How to see your keyword rankings in Search Console

Search Console measures Google search queries that show your site. It is direct from Google. It is free. You already have it for your property once verified.

The Performance report lists queries, pages, countries, devices, search appearances and dates. You can filter, compare periods, and use regex. You get up to 16 months of data as of 2026.

Treat it as your rank tracker. It shows impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position. The average position is the mean of your highest position across impressions for that dimension set.

1. 1

   Open Performance

   Open Search Console, pick your property. Go to Performance. Stay on Search results.

2. 2

   Set the date

   Pick Last 28 days. Use the same window each week for stable comparisons.

3. 3

   Filter by query

   Click + New, choose Query, then Exact query. Type your keyword, for example "customer onboarding checklist". Apply.

4. 4

   Read the row

   In the table, find the query. Read Impressions, Clicks, CTR and Position. That Position is the average position for that query in your date window.

If you do not see the query, type a shorter stem. Or click Queries without a filter and use the table search box to find it. Some very rare or anonymised queries will not appear in the table.

Sometimes you care about how a page ranks across all its queries. For example, /pricing or /guides/getting-started. Use the Page filter.

1. 1

   Filter by page

   Click + New, choose Page, then Exact URL. Paste https://yourproduct.com/pricing. Apply.

2. 2

   Switch to Queries tab

   Stay on the same report. Click the Queries tab above the chart. The table now lists queries that brought impressions for that page.

3. 3

   Sort and scan

   Sort by Impressions to see what the page shows for. Note positions between 8 and 20. These are striking distance terms you can move with on-page work and internal links.

A fixed /pricing page that rises from average position 14 to 7 tends to pick up clicks. You usually get there by aligning the title and H1 with the head term, and adding two or three internal links from relevant guides.

Average position blends all impressions within your filters. If you sell only in the UK, include only the UK. Device matters too. Mobile and desktop can differ by several positions.

1. 1

   Add a country filter

   Click + New, choose Country, pick United Kingdom. Apply. Read the position again for your query or page.

2. 2

   Add a device filter

   Click + New, choose Device, pick Mobile or Desktop. Apply. Keep a separate bookmark for each if mobile matters to you.

3. 3

   Compare devices

   Use Compare, Device, Mobile vs Desktop. Read where you underperform. If mobile trails, check Core Web Vitals and layout on a small screen.

A fixed /guides/getting-started page that gains on mobile from position 12 to 8 after you tighten the title, compress images and improve LCP under 2.5 seconds is a good sign.

Rankings move. You need to separate noise from trend. The Compare control shows changes in clicks, CTR and position over time within your filters.

1. 1

   Choose a stable window

   Click Date, Compare, and use Last 28 days vs Previous period. Hit Apply.

2. 2

   Add your filters

   Keep your Query or Page, plus Country and Device filters. The changes now reflect the segment you care about.

3. 3

   Sort by change

   Click the Position column header twice to sort by largest drop or rise. Scan for moves of 1.0 or more. Cross check with Impressions to avoid chasing low volume noise.

If "onboarding software" moves from 9.1 to 7.8 and impressions are steady, you have likely earned a few more clicks. Keep nudging with internal links and a clearer meta description within 155 characters to improve CTR.

One page often ranks for a cluster. Use the regex filter to group near variants. It saves time and shows the whole picture on a theme.

1. 1

   Open the Query filter

   Click + New, choose Query, then Matches regex.

2. 2

   Write a simple pattern

   For pricing terms, use ^pricing|price|cost. For getting started guides, use getting\s?started|setup|set\s?up.

3. 3

   Apply other filters

   Keep your Page filter if you want the cluster for one URL. Add Country and Device if relevant.

4. 4

   Read grouped metrics

   The chart and table now reflect only queries that match. This is useful to judge a page’s coverage of a topic.

A fixed /pricing page that shows grouped position around 6 to 8 for "pricing|price|cost" terms is where you want it. If grouped position sits at 12 to 15, you are under-optimised for the head terms. Tighten the title tag within about 60 characters and add a short summary above the fold that repeats the target term once naturally.

Average position is one number across many impressions. It is the mean of the highest position you held for each impression. It can hide swings and mixed intent.

• Different countries can rank differently. Filter by one country before you judge.
• Mobile and desktop can diverge. Filter each device when it matters.
• One query can show several of your pages. The report credits the highest position per impression. Use the Page view to see which URL wins.
• Position can vary by search appearance. Use the Search appearance dimension if you have rich results. Read the position within that appearance.

Always pair position with impressions. A small change at high impression count matters more. A large change on ten impressions does not decide your week. Use Compare to confirm trend over at least 28 days.

