Accurate rankings data? software? tools?

[lfrazer]

Hello,

While I am aware that Google rankings are subject to a number of variables, I still need to be able to provide the most accurate rankings data for my clients in their reports. Most recently, I have been using the Google Adwords Planner and modifying by location and/or device. Now, having found discrepancy in the MOZ rankings, I started trying to again find the most accurate tools or software. Could someone please suggest the most accurate tool, and also how the accurate rankings are achieved? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks

[ClaytonJ]

Apologies I am a little unclear.  Are you after a tool that gives you page rankings for keywords?

[CleverPhD]

Your question here is accuracy, but I think you are missing the bigger picture on rankings.   Google does so much personalization on search results, there is no single "rank" for a given page on a given key term.   If you are signed in, Google will rank pages higher that you visit a lot.  Even if you are not, Google may rank pages higher that relate to your geographic location.  Whenever a tool is pulling a KW ranking, it is doing so with a set of parameters that may be different than another tool and so the results may vary.  Some people have even called them useless  http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/08/11/seo-rank-checking

Dr. Pete did an article on this recently to compare different methods of measuring rank

https://moz.com/blog/comparing-ranktracking-methods-browser-vs-crawler-vs-webmaster-tools

While he found differences, they were not that huge across tools.

Your best advice is to find a tool that will report what you need and stick with it.  Consistency is the key. That way you can at least know that if there is a change that the change did occur and in what direction. You want a baseline and then to know once you make a change are you doing better or worse.  You will find discrepancies if you were to compare Moz, Keyword Planner, Google Webmaster Tools, CognitiveSEO, Authority Labs, etc etc.   Everyone measures it slightly differently and you see some differences due to Googles personalization.  Heck, take a read of the Search Console Help Google calls is an "average position" due to personalization of results when they show ranking results  https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35252?hl=en

• Average position: The average top position of your site on the search results page for that query.  With change also shows the change compared to the previous period. Green indicates that your site's average top position is improving.

  To calculate average position, we take into account the top ranking URL from your site for a particular query. For example, if Jane’s query returns your site as the #1 and #2 result, and David’s query returns your site in positions #2 and #7, your average top position would be 1.5.

I know this does not answer the question you asked, but I hope it gives you the question you need to understand to put all this in perspective.  Get a reputable Keyword tool that gives you the data output that you need for reporting.  Stick with it and you will do fine.

Cheers!

[lfrazer]

yes accurate rankings, as all the different top tools are showing different positions.

[TimHolmes]

I was in the middle of very much the same kind of response when an email pinged up with a new answer.

What CleverPhD has stated in his great answer is very much the process I have tried to follow over the last couple of years and I also try and stick to one source for positions, as when compared most other tools they are relatively close to one another.

Secondly as stated again by CleverPhd, people have so much personalisation going on especially with Chrome and Google that I tend to only use the positions as close ballpark figures and hope they maintain the same area.

[ClaytonJ]

Clever has nailed the answer.  Positions change daily on many SERP's. We use Moz, and Linkdex. It is about money and client funds ultimately and finding a platform you are comfortable with. Sometimes with big clients you need a very impressive chart to show them .. same data as you could have peeled off for free from a google platform...  it is almost a function of sales.

The key as Clever has pointed out is to find a benchmark, you feel is solid and put your stake in the ground and monitor the changes and variations from there.

All the best.  Here is a website with more listed.  http://tinyurl.com/cb8shu7

[lfrazer]

Thank you so much for your response. You are absolutely right, and I think I knew it all the time. I just had hoped that I had missed something in my research. I actually just read the Larry Kim article this morning. This was a very well-thought-out response-that didn't just have an answer; but an action to take, which I am ever so grateful for. Thanks!

[lfrazer]

thanks so much everyone!

[CleverPhD]

Addendum to this.   You may actually want to look more at the pages you are targeting for those keywords and the amount of organic traffic going to that page.  Why?  This encompasses more than just what your ranking is, but are people clicking through.  We have run experiments to change the meta description and looked at traffic vs ranking.   While ranking and click through are related, they are still two different things.

Finally, you have to look at what converts.  I like to use Google's page value parameter.  I can look at not only what content is ranking and getting traffic, but also what converts.  I then use that to better plan my content or what content needs to be updated etc.  Get your metrics to tie out to the bottom line and that is what really ultimately what matters.

Cheers!