How to Check Your SEO Rankings (3 Easy Options for Free)

Wondering what keywords your website already ranks for on search engines? 

You’re not alone. 

As an SEO consultant for 10+ years, this is a question I get a LOT from my clients & students.

Because before you can improve your SEO, you need to know which SEO keyword rankings you ALREADY have and WHERE you’re currently showing up in search results.

So in this blog post, I’m sharing 3 ways you can check your SEO rankings (for free), plus giving a deeper dive into my personal favorite SEO tool.

3 Ways to Check SEO Rankings for Free:

• Google Search Console
• Bing Webmaster Tools
• Free versions of SEO Tools (Like Semrush, Ahrefs, Ubbersuggest, etc)

Rather tune into the video about this?

Let’s dive into the details, shall we?

The best place to start when it comes to checking your rankings is with Google Search Console.

What is Google Search Console?

It’s a free tool created by Google that gives you direct data about your website’s performance in Google Search.

Yep. That’s right.

A lot of people think you need an expensive SEO tool in order to see your SEO rankings, but that’s not true.

You just need Google Search Console set up.

>> Here’s the step-by- step tutorial on how to set up Google Search Console

It only takes a few minutes, and once it’s running, you’ll be able to see what keywords (queries) are driving traffic to your website and where you’re showing up in search results, including data like:

• Total clicks
• Total impressions
• Average CTR (click-through rate)
• Average position

Wait, what about Bing?

Google might be the biggest search engine, but it’s not the only one people use.

Some folks default to Bing because it’s built into Microsoft products. Some use DuckDuckGo (which pulls Bing’s data). Some simply prefer it. So if you only check your rankings on Google, you’re missing part of the picture.

What is Bing Webmaster Tools?

It’s Microsoft’s version of Google Search Console — also free and incredibly helpful.

>> Click here for the step-by-step guide to setting up Bing Webmaster Tools

With Bing Webmaster Tools, you can see:

• What keywords you rank for in Bing
• How often your pages appear
• How many clicks you’re getting
• Any technical SEO issues Bing is seeing
  

Setting it up is quick (especially if you already connected your site to Search Console) and gives you a fuller, more accurate understanding of how your website performs in search.

Can’t you just Google a keyword & see where your website shows up for it?

Technically, yes, yes you can.

But the issue with that is that where YOU see your website ranking for something, isn’t usually where other people will see your website ranking.

Search engine’s results are based on location and your OWN search history.

You *could* get around this by searching in an incognito tab, but the manual searching is going to take quite a bit of time, especially if you wanna see rankings for numerous keywords, including ones you don’t even KNOW you’re ranking for 🤪

My recommendation as an SEO Consultant?

Set up both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. They’re free, they take minutes to configure, and together they give you a much clearer view of your keyword rankings.

Now I’m gonna break down how to SPECIFICALLY use Google Search Console, but you can do a similar thing with Bing too!

How to use Google Search Console to track SEO rankings

1. Set up your website in Google Search Console.
2. Submit your sitemap – (you might need to wait 48+ hours for the data to start populating)
3. Navigate to “Search Results” (under the “Performance” tab).
4. Set your time frame – choose your date range or compare dates from one timeframe vs. another..
5. Confirm the search type – keep it set to Web for normal Google search results.
6. Toggle the metrics – click the boxes for Total Clicks, Impressions, Average CTR, and Average Position to turn them on/off in the graph and table.
7. Scroll down to the Queries table – this is where you’ll see the keywords you’re ranking for and how they’re performing.

Understanding the data: Clicks, Impressions, CTR, and Average Position

Here’s a breakdown of the 4 main metrics:

Total impressions:
How many times a page from your site appeared in search results.

Total clicks:
How many times someone clicked from Google’s search results to your website.

Average CTR:
Your click-through rate (clicks divided by impressions).

Average position:
Your average ranking position across all keywords in the report.

A few notes:

• Impressions will always be higher than clicks.
• Positions often have decimal points (like 2.8) because they fluctuate based on user location, history, and search patterns (more on this below!)

If your overall average position looks “bad,” ignore it for now. It includes every keyword — even the weird ones, the tiny ones, and the ones you don’t care about yet. Focus on the position data for SPECIFIC keywords to get more accurate info..

