4 Steps to Check Your Search Terms and Position in Google

July 3rd, 2013

how to find your position in search engines (image source: Flickr)Do you want to know the search terms people use to find you and how to find site ranking statistics? Then you have certainly tried or even paid for various SEO tools. Did you know that Google can create a whole list of search terms your visitors used? You’ll also get the position where your website appears, for free! If you want to know how, keep reading!

To take full advantage of the following step-by-step instructions, first create an account in Google Analytics and verify your site in Webmaster Tools.

Why?

Connecting both tools together serves to later expand your statistics with one piece of important data, which is your position in search engines for specific keywords. Without linking accounts, you’d only see this in Webmaster Tools.

How to link Google Analytics with Webmaster Tools

1. Log in to your GA account, select the default profile (For example, my website is called www.mycompany-online.webnode.com). Click on the left menu in Traffic Sources >> Search Engine Optimization >> Queries. The page opens where you can set up Webmaster Tools data sharing.

2. If you log in to Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools under one account, your information will already be filled in automatically. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Edit”.

How to set Webmaster Tools

3. Choose a site from Webmaster Tools you want to connect with your GA account. Click “Save” and then “Add Site to Webmaster Tools” and confirm again to assign the new site to your GA account.

How to enable Webmaster Tools data

4. Linking the two accounts is completed. Click “Apply”.

How to find your page rank and keywords in search engines

In Google Analytics, click again on the Reports tab in the menu and then left as in step 1 to Traffic Sources >> Search Engine Optimization >> Queries, where you’ll find keywords, number of impressions, clicks, average position and ratio of clicks to impressions (CTR).

Where to find information about keywords.

You have great numbers but how to compare them

So, you can compare two periods in the calendar in the upper right-hand corner, for example, by month. If you decide to optimize an article with keyword research tools, you can then easily check to see if the position in the search engine increases or decreases.

How to compare periods in Google Analytics

You can also see a change in visits in each cell in the left menu in Content >>Site Content >>All Pages. Based on this information, you are able to evaluate if the change you made to the site was suitable or not.

Personally, I recommend you add the changes you made directly into Google Analytics. You may have noticed the small downward arrow below the graph. Click to open it. This will open a window where you can add annotations. Make sure you get used to inserting your annotations every time you optimize your website. In the future, you’ll appreciate the work you invested in doing this.

How to add annotations in Google Analytics

You now learned how to get your page rank based on keyword search results. Want to know how to do SEO? We have a detailed guide for you.

Would you like more practical tips on website optimization? Send us a link to your site and discuss it with our pros!