The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • My Q&A
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Q&A Forum
    2. Categories
    3. Search Engine Trends
    4. Should I document rankings from an Incognito Window?

    Should I document rankings from an Incognito Window?

    Search Engine Trends
    4 3 149
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • TaylorRHawkins
      TaylorRHawkins last edited by

      Mozzers, what are your thoughts on documenting SEO results from an incognito window? Does anyone have any articles they can recommend that talk about this subject?

      Is it better to document results from the normal window or from an incognito window?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • Martijn_Scheijbeler
        Martijn_Scheijbeler last edited by

        Hey Taylor,

        You can do it from a incognito window, that would probably be slightly better then actually comparing it through a logged in window but probably won't make a big difference. In the end you're then still giving away a ton of signals about your browser and who you are (basically the same between the two). Probably better would be to use a random rank tracker who can do this, in that case you'll have less personalized issues.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • seoman10
          seoman10 last edited by

          I would only use incognito for a quick check, I have actually caught it personalising some results!  As Martijn it still passes a lot of signals, specifically IP address (amongst many other things).

          For general reporting and benchmarking I use Moz Rank Tracker, whilst it isn't 100% it gives an good overall average.

          Martijn_Scheijbeler 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Martijn_Scheijbeler
            Martijn_Scheijbeler @seoman10 last edited by

            In addition to IP address you should likely read into Fingerprinting technology. The differences between a incognito browser and your regular window are quite minimal using that technique.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • 1 / 1
            • First post
              Last post
            • Any disadvantages of employing additional images which open in new window? Will it impact bounce rate and rankings?
              AndyMozster
              AndyMozster
              0
              2
              42

            • Ranking gone for the original page and a shortened url ranks instead.
              Bestbing
              Bestbing
              1
              8
              137

            • Linking from high ranking sub domain pages to less ranking main domain pages to benefit latter
              Linda-Vassily
              Linda-Vassily
              0
              4
              36

            • Issue with Category Ranking on Page 1 vs. Homepage Ranking on Page 2
              evolvingSEO
              evolvingSEO
              0
              10
              236

            • How soon before author rank becomes a major ranking factor?
              SEO5Team
              SEO5Team
              1
              5
              229

            • Why are Google Webmaster Tools' Google rankings different to actual Google rankings?
              BoomDialogue69
              BoomDialogue69
              0
              3
              73

            • Inner pages ranking higher than homepage ? static rankings
              photoseo1
              photoseo1
              0
              2
              428

            • If you rank first organically for a keyword, will you rank first for variations?
              HamiltonIsland
              HamiltonIsland
              0
              5
              486

            Get started with Moz Pro!

            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

            Start my free trial
            Products
            • Moz Pro
            • Moz Local
            • Moz API
            • Moz Data
            • STAT
            • Product Updates
            Moz Solutions
            • SMB Solutions
            • Agency Solutions
            • Enterprise Solutions
            • Digital Marketers
            Free SEO Tools
            • Domain Authority Checker
            • Link Explorer
            • Keyword Explorer
            • Competitive Research
            • Brand Authority Checker
            • Local Citation Checker
            • MozBar Extension
            • MozCast
            Resources
            • Blog
            • SEO Learning Center
            • Help Hub
            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
            • How-to Guides
            • Moz Academy
            • API Docs
            About Moz
            • About
            • Team
            • Careers
            • Contact
            Why Moz
            • Case Studies
            • Testimonials
            Get Involved
            • Become an Affiliate
            • MozCon
            • Webinars
            • Practical Marketer Series
            • MozPod
            Connect with us

            Contact the Help team

            Join our newsletter
            Moz logo
            © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
            • Accessibility
            • Terms of Use
            • Privacy