SERPWatcher checks Google from your tracking's location and device, at the time of its own update. Your own search is usually different in at least one of these ways: where you are, the device you use, when you search, or what Google knows about you. To see the exact results page SERPWatcher used, open the keyword and select Preview SERP.
See the exact results page SERPWatcher checked
Open the tracking in SERPWatcher.
Click the keyword in the list.
In the keyword's details, find the Ranking URLs table and select Preview SERP.
The preview shows a stored copy of the Google results page SERPWatcher checked for that keyword. The date it was saved is printed at the bottom-left of the window. In the preview window, select Download SERP to save the page as an image, for example to send to a client. If the keyword has no stored page yet, Preview SERP is disabled.
Your own Google search is personal
Google can change the results it shows you based on where you are, your earlier searches and whether you are signed in. SERPWatcher checks without your personal history: the page in Preview SERP is a Google page for someone who is not signed in. A position in your own browser can therefore be higher or lower than the one SERPWatcher shows.
The tracking is for a different location
Each tracking checks one location. If the tracking is for United States and you search from Germany, you see German results. If you track a city, results for the whole country can differ. Check the tracking's location, and compare with a search from the same place.
The tracking is for a different device
Google ranks pages differently on desktop and on mobile. SERPWatcher keeps desktop and mobile as separate trackings. If you check rankings on your phone, compare them with the mobile tracking, not the desktop one.
The ranking is from the last update
Rankings change during the day and from day to day. SERPWatcher shows the position from its last check. Hover over the position to see "Last updated" with the date of the last check. In the keyword's details, the "Last updated" line at the bottom shows how long ago SERPWatcher updated it. On Basic and Premium, SERPWatcher updates rankings once a week, so a weekly ranking can be days older than your search. See How often SERPWatcher updates your rankings.
Several of your pages rank for the keyword
A red dot next to a keyword with the tooltip "Keyword with multiple URLs" means more than one page of your domain ranks for it. The Ranking URLs table in the keyword's details lists every page with its own position.
Featured snippets and the map results
A quote icon next to a keyword means the results page has a featured snippet. Hover over it to see whether you rank in it. A map icon means the page has map results, and its tooltip shows your position there, if you have one.
SERPWatcher records whether you rank in the featured snippet separately from your rank. The keyword's history chart marks the days you ranked in a featured snippet or in the map results.
KWFinder or SERPChecker show a different position
KWFinder and SERPChecker show the results page from their own lookup. That lookup can be from a different day, location or device than your tracking. In KWFinder's search by domain, the Pos tooltip warns that the current position may be different. Compare the same keyword, location and device before you read a difference as an error.
You think a ranking is wrong
Open Preview SERP first. If the stored page shows your domain at a different position from SERPWatcher's rank, contact us through the live chat or at [email protected]. Send:
the tracked domain, with the tracking's location and device,
the keyword and the date of the ranking,
the image from Download SERP in the preview window.
If a ranking is missing rather than different, see Rankings missing, stuck on 'processing' or showing 101+.