Reading the Queries Table (your actual keywords)

Scroll down a bit and you’ll see a table. By default, the first tab is Queries, which are the keywords your site is showing up for.

For each query, you’ll see:

• The keyword (query)
• Clicks
• Impressions
• CTR (if you clicked it “on” for the graph above)
• Average position (if you clicked it “on” for the graph above)

You might notice that the positions have decimal points, like 2.8. Google does not show decimal positions on the live search results page, but this number is an average of where you appear for that keyword.

Your position can change based on things like:

• The user’s search history
• The user’s location
• Small shifts in search results over time

So you might appear at position 1 for some people and position 3 for others. The average of those views could be something like 2.8.

Here’s a helpful way to think about position numbers:

• 1.0 to 3.0: You’re near the very top of page one.
• 4.0 to 10.0: You’re still on page one.
• Around 11.0 or higher: You’re likely on page two or lower.

For example, a position of 11.6 usually means you’re sitting on page two on average, since Google generally shows about 10 organic results per “page”.

The goal, especially for your priority keywords, is to:

• Get into the top 10 at least (page one)
• Aim for the top 3
• Ideally reach position 1 where it makes sense

Switch between Queries and Pages for deeper insights

You can learn a lot more when you switch between keywords and pages.

There are 2 main ways to do this:

1. Start from a query (keyword)
   • Click on a specific query in the table
   • Then click the Pages tab
   • You’ll see which pages on your site are ranking for that keyword and how they perform
2. This shows you which page is showing up strongest for that keyword and whether another page might be competing with it.
3. Start from a page
   • Click the Pages tab in the main table
   • Click on a specific URL
   • Then click back to the Queries tab
4. Now you’ll see all the keywords that Google associates with that page.

Use this to:

• See which page is carrying the most weight for a certain topic
• Decide which pages to update, optimize, or support with more content

Sooooo as you can see, Google Search Console (and Bing Webmaster Tools) give you an INCREDIBLE starting point for checking your SEO rankings, and the best part about the free tools is that their data is reliable because it’s first-party data.

What is first-party data?

Data that you OWN. 

Data related to YOUR website.

Vs. third-party data, which is what SEO tools use.

Using SEO tools are another way to check in on your SEO rankings.

Why would you want to use third-party SEO tools if Bing & Google Search Console’s first-party data is more reliable?

For a few reasons…

Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools are helpful AF, but they’re also VERY limited.

With GSC & Bing, you’re not able to really track your rankings over a longer period of time, because the data only goes back 16 months.

They can get a little annoying when trying to drill down into certain things, without flipping between screens & reports.

Why choose a paid SEO tool?

SEO tools give more comprehensive insights, and allow you to do more deeper research with keywords, competitor analysis, backlinks, etc.

They also give you a cleaner view of your keyword data and several features that go beyond what Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools offer.

Including:

• A simple, easy-to-skim table of your top keywords
• The ability to create a master keyword list
• Built-in rank tracking over time
• Easy export to spreadsheets for your own reports

If you’re just getting started and want to keep costs low, you can stay with Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools for as long as you’d like. If you want deeper numbers to shape your strategy, an SEO keyword research tool can save time and give you more context.

Here are a couple popular SEO Tools that can help you check your rankings:

Semrush: This one is my personal favorite. More details on how to use this tool for checking your SEO rankings below!

Ahrefs: Similar to Semrush, and some people love it more. Just a preference thing!

Moz: Similar to Ahrefs & Semrush

SE Ranking: A comprehensive tool that’s similar to Semrush & Ahrefs, but is ½ the cost. Great option if you’re looking for in-depth data, but wanna stay @ a lower budget.

Ubersuggest: This tool is popular among the beginner SEO community & DIY’ers. It’s not my personal favorite because I don’t like the user experience of the dashboard. It feels clunky. 

Using Semrush to check your SEO Rankings

Semrush is my personal favorite SEO tool and they have a free version, which you can learn how to sign up for here (since it’s a little hidden), or if you want to give the Pro version a try, you can get a free 14-day pro trial here.