A watch list is a short set of queries and pages that move revenue. You read them every week. You keep them filtered to your market and device. You act on changes.

• Five to ten head terms that match your product, for example "onboarding software", "user onboarding".
• Your money pages: /pricing, /demo, /features, /integrations, top three guides.
• Two or three brand terms: your brand, product name and misspellings.
• A regex cluster for each core topic, for example ^onboarding|on-?boarding for your main guide.

1. 1

   Save filter URLs

   Search Console does not store named reports, but your browser bookmark keeps the active filters. Create a folder called Search Console Watch. Save each filtered view.

2. 2

   Set a weekly slot

   Pick a 30 minute slot. Open each bookmark. Use Last 28 days vs Previous. Scan for moves over 1.0 position with at least 100 impressions.

3. 3

   Decide one action per move

   If a query dipped, check cannibalisation: does another page now rank? If a page rose into 8 to 12, add two internal links. If CTR lags under peers, rewrite the title and meta within the limits.

4. 4

   Log changes

   Keep a simple Google Sheet with date, page, query, position change, action taken, and a link to the bookmark. It keeps judgement honest next week.

A fixed page in the watch list reads like this next week: "/pricing", UK, Desktop, Last 28 days vs Previous, queries sorted by position change, two new internal links added last week, position moved up by about two places, a typical swing here, not measured.

Striking distance means positions roughly 8 to 20. You can move these with modest edits and links. Use the table sort and a couple of filters to pull a hit list.

1. 1

   Pick a page or the whole site

   Filter by a high intent page like /pricing, or leave no page filter to scan sitewide.

2. 2

   Set the date and market

   Use Last 28 days, filter your main country and device.

3. 3

   Sort by position

   In Queries, sort ascending by Position. Scroll until you see rows between 8 and 20 with at least 50 to 100 impressions.

4. 4

   Choose actions

   For each, match the query in the title or H1 once, answer the search intent, add two internal links with anchor text that fits, and check that the page loads fast.

A fixed /features/onboarding page that moves for "user onboarding" from the mid teens into the top 10 after you add a short comparison section and two links from /guides/onboarding-basics is a typical example here, not measured.

For a growing site, exporting saves time. You can export the visible rows, use the Search Console API, or enable the bulk data export to BigQuery. Each fits a different job.

• CSV export: quick pull of the current table, up to the rows shown. Good for a one-off filter, then share a snapshot.
• Search Analytics API: same dimensions as the Performance report, paginated, up to 25,000 rows per request. Data lags two to three days. Good for a weekly watch list Sheet.
• BigQuery bulk export: daily tables with the full row set since you enable it. Good for trend dashboards and long tail mining over 16 months.

1. 1

   A simple Sheet watch list via API

   List your target queries in a tab. Use a script or connector to call the Search Analytics API for those exact queries, filtered to your country and device, for the last 28 days. Write back clicks, impressions, CTR and position next to each row.

2. 2

   A weekly compare

   Call the API twice, once for the last 28 days and once for the previous 28. Compute the position delta in the Sheet. Colour rows that moved by more than 1.0.

3. 3

   A BigQuery view

   If you have the bulk export, build a view that filters query, country and device, then charts position over time per page. Add alerts for a seven day drop beyond a threshold.

A fixed dashboard tile for "/pricing" that shows UK mobile position for "pricing|price|cost" with a 28 day moving average will stop you chasing noise day to day. Keep the raw table nearby for drill down.

Search Console is enough for many product sites. A paid rank tracker helps when you need daily checks, rivals side by side, or hyper local results. Here is what they add and when to consider one.

• Rivals on the same SERP: see who holds positions for your target terms and how they change.
• Daily positions: check movement day by day, rather than waiting for weekly swings.
• Local and map packs: track city or postcode level results if you are local or hybrid.
• SERP features: watch featured snippets and other appearances in more detail.

Keep Search Console as your source of truth for clicks and impressions. Use a tracker to spot rivals and sprint on a set of terms. Do not micro-optimise daily on low volume terms.

Do not stop at reading ranks. Tie each dip or opportunity to one concrete change. Keep the scope small so you can ship in a day or two.

• Title and meta: match the head term in about 60 characters for title and within 155 characters for meta.
• Search intent: add or trim sections so the page answers the core query early.
• Internal links: add two to four from relevant pages, use natural anchor text that includes a partial match once.
• Page speed: check LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200 ms. Compress images and remove third party scripts you do not need.
• Cannibalisation: if two of your pages rank for the same query, pick a canonical and adjust headings so only one targets the head term.

A fixed /blog/feature-comparison that cannibalised /features/onboarding might get a rel=canonical to the features page, a heading change and a link back. The features page usually recovers its position within a couple of weeks as Google refreshes.