Rank Tracker

This skill helps you track, analyze, and report on keyword ranking positions over time. It monitors both traditional SERP rankings and AI/GEO visibility to provide comprehensive search performance insights.

When to Use This Skill

Setting up ranking tracking for new campaigns
Monitoring keyword position changes
Analyzing ranking trends over time
Comparing rankings against competitors
Tracking SERP feature appearances
Monitoring AI Overview inclusions
Creating ranking reports for stakeholders

What This Skill Does

Position Tracking: Records and tracks keyword rankings
Trend Analysis: Identifies ranking patterns over time
Movement Detection: Flags significant position changes
Competitor Comparison: Benchmarks against competitors
SERP Feature Tracking: Monitors featured snippets, PAA
GEO Visibility Tracking: Tracks AI citation appearances
Report Generation: Creates ranking performance reports

How to Use

Set Up Tracking

Set up rank tracking for [domain] targeting these keywords: [keyword list]

Analyze Rankings

Analyze ranking changes for [domain] over the past [time period]

Compare to Competitors

Compare my rankings to [competitor] for [keywords]

Generate Reports

Create a ranking report for [domain/campaign]

Data Sources

See CONNECTORS.md for tool category placeholders.

With ~~SEO tool + ~~search console + ~~analytics + ~~AI monitor connected: Automatically pull ranking positions from ~~SEO tool, search impressions/clicks from ~~search console, traffic data from ~~analytics, and AI Overview citation tracking from ~~AI monitor. Daily automated rank checks with historical trend data.

With manual data only: Ask the user to provide:

Keyword ranking positions (current and historical if available)
Target keyword list with search volumes
Competitor domains and their ranking positions for key terms
SERP feature status (featured snippets, PAA appearances)
AI Overview citation data (if tracking GEO metrics)

Proceed with the full analysis using provided data. Note in the output which metrics are from automated collection vs. user-provided data.

Instructions

When a user requests rank tracking or analysis:

Set Up Keyword Tracking

## Rank Tracking Setup

### Tracking Configuration

**Domain**: [domain]
**Tracking Location**: [country/city]
**Device**: [Mobile/Desktop/Both]
**Language**: [language]
**Update Frequency**: [Daily/Weekly/Monthly]

### Keywords to Track

| Keyword | Volume | Current Rank | Type | Priority |
|---------|--------|--------------|------|----------|
| [keyword 1] | [vol] | [rank] | Primary | High |
| [keyword 2] | [vol] | [rank] | Primary | High |
| [keyword 3] | [vol] | [rank] | Secondary | Medium |
| [keyword 4] | [vol] | [rank] | Long-tail | Medium |
| [keyword 5] | [vol] | [rank] | Brand | High |

### Competitor Tracking

Track these competitors for benchmark:
1. [Competitor 1] - [domain]
2. [Competitor 2] - [domain]
3. [Competitor 3] - [domain]

### Tracking Categories

| Category | Keywords | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| Brand | [X] | Brand name variations |
| Product | [X] | Product-related terms |
| Informational | [X] | Educational queries |
| Commercial | [X] | Buying intent terms |

Record Current Rankings

## Current Ranking Snapshot

**Date**: [date]
**Domain**: [domain]

### Ranking Overview

| Position Range | Keyword Count | % of Total |
|----------------|---------------|------------|
| #1 | [X] | [X]% |
| #2-3 | [X] | [X]% |
| #4-10 | [X] | [X]% |
| #11-20 | [X] | [X]% |
| #21-50 | [X] | [X]% |
| #51-100 | [X] | [X]% |
| Not ranking | [X] | [X]% |

### Position Distribution

Position 1: ████████ [X] keywords Position 2-3: ██████ [X] keywords Position 4-10: ████████████████ [X] keywords Position 11-20: ████████████ [X] keywords Position 21+: ██████████ [X] keywords


### Detailed Rankings

| Keyword | Position | URL | SERP Features | Change |
|---------|----------|-----|---------------|--------|
| [kw 1] | 3 | [url] | Featured Snippet | +2 ↑ |
| [kw 2] | 7 | [url] | PAA | -1 ↓ |
| [kw 3] | 12 | [url] | None | New |
| [kw 4] | 1 | [url] | Featured Snippet | — |