If you’re using the free version, you’ll still be able to check your rankings for free, but you’ll only be able to see the top 10 rankings vs. with a paid plan you can see all of them.

Once you’re in Semrush:

1. Go to the Organic Research tool.
2. Enter your domain name.
3. Click Search.

Semrush will pull a report with your keyword and traffic data.

Overview dashboard: what all those numbers mean

On the Organic Research overview screen, you’ll see a snapshot of how your site is doing in organic search.

Key stats include:

• Number of keywords your site ranks for
• Estimated organic traffic those keywords bring in
• Traffic cost, which is a rough estimate of how much you’d pay each month in Google Ads to get the same traffic
• Your traffic split between branded and non-branded traffic

Branded vs. Non-Branded Traffic:

• Branded traffic: People who search for your brand or business name, like “Mariah Magazine” as an example for my business. A newer or smaller site might have very little of this if brand awareness is low.
• Non-branded traffic: People who search for general problem-based terms that do not include your name, like “Squarespace blog tips” or “how to start a podcast”. This is where you show up before people even know who you are.

You’ll also see a traffic trend graph. You can adjust the view to see how your organic traffic and ranking keywords have changed over time.

The Top Keywords report: deeper keyword data in one place

Scroll down on the Organic Research page and you’ll find a table of top keywords.

This is one of the reasons many people prefer using Semrush for SEO ranking checks. The layout is clean, and you can see a BUNCH of useful details at a glance.

For each keyword, you’ll usually see:

• The keyword
• Your position in organic search
• The URL that ranks for that keyword
• The amount of traffic that keyword brings to your site
• The search volume, such as “140 searches per month in the US”
• KD% (keyword difficulty), which is Semrush’s estimate of how competitive the keyword is

You can quickly scroll through and see what you already rank for, where you’re strong, and which keywords are close to page one.

From there, Semrush lets you:

• Add keywords to a master keyword list
• Export the data into a spreadsheet
• Send keywords into a rank tracking tool inside Semrush

Use Your Keyword Data To Shape Your SEO Strategy

Once you know what you’re already ranking for, you can make smarter SEO decisions instead of guessing.

Free vs. paid tools: which one should you use?

Here’s a quick comparison of Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Semrush based on the features covered above:

If you’re new to SEO, start with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Together, they give you a fuller picture of how your site is performing across both major search engines—for free.

Once you’re more comfortable and want deeper data and automation, a paid tool like Semrush can be worth testing.

Next steps: track and plan your keywords

Knowing what you rank for is step one. Step two is tracking and planning your next moves.

Some practical ideas:

Create a simple tracking sheet

Add your most important keywords, their current positions, and the URLs that rank for them. Update it once a month using Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, or Semrush, whichever feels easiest to use for you.

Set clear ranking goals

Aim to get key pages into page one first, then work toward the top 3 and eventually position 1 when it makes sense.

Keyword Planner to Help You Stay Organized

If you want help keeping all of your SEO keyword planning in one place, you can grab the SEO Keyword Planner! It’s a 5-page editable workbook in Google Sheets that helps you:

• Brainstorm keyword ideas
• Organize and compare keyword research data
• Plan an SEO strategy around the keywords that matter most

It also includes tips, best practices, and examples so you’re not starting from a blank page.

>> Snag the SEO Keyword Planner here (Use code SEOLOVE10 for $10 off!)

Free SEO Resource: The SEO Assessment + Scorecard

Want to know how your current site is doing and where the biggest opportunities are hiding?

Grab the Free SEO Assessment + Scorecard — it’ll help you assess:

• How visible your brand is (on both Google and with AI tools)
• Spot the gaps & make smarter improvements
• Start attracting the people *already* searching for what you offer.

>> Snag the SEO Assessment & Scorecard for free here

Start Checking Your Rankings and Grow Your Organic Traffic

You don’t have to guess what you’re ranking for on Google or Bing. With free tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and SEO tools like Semrush, you can:

• See your current keyword rankings
• Understand which pages are pulling in traffic
• Spot new opportunities to grow

Set up or log into GSC + Bing, check your keyword data, then decide if a deeper SEO tool like Semrush would be helpful.Your site is already showing up for something, and now ya know how to find it, track it, and use it to bring in more of the right people.