How do I check my Google page ranking?
Why you shouldn't just Google your own keywords to check rankings
A tempting but unreliable method is to simply search your target keyword in Google and scroll to find your page. This is unreliable for several reasons: Google personalises results based on your browsing history and location, so what you see differs from what your customers see. If you've visited your own site recently, Google will rank it higher in your personal results. And searching from your office in one city shows different results than searching from a customer's phone in another city. Dedicated rank-tracking tools query Google from neutral, consistent positions to give you an accurate, unbiased view.
Using Google Search Console for free ranking data
Google Search Console is free, comes directly from Google itself, and shows you the real queries your pages are appearing for — including queries you might not have been targeting but are accidentally ranking for. The Performance report shows average position, impressions (how many times your page was shown), and clicks for each query. This data is aggregated across all searchers and represents a far more accurate view of your rankings than any manual check. The only limitation is that it shows historical data (with some delay) rather than real-time rankings.
What to do with ranking data once you have it
Ranking data is most useful when tracked over time and connected to business outcomes. A keyword moving from position 15 to position 6 is meaningful progress — pages in positions 1-10 get the vast majority of clicks. A keyword stuck at position 11 (just off the first page) is often worth targeting specifically, since moving it one position to 10 can dramatically increase clicks. Keywords where you rank well but get fewer clicks than expected (shown by a low click-through rate in Search Console) suggest your title or meta description isn't compelling enough to make searchers choose your result.
Key Takeaways
- Don't Google your own keywords — personalisation makes the results inaccurate.
- Google Search Console provides free, authoritative ranking data directly from Google.
- Use ranking data alongside click-through rates to identify both opportunities and gaps.