RankNest

Trackers & Keywords

Create a rank tracker, add keywords, pick target pages, change devices, depth, and schedule, and run a check on demand.

This page covers setting up Rank Tracking for a client: creating a tracker, adding keywords, telling RankNest which page each keyword should rank with, and changing the tracker later. For what the numbers mean once checks start coming in, see Reading Rankings.

Create a tracker

  1. Open the client and click Rank Tracking in the sidebar.
  2. Click Create a tracker. If the client already has a tracker, click New tracker at the top of the page instead.
  3. In the New rank tracker dialog, check the Domain. It is filled in from the client's settings.
  4. Optionally give the tracker a Name, such as "Main site, Tampa". Without one, the tracker shows the domain.
  5. Pick the Country. To track a smaller area, start typing in City or region and pick a match from the list. Leave it empty to track the whole country. If the client has a Google Business Profile connected, RankNest suggests the city from its address.
  6. Choose Devices: Mobile, Desktop, or Desktop and mobile. New trackers start on Mobile.
  7. Choose How deep to check: Top 10 results up to Top 100 results. This is how far down Google's results RankNest looks for the site. The line under these two fields shows how many tracked keywords each keyword will use with your choices.
  8. Pick a Schedule: Daily, Weekly, or Only when I ask.
  9. Click Create tracker. The Add keywords dialog opens straight away.

Note: The location, and the domain, are fixed once the tracker exists. To track a different place, create another tracker.

Add keywords

Click Add keywords at the top of the tracker. The dialog has two tabs.

Paste a list

Type or paste into One keyword per line. RankNest lowercases each keyword and drops duplicates.

Import from Search Console

This tab lists the client's top Search Console queries by impressions, with the page each one shows up for and its average position. Non-brand queries are ticked for you. Brand searches are left unticked because the client usually ranks first for its own name anyway. Use Select all non-brand or Clear to change the selection.

Keywords you import this way are automatically pointed at the page Search Console shows for them, so the Target page column is filled in for you. If the client has no Search Console data, the tab shows a Connect Search Console link instead. See Google Search Console.

Finish adding

  1. Optionally add Tags, separated by commas, such as "services, tampa". Tags show under each keyword and you can search by them.
  2. Check the counter at the bottom. It shows how many keywords you picked, how many tracked keywords they use, and how many the client has in use.
  3. Click Track (the button reads, for example, Track 12 keywords).

If you pick more than the client has left, the dialog says so before you save. Remove some keywords, switch the tracker to one device, or check fewer results.

On a daily or weekly tracker, new keywords are checked on the next scheduled run. Until then the table shows Not checked yet, and a message above it tells you when the first check is due.

You can also start tracking from elsewhere in RankNest: from a page's Rankings tab (see Reading Rankings), from Saved Keywords in Keyword Research, and from an SEO test that has Track the primary keyword in Rank tracking when this test goes live ticked.

Set a target page

The target page is the page on the client's site that you want to rank for a keyword. Setting one lets RankNest warn you when Google ranks a different page instead.

  1. In the keyword table, click Set target in the Target page column. If a target is already set, click its URL to change it.
  2. Search by URL, for example "/services". The list shows the client's pages, busiest first.
  3. Click a page, then click Save.

To remove a target, open the same dialog and click Clear target.

Remove keywords

  1. Tick the keywords in the table. The header checkbox selects every keyword currently shown.
  2. Click Remove N keywords.
  3. Click Remove to confirm.

Removing a keyword frees up its tracked keywords for this client. If you add the same keyword back later, its history comes back with it.

Change devices, depth, and schedule

Click Settings at the top of the tracker to open Tracker settings. You can change:

  • Name
  • Devices
  • How deep to check
  • Schedule
  • Tracking is on: untick it to pause scheduled checks. Keywords and history are kept, and the tracker line shows Paused.

The line under devices and depth shows how many of the client's tracked keywords the tracker will use with the new settings. Adding a device or checking deeper uses more, so the change is refused if the client doesn't have enough left. Keep the current settings, remove some keywords, or raise the limit. Click Save settings when you're done.

To delete the tracker, click Delete tracker, then Delete tracker again to confirm. Its keywords stop being tracked and its ranking history is no longer shown.

Check now

Scheduled checks cover most needs. When you want fresh positions right away, for example after publishing a change, click Check now.

  1. Click Check now. The Check rankings now dialog shows how many keywords will be checked and how many research reports the check uses, plus how many reports you have left this month.
  2. Click Use N reports to start, or Cancel.

While the check runs, the button shows progress (for example Checking 4/12) and a banner reads Checking rankings now. Results usually arrive within a few minutes, and the page updates on its own.

Check now is the only part of Rank Tracking that uses research reports. It is disabled until the tracker has keywords, and the dialog won't start a check you don't have enough reports for. See Limits & Add-ons.

Troubleshooting

"The last scheduled check was skipped." A warning above the table explains why. The most common reason is that the client tracks more keywords than its allowance, which can happen after a plan change. Remove some keywords, check one device or fewer results, or add a keyword pack.

"No matching places." The city search found nothing for what you typed. Try a shorter name, or leave the field empty to track the whole country.

"That is N more tracked keywords than this client has left." You picked more keywords than the client's allowance covers. Track fewer, or change the tracker to one device or a shallower depth first.

Check now is greyed out. The tracker has no keywords yet, or a check is already running.

Last updated 2026-09-25