tracking tool results different to manual results

[loki]

lately i'm finding the results i get from the tracking tool are wildly
different to if i do a manual search (ie, go to google.com and type the same
search phrase as i'm tracking into the search box).

i know gg has various datacentres and depending on your geography or
just the moment you make the search, you get one or another database's
results.

does this mean that now gg is updating, or are their results *more*random than before, or is it something else?

TIA

[digitalpoint]

Do you have a specific keyword/URL combo as an example? What are you seeing it as within the keyword tracker, and what are you seeing it ranked as when you look manually?

- Shawn

[Foxy]

Actually I was going to post this

"large yachts" we are number 1 or two on www
and only no 1 on 64s

[and all the others we are mostly 1 with the occasional 2]

which is what you used to show

but we are now showing position 15 on KT

:confused:

[digitalpoint]

It's because you are #15 *and* #1. The way the keyword tracker works, is it looks for matches based on the last known position, so when it sees you are still at 15, it stop looking. Doing it that way makes it faster and conserves your Google API queries.

You can have the keyword tracker run a "Check All" and start from the beginning of the results instead of the last known position as an option (to fix just that problem... where you were #15 at one point, but then a different page ranks better, while that one remains the same).

You can trigger it from #22 in the FAQ (http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/faq.html).

- Shawn

[Foxy]

Thats interesting cause I only use the Check All function

[digitalpoint]

It just means at some point you ranked between 11-20 but not 1-10. Then one some day after that you ranked 1-10 and still had an entry on the 11-20 page.

- Shawn

[Foxy]

So does that mean there is a need for a refresh button? :)

[digitalpoint]

No, it means you need to trigger a check all from the FAQ (read previous message). ;)

- Shawn

[Foxy]

But I did all that!

Truely honestly I DID read your post and I was a good boy and did do it the way you said and I ended up back on "me own page" with "me own Click button" and it just, well, left me where I was!

Sorry, ever so humble :)

[digitalpoint]

Hmmm... that should have taken care of it. Did you by chance start a new "Check All" thread after it took you back your the normal keyword list screen? (Starting a new one would have killed any existing one in progress).

- Shawn

[Foxy]

Sorry

I can't remember

I will try again at the weekend when I have a bit more time and advise

Ciao for now ;)

[compar]

Shawn,

I didn't know there was a way to check your ranking other than to use the "Check All" button. I know if you click on one keyword listing at a time you will get a result for that individual keyword. But if you are checking several sites and several keywords for each, how can you do that other than using the "Check All" feature?

[digitalpoint]

There isn't currently a way to do "Check Group", but it's something I've thought about... so it may happen (also a "Delete Group") at some point.

- Shawn

[AnonyMouse]

I just created a new account, with new URLs and new keywords and a new Google API key, and even then the results are different. Every single keyword is off, listing me as 10 when I am 3, or 24 when I am 14 etc.

I can post the URL/keyword combos if that helps you identify the problem. I'd love to use this tool to track my SERPS over time, but I need to be able to rely on accurate results.

Thanks!

[digitalpoint]

Yeah, if you could post a sample keyword, URL and what the keyword tracker places it at, that would be useful. Also let me know what position you see it at when you search Google manually.

- Shawn

[rwhetsto]

I just want to let Anonymouse know that my keyword rankings are almost always correct. If they differ its because Google is changing the SERPs and not all the Google servers have the same data. If you don't know about this tool already, check out http://www.mcdar.net/dance/index.php it gives the results from many different datacenters, which could show the differences.

[compar]

I'd love to use this tool to track my SERPS over time, but I need to be able to rely on accurate results.

Thanks!

I'm always fascinated by the demand or preoccupation with absolute accuracy. Everything on the Internet is in a constant state of flux. There really is no such thing as absolute accuracy.

Why do you need to be able to rely on accurate results? Are you going to make life and death decisions based on it? Is you income at stake?

This is a free tool that a lot of people really appreciate. If you want accuracy, whatever that is, go have your own tool custom written and then you have the right to demand performance.

[digitalpoint]

{lol} I don't mind... I want it accurate too. But bottom line is that unless Google starts using a single data center for everyone (which will never happen), results will never be 100% the same as someone else sees (who is using a different data center). So there is no such thing as 100% accuracy for the keyword tracker, because depending on where you are in the world, you are going to see different results at the normal www.google.com...

- Shawn

[GuyFromChicago]

I've seen some varying results results from time to time too - but that's ok. I use the tool to get an "idea" where I'm at. Do I rank in the top 10, or do I not rank at all. To me, there's not huge difference in being # 3 or #5.

The tool's top notch, and the price can't be beat:)

[Foxy]

Compar

Spot on statement

A little understanding of what happens might help too by anonymous - like gepgraphically where is he? What datacentres does he use and what market is he aiming for and has he placed his sites "in" that market place so that he gets his bets results?

[Foxy]

:)

Golly I've just reched the dizzy Heights of a

BERSERKER

Yes.....what a result

Hehehe

:D

Pity we lost the rugby six nations though :eek:

[AnonyMouse]

Nice to get some responses, thanks guys!

