Last Updated on October 25, 2023 by Alex Birkett
SERP tracking tools are a major key to doing SEO at scale.
SERP tracking includes historical keyword rankings, current rankings competitor tracking, Google SERP features, and one thing that I like to call the “Surround Sound Strategy.”
What’s a SERP Tracking Tool? 5 Features to Look For
A SERP Tracking Tool logs and measures what ranks on a search engine results page.
In one sense, a SERP tracking tool is a dime a dozen. Pretty much every SEO tool nowadays has some sort of rank tracking functionality. The accuracy and depth of their data differs, though.
Some of them give you a snapshot of SERP rankings for a given time period. Some of them grant you historical data and let you track your position among competitors.
Some products give you a glimpse at where your domain, or where a specific domain, ranks for a given keyword. Some analyze the entirety of the SERP, including feature snippets and changes over time.
Many are focused simply on rankings. Some will give you “SERP real estate” coverage – how often your brand or domain appears on a given search query.
Finally, some of them offer near real-time data. Some take snapshots only once a week.
So the five features I’d look for are:
- Historical data coverage and measurement
- Holistic SERP analysis vs simple keyword rankings
- SERP coverage or SERP real estate
- Data latency and real-time coverage
- Accuracy
Also, you can probably get away with just using the tool you like using the best. Usability matters here. There are some that I just don’t like the UI so I don’t use them, even though they might be more accurate or powerful.
So let’s get into the best SERP tracking tools…
The 12 Best SERP Tracking Tools
- Serpple
- SE Ranking
- SEMRush
- ContentKing
- SEOMonitor
- Google Search Console
- Accuranker
- Nightwatch.io
- Ahrefs
- Wincher
- ProRankTracker
- SERPStat
Note: I’m going to add some affiliate links where possible. This isn’t going to influence what I put on the list. I just want to make some money from my content, okay? You can also hire me to do your SEO and content. Or just use my affiliate links. Either way. But this content takes time!
1. Serpple
Ideal for: Entrepreneurs and SEO agencies
Pricing: The Side Hustler plan costs $19 /Month and includes up to 100 tracked keywords. Agency pricing gets you 3000 tracked keywords and starts at $99 /Month. Discounts are available for annual plans.
G2 Score: 4.4/5
Serpple is a dedicated SERP tracking tool that is a delight to use.
The tool itself is feature rich and scales very well. In the core rank tracking feature set, you have several views available to you to cut the data any which way you’d like:
- Keywords List View
- Keywords Grid View
- Keyword Overview
- Add Notes
- Historical Data
As an agency founder myself, the historical data view is incredibly useful in working with clients.
They’ve also got great account management and project management features, including a core projects dashboard, drag and drop widgets, and historical data. This makes reporting easy, especially when you’ve got multiple clients to manage and report on.
I particularly love the advanced reporting features, which many all-in-one SEO tools lack. You can not only view live reports and scheduled reports to be sent out, but you can trigger email notifications and alerts based on fluctuations or time intervals.
It’s more than just a SERP tracker, though. You’ve also got access to competitive auditing and tracking tools, keyword suggestions, content audits, and backlink monitoring. And frankly, it’s quite easy to use.
Very good SERP tracking tool.
2. SE Ranking
Ideal for: Small business owners, SEO pros, and agencies.
Pricing: The Essential plan starts at $39 per month, but with an annual subscription. SE Ranking also offers a free trial period for new users.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
I’ve only recently discovered SE Ranking, but I really like it. I think one of the best SERP tracking tools.
We do a lot of reporting for clients at my agency, and this one hits all of the features I need.
First, it’s one of the most accurate and comprehensive rank trackers out there. It tracks pretty much every search engine, including Google, Google Mobile, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, Yandex, Yandex Mobile, etc. They also include keyword search volume estimates as well as relative traffic forecasts for your content.
They’ve got a whole suite of SEO tools, though, as well. So they’ve got data on Google Ads, Maps and local search results, and SERP features (like featured snippets, sitelinks, people also ask).
Another thing I like is they have historical SERP data. You can go back in time and see performance differences in your tracked keywords, and you can also see how the SERPs have changed over time.
UI-wise, it’s easy to use even for beginners. Easy to export data, but they’ve got great visualizations and features in their product as well.
3. SEMRush
Ideal for: Businesses of all sizes. They have a million tools but you don’t have to use them all.
Pricing: The Pro and Guru plans offer a free trial that lasts seven days. For the annual billing, plans start at $119.95/month (The Pro plan). The most expensive plan—The Business plan—costs $449.95/month. If you purchase the plans annually, you can save 16% as opposed to purchasing them monthly.
G2 Score: 4.5/5
SEMRush is one of the biggest names in SEO, so I probably don’t have to acquaint you to the tool.
I will, however, because that’s the type of comprehensive blogger I am.