Analyze Ranking Changes

## Ranking Change Analysis

**Period**: [start date] to [end date]

### Overall Movement

| Metric | Start | End | Change |
|--------|-------|-----|--------|
| Avg Position | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Keywords in Top 10 | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Keywords in Top 3 | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Keywords #1 | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |

### Biggest Improvements 📈

| Keyword | Old Rank | New Rank | Change | Est. Traffic Impact |
|---------|----------|----------|--------|---------------------|
| [kw 1] | 15 | 4 | +11 | +[X] visits/mo |
| [kw 2] | 25 | 9 | +16 | +[X] visits/mo |
| [kw 3] | 8 | 2 | +6 | +[X] visits/mo |

**Possible causes**:
- [kw 1]: [hypothesis - e.g., content refresh may have improved relevance]
- [kw 2]: [hypothesis]

### Biggest Declines 📉

| Keyword | Old Rank | New Rank | Change | Est. Traffic Impact |
|---------|----------|----------|--------|---------------------|
| [kw 1] | 3 | 12 | -9 | -[X] visits/mo |
| [kw 2] | 7 | 18 | -11 | -[X] visits/mo |

**Likely factors**:
- [kw 1]: [hypothesis - e.g., competitor may have published updated guide]
- [kw 2]: [hypothesis]

> These are hypotheses based on available signals, not confirmed causes. Investigate each with the relevant skill (on-page-seo-auditor, content-quality-auditor, backlink-analyzer) to confirm.

**Recommended actions**:
- [kw 1]: [action to recover]
- [kw 2]: [action to recover]

### Stable Keywords

[X] keywords remained within ±3 positions (stable)

### New Rankings

| Keyword | Position | URL | Notes |
|---------|----------|-----|-------|
| [kw 1] | [pos] | [url] | [notes] |

### Lost Rankings

| Keyword | Last Position | URL | Action |
|---------|---------------|-----|--------|
| [kw 1] | [pos] | [url] | [investigate/refresh] |

Track SERP Features

## SERP Feature Tracking

### Feature Ownership

| Feature | Your Count | Competitor Avg | Opportunity |
|---------|------------|----------------|-------------|
| Featured Snippets | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| People Also Ask | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Image Pack | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Video Results | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |
| Local Pack | [X] | [Y] | [+/-Z] |

### Featured Snippet Status

| Keyword | You Own? | Current Owner | Winnable? |
|---------|----------|---------------|-----------|
| [kw 1] | ✅ Yes | You | Maintain |
| [kw 2] | ❌ No | [Competitor] | High |
| [kw 3] | ❌ No | [Competitor] | Medium |

### PAA Appearances

| Question | Your Answer? | Position | Action |
|----------|--------------|----------|--------|
| [Question 1] | ✅/❌ | [pos] | [action] |
| [Question 2] | ✅/❌ | [pos] | [action] |

Track GEO/AI Visibility

## AI/GEO Visibility Tracking

### AI Overview Presence

| Keyword | AI Overview | You Cited? | Citation Position |
|---------|-------------|------------|-------------------|
| [kw 1] | Yes | ✅ | 1st source |
| [kw 2] | Yes | ✅ | 3rd source |
| [kw 3] | Yes | ❌ | Not cited |
| [kw 4] | No | N/A | N/A |

### AI Citation Rate

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Keywords with AI Overview | [X]/[Total] ([Y]%) |
| Your citations in AI Overview | [X]/[Y] ([Z]%) |
| Avg citation position | [X] |

### GEO Performance Trend

| Period | AI Overviews Tracked | Your Citations | Rate |
|--------|---------------------|----------------|------|
| Last week | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |
| 2 weeks ago | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |
| Month ago | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |

### GEO Improvement Opportunities

| Keyword | Has AI Overview | You Cited? | Content Gap |
|---------|-----------------|------------|-------------|
| [kw 1] | Yes | No | Need clearer definition |
| [kw 2] | Yes | No | Missing quotable stats |

Compare Against Competitors

## Competitor Ranking Comparison

### Share of Voice

| Domain | Keywords Ranked | Avg Position | Visibility |
|--------|-----------------|--------------|------------|
| [Your site] | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |
| [Competitor 1] | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |
| [Competitor 2] | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |
| [Competitor 3] | [X] | [Y] | [Z]% |