I used the dance tool suggested by rwetsto (thanks, I hadn't found a tool that had kept up since the changes to Google's domains!), and doing a search on "www"'s 8 datacenters all returned me as number 3 for one phrase I track, compared to the number 10 shown by the tracker. These results have been consistently the same every time I check.

compar - yes, I agree that one can get pre-occupied with this business, and yes, my income is at stake. Of course the internet is in a state of flux, that I was the keyword tracker exists! However, I am not "demanding" performance, although I do like to know the reliability and limitations of tools I might use.

The discrepancy in results means one of two things (having ruled out that there is a difference between the www datacentres):

1. Because I am geographically located in Europe, perhaps I am returned different results.
2. The keyword tracker results are not accurate. (And by "accurate", I mean that the tracker does not return the same results as a manual search done by me)

I have seen the former, about 8 months ago - SERPS here in mainland europe were wildly different from SERPS in the UK or US. Seems Google was trying out a new algo, as after a couple of months, the SERPS I was seeing became the SERPS others were seeing. Since then, I've not been aware of geographical differences.

Unlikely my competitors are lurking in here, as the forum is new, so here's a sample SERP for Shawn at DigitalPoint:

cambridge hotels
Position 3 - iAgora Cambridge Hotels (when done manually)
Poisition 10 when done using tracker

Discrepancies for every keyphrase I target, I'm afraid - and always on the negative side. Though I guess that means I always know that I am doing better than the tracker tells me!

BTW, the tools and the site are a great resource, this is not a criticism - I was just contributing to the thread!

[AnonyMouse]

Just to pre-empt the question - I am using www.google.com, not any other regional site (such as www.google.es)

[rwhetsto]

Sorry to report this to you AnonyMouse, because I am sure you would rather have the higher rankings than a tool that reports correctly, but I get these results when I put in cambridge hotels:

1. Cambridge Hotels in Cambridge England UK - Cheap Hotel Discount
2. Forestdale hotels, Hotels in England, France, hotel accommodation ...
3. hotels in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, hotel accommodation England ...
4. Cambridge Hotels , holiday Cottages and hotel accommodation in ...
5. Cambridge Hotels. Hotels Reservations and Discounts.
6. Cambridge Hotels: Cheap Hotel Accommodation in Cambridge UK
7. Cambridge hotels: Read Cambridge hotel reviews including resorts ...
8. Boston Cambridge Hotels Massachusetts - Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston
9. Accommodation in Cambridge Hotels, Guest Houses, Bed and ...
10. iAgora Cambridge, UK Hotels: Discount accommodation in Cambridge ...

Don't have any explanation of why you get different results, I would assume it geographic differences.

[digitalpoint]

Same here... when I search at www.google.com, I see it at #10 also...

- Shawn

[compar]

2. The keyword tracker results are not accurate. (And by "accurate", I mean that the tracker does not return the same results as a manual search done by me)

Well the conclusion is very easy in my mind. Just don't use the tracker. And please quit bitching. It didn't cost you anything. And just as you are free to use it you are also free to not use it.

[AnonyMouse]

Cool, thanks guys - so the answer is that there are different geographical SERPS kicking in. Can I ask where you are geographically, and where the dp server is based when it runs the queries? Depending on your answer, looks like using the tool is a better method of SERPS tracking than my manual checks!

Do you know of a way/site I can use to spoof a query from a different location, so I can see the same SERPS as you guys?

{compar - take that stick out of your ass, it's clear that I am not bitching, just looking for an answer to a question. no thanks to you, I got one. (shawn, feel free to edit this bit out!)}

[rwhetsto]

I'm in Cincinnati, OH

[digitalpoint]

I'm in San Diego, California (so is the keyword tracker server). Where are you at?

- Shawn

[AnonyMouse]

Barcelona, Spain...
Really useful to know that my SERPS are different from yours, I will use the tool to track the SERPS that you see, as the US is one of my target audiences. Do you happen to know of a site or tool that I can use to actually see the same SERPS as you?
Thanks for bearing with me :-)

[Foxy]

If your target is the US you should have one of your sites residing in the US just for safety sake

eg with ipowerweb, but Shawn might have another provider closer to his base that would return identicals to KWT

Which would solve your problems a little

[digitalpoint]

Google always gives different results based on the country you are in. They openly perform geo-targeting, so results in one country will be weighted towards the country you are in. (I'm guessing your site is on a US IP address and not on a server in Spain??)

- Shawn

[AnonyMouse]

UK IP address.

Seems odd that geo-targeting would be based on IP addresses of servers, given that so many people host sites just about anywhere...looking at the results you posted as seeing from the US, I recognise most of my competitors by the Title tags alone, so I'm going to dig a little on their IP addresses.

Looks like this thread has turned into a Google forum post!

[digitalpoint]

Opps... that's what I meant, that I bet you were on a UK IP address since you rank better for UK users.

Which is confirmed here: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/website-country/?ip=i-hotels.iagora.com

The tool might be helpful in finding where your competitor's sites are physically located (at least as far as Google is concerned).

- Shawn