They’re a full suite digital marketing platform. Mainly focused on SEO, but they also have tons and tons of data for PPC marketers and general market research.
Their core features include a keyword research tool and domain analysis, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and analysis of PPC advertisements.
They also have a ton of mini tools like their SEO writing assistant.
Of course, their rank tracker is solid. But I wanted to put them on this list for a new tool they’re launching.
This tool, which I think will be called the Surround Sound tool, lets you analyze the SERP for a given keyword, say “best live chat software.” Then you can see, of the top 10, 20, 50, etc. ranking pages, how many of them mentioned your domain? And of those who mentioned your domain, how many linked to it?
This introduces another element to SEO: SERP monopolization.
Ideally, you don’t want to only rank your page. You want to be included on all the lists, review sites, and other ranking pages. This way, when someone searches for “best kettlebells,” your name repeatedly comes up (thus, the “surround sound” effect).
Read more on the surround sound strategy here.
4. ContentKing
Ideal for: Medium-sized businesses and enterprises
Pricing: unavailable on site but free trial available
G2 Score: 4.8/5
ContentKing just got acquired by Conductor, an all-in-one enterprise SEO suite. So we’ll see how that affects the product.
But generally speaking, people love it. Especially hardcore SEO nerds.
It’s a great product. Makes sense.
What does it do? Real-time SEO monitoring.
This is particularly useful for the technical SEOs among us, as you can monitor thousands of pages to identify rank drops and crawling issues. This lets you quickly identify bugs and optimization opportunities.
While this one is less focused on SERPs and SERP features, I wanted to include it because it can identify issues other tools on this list can’t
5. SEOMonitor
Ideal for: SEO agencies and small businesses
Pricing: There is no free version. A free trial is available. The cost depends on the number of keywords and websites you want to track.
G2 Score: 4.7/5
SEOmonitor is really the go-to tool built for agencies.
They’ve got the full SEO suite – keyword research, rank tracking, organic traffic estimates. But they’ve also got added features particularly built for freelancers and agencies working with many clients.
One of these is SEO forecasting. This allows you to build forecasts from your initial models and audits, which can help close or retain clients.
They’ve got robust reporting features, shareable reports, and great visualizations.
They also include client management functionalities like follow-ups and a sort of CRM.
If you’re a services provider, this is a great solution.
6. Google Search Console
Ideal for: pretty much everyone with a website
Pricing: free
G2 Score: 4.6/5
Since Google Search Console is free, and if you’re doing SEO you’re likely to be caring a lot about data from Google, this one is a no brainer.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a company that doesn’t use Google Search Console. Well, I’ve seen many who *have* Google Search Console but don’t use it to its full capabilities. But everyone at least has the tool set up.
You can submit sitemaps to Google for crawling, measure the performance of your keywords, see the engagement and click-through-rate of your content, and track all of this based on location and device.
Also, it’s great for identifying website issues like site crawling, site speed and page speed, security, indexation, mobile usability, and structured data.
Overall, I like to use Google Search Console, but it’s not amazing at reporting. So I like to use it in conjunction with other tools on this list. One big positive, also, is that you can hook this up directly to Google Data Studio for reporting (other tools you need to use a 3rd party integration tool).
By the way, if you’re wondering, here’s my exact stack:
- SE Ranking
- Google Search Console
- Ahrefs
- SEMRush
- Google Analytics
Plus Surfer and Clearscope. Good stack!
7. Accuranker
Ideal for: SEO professionals, consultants, eCommerce businesses, brands and agencies
Pricing: There is no free plan. There’s a free 14-day trial. Monthly plans start at $109/month for up to 1,000 keywords, and $2,149/month for up to 50,000 keywords. If you pay annually, you will get a 10% discount.
G2 Score: 4.6/5
Accuranker is very simple and very powerful.
It’s a rank tracker. It does what it says it does. I like it because you can set up multiple keyword clusters and tags and get emails every day or every week with your updated rankings.
It’s purportedly one of the most accurate in the business, as well.
It doesn’t have the full suite stack like a keyword research tool, content gap analysis, and domain comparisons. But its rank tracking functionality is excellent and it basically works on autopilot once you set it up.
It’s also highly scalable, a very good tool for those running massive websites or for agencies working with many clients.
All in, I’d say this is the advanced, powerful tool you want if you’re really serious about SERP tracking.
8. Nightwatch.io
Ideal for: local SEOs, large website managers, international marketers
Pricing: starts at $32/mo for 500 daily keywords tracked and has a 14 day free trial
G2 Score: 4.8/5
Nightwatch is a rank tracking tool that bills themselves as the most accurate on the marketing.
It’s one of the SEO tools I’ve discovered only recently, but I’m very impressed.
You can see your keyword rank, down to the level of a singular zip code. Pretty cool!
