How to Check Google Ranking: 7 Free SEO Tools [+1 Manual Way]

Are you looking for smart ways to monitor your Google ranking?

While you can manually check your keyword’s position by typing it into the search engine, it can be extremely time-consuming (and inaccurate).

Instead, try using any of these free SEO tools to help you better track your website’s online performance.

1. Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) is a must-have for any site owner (and it’s one of the most popular choices).

Chances are if you are reading this, you already have access to GSC.

If not, then it’s time to register.

First, follow the steps to verify that you own the website by adding a meta tag or uploading an HTML file to your server.

Once verified, you can access valuable information such as search query data, indexing status, and incoming links.

To check your Google ranking, you need to visit the “Performance” section to analyze data like:

• Total clicks: how many clicks your site gets from users in the search results
• Average position: the average ranking of your website in the SERPs
• Impressions: how many times your content has been viewed by users in the search results
• Average CTR: the percentage of impressions that resulted in a click

In addition, if you scroll down the GSC page, you can access further information, divided into six tabs:

• Queries: shows which keywords users are typing in Google to find your website
• Pages: provides a list of your pages with the most clicks and highest average position
• Countries: displays where your audience is located
• Devices: breaks down data by device type (desktop, mobile, or tablet)
• Search Appearance: highlights impressions for different search features like images, videos, or rich results
• Dates: shows the days when visitors land on your site

For each tab, there are present the clicks, impressions, CTR, and position features, to help you better understand what impacts your website traffic.

Moreover, if you click on each keyword, you can get more detailed information about the page’s performance, including its position and a graph showing its changes, with historical data.

But wait, let me tell you something.

There’s a new feature in GSC called Search Console Insights.

Search Console Insights

You can access it by visiting “Overview” in the menu.

It’s still in beta version, but it’s worth your time.

✅ I visit this page often on mobile because I can see, at a glance, how my website is performing.

Did you know there’s a section to track your most popular content?

And it does not end here.

If you scroll down, you can also check your keyword rankings:

Pretty neat, right?

In short, this is a quick way to monitor the most searched (and trending) queries that users are typing in search engines to find your website.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with GSC 

2. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is my favorite SEO software suite.

Did you know they offer a free tool that you can use to monitor your Google ranking?

It’s simple to use.

What you need to do is enter the keyword you want to analyze with your website’s URL and the country you are targeting.

Then, click on “Check Rankings,” to view the list of the top 10 search results for that keyword.

The critical detail about this tool is that it is time-consuming, as you can’t check multiple keywords at once.

But hey, it’s free!

On the other hand, if you want to dig deeper and automate your monitoring, you can upgrade to a premium version.

I’m currently on the Lite plan, which gives up to 750 keywords tracking and interesting features such as:

• Position: your current ranking for that keyword
• Change: the difference in positions since the previous day
• Volume: how many times your keyword has been searched on Google over the last month
• KD (Keyword Difficulty): an estimate of how hard it would be to rank for that keyword based on the number of referring domains and their strength
• SERP features: a preview of which search features are displayed for that keyword (e.g., featured snippets, images, or knowledge graphs)

Of course, this is not the only thing you can do with Ahrefs.

✅ The Site Explorer feature is what I like the most, where you can get helpful insights to analyze your website performance.

For example, checking which pages have the most backlinks or analyzing any website’s organic traffic and keyword rankings.

And that’s just one side of the story.

You can also use it to spy on your competitors and steal their content strategies and the keywords that they rank for.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Ahrefs

3. Semrush

Semrush is another well-known platform in the SEO industry that offers multiple tools to help improve your online presence.

One of its features, Position Tracking, allows you to monitor your keyword rankings on Google, even with a free account.

To use this tool, you need to enter your website’s URL and the terms you want to track (up to ten).

Semrush will then provide you with data on your keyword position and visibility, as well as the search volume and keyword difficulty.

Moreover, the tool allows you to track different devices (desktop vs. mobile) and locations, so you can get a more accurate understanding of your website’s performance.

