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
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
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
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. - Shawn
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
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
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
Sorry I can't remember I will try again at the weekend when I have a bit more time and advise Ciao for now
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?
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
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!
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
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.
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.
{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
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
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?