Location specific MOZ Ranking changes - How to track them

[emarketexperts]

Hi All,  I'm not sure how many facing similar issue like mine but its bit complicated.

Our company is based in Melbourne,Australia and we have many clients in Auckland, New Zealand. For all new Zealand clients when setting up MOZ campaign we set the location to google.co.nz . The weekly moz ranking for one of the client keyword showed as No.5 in Page 1. But when we reported to the client,  he  came back to us to say that he is not in page one ( in Page 2).

To test it manaully, We set our search to google.co.nz ( incognito mode ) and when we search "boat service"  the client page comes at No.5 in Google NZ which is www.theboatcentre.co.nz/Home/Our-Shop . The result we got in moz is also same. But client reported its is in page two. I did bit of research to replicate what client sees ( which is in Page 2).

To Replicate, I set the google search to google.co.nz and on Search Tools ( check attachment) I entered location as Auckland ( Changed from New Zealand). When I did search now my result came in Page 2 - No.14 rank.

Now my question is how do I make Moz to show this ranking (Auckland ) not the general (NZ) one .

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[MonicaOConnor]

This is a tough question and there are a few things that matter in this situation.

First, if you or your client are logged into Google when manually checking the rankings on something you will get a skewed SERP. Also, you can get slightly different rankings between Chrome, Firefox and IE. I have found in my research that I actually get the most pure, consistent results when I search in IE. Probably because I am never logged into anything there and I have absolutely no history. That is another thing, you have to make sure you delete browsing history, this can also skew your SERPs.

Location is a factor in search results. I would say that this could be the issue, that the location of the IP address skews that particular result as well.

I hate to say this, but tools are not perfect. I use a couple of different keyword tracking programs and the only thing consistent is their inconsistency. Some of the more difficult keywords that aren't on page one sometimes have the wrong ranking by a few positions. Sometimes it is as simple as what time the report was generated. This isn't the end of the world. I usually double check a few of these rankings just to make sure. The best way to get accurate results is get that page to the first page and keep it there. Once you have it on page one, you will have solid positioning.

[adamxj2]

This is a great question! I'm curious to see what the Moz Staff response will be.

I was going to say what Monica had said…that if a person is logged in to Google while searching it will skew the results. However I have found that when someone is logged in it tends to skew in their favor, so I was surprised to hear that their result was page 2. Very interesting…

Thanks for posting!

[MonicaOConnor]

That is kind of surprising, however I think it varies depending on the difficulty of the keyword and whether or not the site is locally optimized. It is definitely a little tricky.

[emarketexperts]

Hi Monica & Adam,

Its very clear that for localised keywords google is trying to give localised results. But problem for us is tracking them or finding some consistent tool to track which makes our work easy. I like to have some one from MOZ to reply to this thread.

And as you guys mentioned, If you're logged in google, google  will try to give personalised results which i think in user perspective is great. But I always make sure when I Test I clear my cache and log out of google and in incognito mode .