SEOmoz v's Google Webmaster Keyword Ranking

[Socialdude]

Hi, how accurate is SEOmoz keyword ranking v's Google Webmaster?

Some Keywords in SEOmoz say I'm in position 3 in Ireland for some Keywords and in Google Webmaster they are figures like 16.

I understand in Google Webmaster that the keyword position is an Average

What should I be going by and what is the credibility of both ranking estimators?

[pwpaneuro]

The problem with rank tracking is that it depends very much on where you are, what data-center you are actually accessing, cache, social interactions, etc.

I have a similar problem with SEOmoz rank tracker it tells me I'm on #19 when searching google with personalization OFF shows me #36.

I think you should look at this tracker as an Average as well.

[Cyrus-Shepard]

This is a really interesting question, because Google webmaster doesn't actually display rankings, but "average position."

For example, let's say you rank #1 for a keyword phrase, but another URL on your same site ranks #50. In this case Google will report your average position as 25! Now this is an extreme example, but "average position" in Google Webmaster tools is almost always lower than your actual ranking.

Or consider the example below. SEOmoz ranks #1 for "seomoz" but Google Webmaster reports the average position as 4. It doesn't really make any sense.