✅ The best part?

You can set up email notifications to receive updates on your keyword positions, saving you time from manually checking them (as well as your overall online visibility).

But wait, there’s more!

You can also use Semrush to identify new organic opportunities, analyze your competitors’ keywords and rankings, and even track backlinks.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Semrush

4. Moz

Together with Ahrefs and Semrush, Moz is among the top three most popular choices for SEO tools.

They developed the domain authority, the score that predicts how likely a website will rank on search engine results pages.

In addition, Moz also offers one of the most authoritative SEO learning centers in the whole industry.

Now, I know what you are thinking.

How can you check your Google ranking with Moz, for free?

The answer is their Keyword Explorer tool.

✅ With a Moz community account (that you can join for free), you can make up to 10 queries a month.

To use it, simply enter your website URL to discover your top-ranking keywords.

You will get a list with position, difficulty, and monthly volume.

If you click on each keyword, you can access specific data such as organic CTR and priority score (a high priority score means higher volume and lower difficulty).

Moreover, you can analyze the SERP and get keyword suggestions.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Moz

5. Dopinger

Dopinger offers a free keyword rank checker tool that allows you to monitor your website’s positions on Google.

All you need to do is enter the URL you want to analyze:

Then, the tool will provide you with data on your rankings, including the position, search volume, and competition.

✅ The best part?

You can use Dopinger’s rank checker without creating an account, and you get several free checks per day!

Moreover, the tool also allows you to export your data into a CSV file for better analysis and tracking (you just need to complete a free registration).

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Dopinger

6. Wincher

Wincher is a lesser-known SEO tool, but it offers a fantastic keyword ranking tracking service.

It’s easy to use and has an intuitive interface that allows you to get started right away, without needing too much technical knowledge or experience.

Sign up for free, enter your website URL, and the keywords you want to track (up to five with a free plan).

Wincher will then provide useful information such as your current ranking, the SERP features, estimated traffic, volume, and daily changes.

✅ If you see a lot of green, you are doing great!

You can also check your position by clicking on the “SERP” feature:

In addition, you can access a graph that shows your keyword position history, making it easy to identify any drops or improvements.

Finally, you can set up email alerts to receive notifications when there are significant changes in your keyword rankings.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Wincher

7. Ubersuggest

Initially built for scraping Google Suggest terms, Ubersuggest has evolved under the ownership of Neil Patel, now offering an expanded feature set.

To get started, sign up for free (with your email or Google account).

Then, click on “Dashboard” in the main menu, and add your website (add project), and location to get tons of data on keyword volume, CPC, seasonality, and competition.

✅ You can also use this tool to track your keyword rankings (up to 25, for free).

Moreover, you can access a graph that shows your keyword position history, making it easy to identify any drops or improvements.

And if you want, there’s an option to receive email notifications when there are significant changes in your rankings.

What I like 💡:

Check your Google Ranking with Ubersuggest

8. Google Incognito Mode

Google’s default search results are personalized based on your location, browsing history, and activity.

So, to get a more accurate understanding of where your website stands in Google rankings, it’s essential to check while you’re not logged into any account, which means using an incognito or private browsing window.

This way, you can see the SERP that any regular user would see for a specific keyword, without any bias.

✅ It’s another free method of checking your Google ranking.

To open an incognito window in Google Chrome, click on the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select “New incognito tab” from the menu.

Then, enter your query in the search bar, and hit enter.

Using the Incognito window is a helpful way to get an idea of your search position, as it is not affected by your search history or cookies.

However, keep in mind that factors like location and settings can still influence rankings.

Tip 💡:

Before You Go

These are the SEO tools I use to track my website’s keyword rankings in Google.

But wait! Don’t leave, yet!

To help you monitor your website traffic, don’t miss to read these GA4 best practices:

Now, it’s over to you.

What is your favorite way of checking Google rankings?

Let me know in the comments!

And don’t forget to share the post, if you liked it!