Why do seomoz rankings not match mine in google for the same keyword?

[MaddDogg]

SEO moz lists my site http://holmesbailbonding.com as listing 2nd for raleigh bail bonds but when I search I am getting different results even with a cleared cache. Just wondering what factors contribute to this and what I need to be doing more of to get my site to rank for Raleigh Bail Bonds in raleigh, nc.

Thanks,

[SoccerStop]

Hi,

I am no expert at all of this, but I do know that for our online retail store at www.soccerstop.com we rank very different from different locations performing the search on any specific keyword.  In other words, if I perform a rank analysis on a keyword such as "Soccer Gear" using one of our ranking software tools from an IP address that is close in proximately to one of our retail stores in Denver, Colorado I will get a result from Google such as "3".  Then if I perform the same analysis from an IP address that is located in New York, our ranking would come up much different, somewhere around "12".  So what I am suggesting is that location can be a factor in differences in rankings.  May not apply to your situation but it certainly does for us.

Thanks
James

[ResslerMotors]

I use a separate browser to search my rankings.  I kept getting biased results from the three browsers I use (Chrome, IE, Firefox), so I downloaded Opera for the sole purpose of checking ranking.  I never click anything with it, and always clear my data from it.  It's been pretty accurate over the last 8 months.

[AWCthreads]

Interesting Ressler. I'll use the AdWords Ad preview and diagnosis tool to check rankings. Does that approach not provide "clean" results?

[ResslerMotors]

I have unpersonalized Google searches in Firefox, as well as my data cleared out all the time, but I always end up with personalized searches.  I just feel more confident using something that is "untainted."

[Francisco_Meza]

Mine always seem to match. But I depersonalize the URL.  &pws=0

I use firefox AND I'm logged into my Google Account. I have always received great results from SEO moz. The only time I see messed up results is when there Google triggers local results for words like Laywer, Mechanic, City + keyword. In my neck of the woods, just the KW bail bonds triggers a local search. SEOmoz cannot track local results, only organic SERPS

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Hi Brandon,

When I search, I also see your site ranking in the #2 position. Here's a screenshot -

https://skitch.com/cyrusshepard/gidyr/raleigh-bail-bonds-google-search

No two people hardly ever see the same search results due to Google's effect of both localization and personalization, but there are some ways to mitigate these factors.

1. Add pws=0 to the end of your search query URL. This "depersonalizes" the search results. So your final URL will look something like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=raleigh+bail+bonds&**pws=0**

(notice the pws at the end?)

2. To minimize the effect of localization, set your location to as wide as possible. For the US, hit "change location" and type United States into the box, like this:

Here's a whole blog post with tips and tricks to get neutral rankings - written by a smart and overly handsome man.

Best of Luck!