Anyone who owns a website has one primary concern - to drive in the right traffic. Only after doing so, will a site owner be able to monetize his site (either through ads, product sales, or any other means). It all starts with having traffic. And that's why, as a site owner, you're on the lookout for opportunities to improve your SERP rankings, which in turn, strengthens your online presence.
And when it comes to rankings, keywords play a crucial role. That's because they are the terms people use to search on Google. Afterward, Google will return results that best match those terms in order of relevance.
As a site owner, you undoubtedly know this. But do you know whether or not your site is already ranking for a keyword? Finding that out can be challenging, but knowing the keywords you're ranking for can help you understand where to improve. In other words, it's similar to tracking your progress with rank trackers.
But let’s see, in more detail, how you can check your keywords and ways you can use them to your advantage.
However, before that, how do you know what keywords to check for?
What Keywords Should You Check Your Website for?
Before using any checking tool, it's crucial to take note of your "target keywords." Why is that necessary?
Well, as site owner, you need to understand that having traffic and having the right traffic are different things. As seen above, the right traffic will bring in the right clients (those interested in your niche and services). It's easy to convert these into potential clients.
On the other hand, when you're ranking high for keywords that are irrelevant to your brand, you may still get high traffic. But the difference? Your visitors are most likely only interested in your content, not your brand.
So, with that in mind, what keywords does my website rank for? should you set as your "target terms?"
To discover potential winning keywords, you have to conduct thorough keyword research, which also includes spying on the competition. You can also use research tools to search for potential search terms. To see how to use some of these tools in detail, check out our resource on How to perform keyword research like a Pro!
This will let you create a long list of keywords to target in your SEO strategy. But to see what keywords you're already ranking for, the section below will help you.
What Keywords Does My Website Rank for?
There are two possible ways to discover the keywords you're ranking for:
Use of Google Search
Use of SEO tools (keyword checkers)
What does each method involve and which is the best for your site? Here's what to know about each of them:
1. Use of Google Search (The Traditional Method)
To manually search Google's result page for your site, you just have to enter one of your "target keywords" generated earlier into the search box.
Once you do that, scroll down to find if and where your site is placed. Take note of the results and repeat the process with another target keyword.
While it sounds simple, the truth is this method is lacking.
First, it will take a lot of time to repeat that process for all your target terms.
Second, you may miss your site's ranking since you may not be placed on the first page. That's except you plan on checking every result page on a particular keyword which is tiring.
And third, you'll only have two metrics at the end of the day. The search term and your site's position – except you're taking note of every other site that also shows up for the result to generate competitor metrics. Again, that is tiring.
While it remains a possible way of checking what terms you're ranking for, it's difficult. And there are almost no benefits to using it, especially in an era where tools exist. That brings us to the alternate solution: the use of SEO tools.
2. Use of SEO tools (The Professional Method)
Using keyword checker tools, you can perform all those functions automatically. With one click, you can access the metrics you need to understand how your site is performing. Note that the tool you use will determine the number of metrics you receive and the reliability of the analysis. That's why you need to make use of a well-trusted tool. That leads to the question: which one is best?
Below are 2 top tools many site owners have incorporated into their keyword tracking –
Google Search Console (Best Free Keyword Checker)
Not only is Google Search Console easy to use, it is also free. As a new site owner who cannot afford the price of other advanced SEO tools, using Google Search Console is a great alternative. Here's how it works:
Sign up to the Search console on your browser if you haven't done so before.
Select the website you want to check keywords for under the property box, as seen in the image below:
You can also add a new property where you’ll be asked to verify your site (refer here for more information on site verification).
Under "Performance," navigate to "Search Results." After that, check the "Queries" section. There, you'll find the terms you're showing up for. You'll also see the number of impressions and clicks your website has for a specific keyword.
The highly esteemed Ahrefs also offer a feature that allows you to check the keywords you’re ranking for. However, you can’t make use of that feature for free. It is part of their paid “Site Explorer."
An alternate option is to use their free checker tool. But unlike the Search console and the paid site explorer, the target terms you've generated come into play here. It shows your performance for the keywords you insert rather than generating all the terms you're showing up for. Here's how to use the tool:
Enter your keyword, site address, and location you want to check.
It will return a result of the top-ranking sites for that keyword. If you're present in the top SERPs, the result will look like this:
If not, the result page will look this way:
While Ahrefs is a great tool, the free keyword checker is incredibly limited. It shows only a few websites and their metrics. To see more SERPs, you'll have to subscribe to their paid version. What's more, as mentioned above, you can't check all the keywords you're ranking for. You can only check your position for your target terms.
This is not helpful as you may not be ranking for those terms. However, if you have an Ahrefs paid account, you can make use of the "organic keyword feature" under the "Site Explorer" to perform greater research on your keywords. If not, you may want to stick to Google Search Console.
While its features are basic, they still fulfill the purpose of your research - checking the keywords you're ranking for.
Wrapping Up: Using the Keyword Metrics to Your Advantage!
So, how does knowing what keywords you’re ranking for help your SEO efforts? For one, it allows you to see where to improve. Once again, only the right traffic can bring sales. So, if you find out you’re not ranking for your target keywords, you’ll have to adjust your SEO strategy.
That's it. The logic is simple. However, performing the needed research might appear hard. But with the right tool, you can do that with ease.