shares.
Price: $109 to $2,149 per month with long-term subscription discounts and a 14-day free trial.
Moz is a renowned SEO solutions company, founded in 2004 by industry leaders Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig. Their product Moz Pro comes in Standard, Medium, Large, or Premium. Moz Pro Medium, the most popular option, is available with a 30-day free trial.
This provider offers 150 to 30,000 keyword queries per month. You can look over 300 to 4,500 rankings across four search engines per month, including Google International. On-demand rank checking allows instant evaluation of your search performance.
Regardless of which subscription you choose, you can add to it as needed. For instance, add more keyword lists, link tracking lists, and rankings for a set fee per month.
Price: $99 to $599 per month with a 30-day free trial of Medium.
SEMRush is a multifaceted SEO tool that includes keyword rank tracking, social media management, and scheduled PDF reports. There’s a significant difference between packages—Pro is quite limited compared to Guru and Business. You can see if SEMRush is right for you with a free trial.
You’ll get between 500 and 5,000 keywords to track, with 3,000 to 10,000 reports daily. Historical data and multitargeting rank tracking data are available on Guru and Business.
Price: $99.95 to $399.95 per month with long-term subscription discounts with a free trial (duration not specified).
SERPWatcher by Mangools is among the most affordable keyword rank trackers. Pricing starts at $29.90 per month for Mangools Basic, and Mangools Agency is $79.90. Subscribing annually to any tier can save you a sizable chunk of change.
You can test SERPWatcher out for ten days with ten tracked keywords. You’ll have between 100 and 700 keyword lookups available every 24 hours. Premium and Agency allows an unlimited number of competitor keyword searches—Basic allows 25.
There’s no limit on domains, but SERPWatcher caps you at 200 to 1,500 keywords daily.
Price: $29.90 to $79.90 with long-term subscription discounts and a 10-day free trial.
Ahrefs is a worthy choice for marketers looking for an all-inclusive solution—fans include Gael Breton of Authority Hacker. Aside from Rank Tracker and Keyword Explorer, other tools include Content Explorer, Site Explorer, and Site Audit. You can trial Lite and Standard for one week for a fee of $7.
The Rank Tracker feature can be automated to send you reports on your given criteria periodically. Easy-to-read graphs reveal organic click percentage, positions distributions, and your progress in the SERPs.
You’ll also be able to see how competitors stack up, and get sophisticated metrics such as CPC and return rate.
Price: $99 to $999 per month with long-term subscription discounts.
Conclusion
Data analysis is one of the more time-consuming obligations needed to achieve stellar SEO. The best keyword rank tracker allows you to save time and get priceless insights about your visibility in the SERPs. You can then tailor your strategy accordingly with minimal effort.
Although your business and budget will play a role in which tool is ideal for you, always keep the essentials in mind. The service should offer quality data, update frequently, and be user-friendly.