Other keyword tracking tools suffer from this lack of location specificity. While not every company needs this, many do (especially local SEO marketers and those running massive websites).
While it’s a bit more expensive than some other tools as you scale to many keywords and competitors, customers love it for its accuracy, reporting, and live chat support.
9. Ahrefs
Ideal for: SEOs and owners of small to large websites
Pricing: Ahrefs does not offer a free plan or free trial. There’s a 7-day trial for $7 for the Lite and Standard plans. Monthly prices start at $99/month (Lite) and end at $999/month (Agency). If you pay annually, you get a discount and two months free.
G2 Score: 4.6/5
I’ll be straight up here: Ahrefs is my favorite all-in SEO tool.
Its SERP Tracking features actually aren’t the best, especially when it comes to rank tracking. I’ve heard it only updates data once per week, and I’ve noticed the rankings can differ quite a bit from reality.
However, when you consider this one tool in its broad suite of features, I think that’s okay.
First, the rank tracking is definitely sufficient for most purposes. Some clients of ours require more accuracy and better reporting, but many are satisfied with Ahrefs’ capabilities.
Second, as an SEO research tool, Ahrefs is top tier. With content gap analysis, top pages reports, competing domains, and backlink velocity reports, it’s undeniably a powerhouse when it comes to utility.
Frankly, it’s also just fun and easy to use, which totally means something to me.
For your keyword research reports, you can also see which featured snippets and SERP features there are (though not in the rank tracking reports):
Additionally, the keyword research tool show you a current snapshot of the SERP rankings and their associate DR and backlink counts. A nice little SERP checker for a given keyword (helpful for planning content strategy and approach):
I love Ahrefs. I use it in conjunction with SE Ranking, Clearscope, and Google Search Console for my complete SEO package.
10. Wincher
Ideal for: growing businesses, SaaS companies, startups
Pricing: starts at $29/mo (with free trial)
G2 Score: 4.8/5
Wincher is a modestly priced rank tracker that also has features to help you find and exploit new keyword opportunities as well as those you’re already targeting.
I like that you can pull one time audits, but you can also set up alerts and notifications to be regularly sent out on time intervals or based on changes in performance.
Overall, in comparison to some of the others, Wincher is user friendly, affordable, and gets the basic job of keyword rank tracking done well.
11. ProRankTracker
Ideal for: advanced SEOs with a smaller budget, freelancers and agencies
Pricing: $13.50/month
G2 Score: 4.3/5
ProRankTracker is another straight forward keyword tracking tool that is positioned for agencies.
This one is unique in that you can create white label reporting for your SERP rank and keywords. White label reports can give a nice professional and homogenous feel for your client work.
They have regularly updated rank tracking reports, and they also give you international tracking on all popular search engines, including organic desktop & mobile results and other search elements.
The breadth of rank tracking is impressive here. They’ve got local and mobile results:
- Top 100 organic results from all Google sites
- Device tracking: Desktop results & Mobile results tracking
- Google Snack Pack (local 3-pack listings)
- Google Local Finder (top 100 map listings)
They’re also great for international marketers, reporting in 12 languages in addition to English: Arabic, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish
Solid tool.
12. SERPStat
Ideal for: large firms, PPC specialists, SEO specialists, agencies
Pricing: starts at $69/mo
G2 Score: 4.6/5
SERPStat is a powerful digital marketing tool.
It’s feature rich:
- Competitor analysis in paid and organic search
- Keyword analysis
- Batch analysis of keywords and domains
- Rank tracking tools
- Position tracking
- Site audit tools
- Analysis of contextual advertising
- Text analysis
- Clustering
- SERP crawling
- Team management
SERPStat also has a great API, one I’ve worked with at one point in time to build my own surround sound tool (which I wrote about a bit in this post on learning R for marketers).
I’d say this one caters towards a more technical and advanced audience, but its power is hard to match in terms of the breadth of features they have (with the exception of maybe SEMRush, but I actually like the SERPStat API better). One of the best SERP tools I’ve found.
Conclusion
The “best SERP tracking tool” is the one best suited to your budget and purpose.
SERP tracking tools are about keywords, position tracking, SERP feature tracking, and also about analyzing the actual SERP listings to see what text, brand, and links they mention.
This list, while not completely comprehensive, contains tools for every use case. Whether you just want to see where your keywords rank, or if you want a real-time monitoring system to track SERP changes, you’ll find your solution here.
One of the most well-rounded keyword tracking and keyword research tools on this list is SE Ranking. I love it, though if you need something more powerful, you might want to look at SERPStat. If accuracy is what you want, SERP tracking tools like Nightwatch or Accuranker would be ideal.
For agencies, SERP tracking software like ProRankTracker and SEOMonitor are solid.
And if you want the surround sound, you’ve either got to build your own tool like I did, or just use SEMRush or Visably.