### Head-to-Head Comparison

**You vs [Competitor 1]**:

| Keyword | Your Rank | Their Rank | Winner |
|---------|-----------|------------|--------|
| [kw 1] | 3 | 7 | You ✅ |
| [kw 2] | 12 | 5 | Them ❌ |
| [kw 3] | 1 | 4 | You ✅ |

**Summary**: You win [X]/[Y] keywords vs [Competitor 1]

### Competitor Movement Alerts

| Competitor | Keyword | Their Change | Threat Level |
|------------|---------|--------------|--------------|
| [Comp 1] | [kw] | +15 positions | 🔴 High |
| [Comp 2] | [kw] | +8 positions | 🟡 Medium |

Generate Ranking Report

# Ranking Performance Report

**Domain**: [domain]
**Report Period**: [start] to [end]
**Generated**: [date]

## Executive Summary

**Overall Trend**: [Improving/Stable/Declining]

| Metric | Value | vs Last Period | Status |
|--------|-------|----------------|--------|
| Total keywords tracked | [X] | [+/-Y] | [status] |
| Keywords in top 10 | [X] | [+/-Y] | [status] |
| Keywords in top 3 | [X] | [+/-Y] | [status] |
| Average position | [X] | [+/-Y] | [status] |
| Estimated traffic | [X] | [+/-Y]% | [status] |

## Position Distribution

Position 1: ████████████ [X]% Position 2-3: ████████ [X]% Position 4-10: ████████████████ [X]% Position 11-20: ██████████ [X]% Position 21+: ████ [X]%


## Key Highlights

### Wins 🎉
- [Achievement 1]
- [Achievement 2]
- [Achievement 3]

### Concerns ⚠️
- [Issue 1]
- [Issue 2]

### Opportunities 💡
- [Opportunity 1]
- [Opportunity 2]

## Detailed Analysis

### Top Performing Keywords

| Keyword | Position | Change | Traffic | Notes |
|---------|----------|--------|---------|-------|
| [kw 1] | 1 | — | [X] | Stable leader |
| [kw 2] | 2 | +3 | [X] | Growing |
| [kw 3] | 3 | +5 | [X] | Big improvement |

### Keywords Needing Attention

| Keyword | Position | Change | Issue | Recommended Action |
|---------|----------|--------|-------|-------------------|
| [kw 1] | 15 | -8 | Dropped | Refresh content |
| [kw 2] | 22 | -5 | Competitor surge | Analyze competitor |

## SERP Feature Report

| Feature | Count | Change | Competitor Avg |
|---------|-------|--------|----------------|
| Featured Snippets | [X] | [+/-Y] | [Z] |
| PAA | [X] | [+/-Y] | [Z] |

## GEO/AI Visibility Report

| Metric | This Period | Last Period | Trend |
|--------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| AI Overview appearances | [X] | [Y] | [↑/↓] |
| Your citations | [X] | [Y] | [↑/↓] |
| Citation rate | [X]% | [Y]% | [↑/↓] |

## Competitive Position

**Share of Voice Ranking**: #[X] of [Y] competitors

| Rank | Domain | Visibility |
|------|--------|------------|
| 1 | [domain] | [X]% |
| 2 | [domain] | [X]% |
| 3 | [domain] | [X]% |

## Recommendations

### Immediate Actions
1. [Action] for [keyword] - [expected impact]
2. [Action] for [keyword] - [expected impact]

### This Month
1. [Action]
2. [Action]

### Next Quarter
1. [Strategic action]
2. [Strategic action]

## Next Report

Scheduled: [date]
Focus areas: [areas to monitor]

Validation Checkpoints

Input Validation

Keywords list is complete with search volumes
Target domain and tracking location are specified
Competitor domains identified for comparison
Historical baseline data available or initial tracking period set

Output Validation

Every metric cites its data source and collection date
Ranking changes include context (vs. previous period)
Significant movements have explanations or investigation notes
Source of each data point clearly stated (~~SEO tool data, ~~search console data, user-provided, or estimated)

Example

User: "Analyze my ranking changes for the past month"

Output:

# Ranking Analysis: [current month, year]

## Summary

Your average position improved from 15.3 to 12.8 (-2.5 positions = better)
Keywords in top 10 increased from 12 to 17 (+5)

## Biggest Wins

| Keyword | Old | New | Change | Possible Cause |
|---------|-----|-----|--------|----------------|
| email marketing tips | 18 | 5 | +13 | Likely driven by content refresh |
| best crm software | 24 | 11 | +13 | Correlates with new backlinks acquired |
| sales automation | 15 | 7 | +8 | Correlates with schema markup addition |

## Needs Attention

| Keyword | Old | New | Change | Action |
|---------|-----|-----|--------|--------|
| marketing automation | 4 | 12 | -8 | Likely displaced by new HubSpot guide |

**Recommended**: Update your marketing automation guide with [current year] statistics and examples.

Tips for Success

Track consistently - Same time, same device, same location
Include enough keywords - 50-200 for meaningful data
Segment by intent - Track brand, commercial, informational separately
Monitor competitors - Context makes your data meaningful
Track SERP features - Position 1 without snippet may lose to position 4 with snippet
Include GEO metrics - AI visibility increasingly important

Rank Change Analysis Framework

Why Rankings Move — Root Cause Taxonomy

Category	Causes	Detection Method
Algorithm Updates	Google core update, helpful content update, spam update	Check Google Search Status Dashboard, SEO news
Competitor Action	New content published, content updated, new backlinks	Monitor competitor pages, SERP changes
Your Changes	Content edit, technical change, migration	Cross-reference with deploy/change log
SERP Feature Changes	New featured snippet, AI Overview added/removed	SERP monitoring tools
Seasonal Patterns	Predictable demand shifts	Year-over-year comparison
Technical Issues	Crawl errors, speed degradation, indexing problems	Search Console, crawl reports
Link Profile Changes	Lost backlinks, new backlinks, disavow	Backlink monitoring

Rank Change Response Protocol

Change	Timeframe	Action
Drop 1-3 positions	Wait 1-2 weeks	Monitor — may be normal fluctuation
Drop 3-5 positions	Investigate within 1 week	Check for technical issues, competitor changes
Drop 5-10 positions	Investigate immediately	Full diagnostic: technical, content, links
Drop off page 1	Emergency response	Comprehensive audit + recovery plan
Position gained	Document and learn	What worked? Can you replicate?

Position Distribution Benchmarks

Click-Through Rate by Position

Position	Desktop CTR	Mobile CTR	Notes
#1	31.7%	24.0%	10x more than position #10
#2	14.7%	13.1%	~50% drop from #1
#3	10.7%	9.5%	Significant value
#4	6.7%	6.1%	Still above fold usually
#5	5.1%	4.6%	Often near fold
#6	4.1%	3.5%	Below fold on most devices
#7	3.4%	2.8%	Rapidly diminishing
#8	2.9%	2.3%
#9	2.5%	1.9%
#10	2.2%	1.6%	Bottom of page 1
#11-20	<1.5%	<1.0%	Page 2 — minimal visibility

Note: CTR varies significantly by query type, SERP features, and industry. These are averages.

CTR Impact of SERP Features

SERP Feature Present	Effect on Organic CTR
Featured Snippet (you own)	+20-30% CTR for your result
Featured Snippet (competitor)	-15-25% CTR for position #1
AI Overview	-10-30% CTR for all organic results
PAA boxes	-5-10% CTR for positions 3-6
Shopping results	-10-20% CTR for commercial queries
Knowledge Panel	-5-15% CTR for navigational queries

SERP Volatility Context

Algorithm Update Impact Assessment

Update Type	Typical Impact	Recovery Time	Response Strategy
Core update	±20-50% traffic shifts	3-6 months (next core update)	Improve content quality broadly
Helpful Content	Content quality focused	1-3 months	Remove/improve unhelpful content
Spam update	Penalizes manipulative tactics	Varies (may require disavow)	Clean up link profile, remove spam
Product Reviews	Review content specific	1-2 months	Improve review depth and expertise
Link Spam	Targets artificial links	2-4 months	Disavow toxic links, build quality links

Tracking Configuration Best Practices

Setting	Recommendation	Why
Check frequency	Daily for top 20 keywords; weekly for others	Balance accuracy vs. API costs
Location settings	Match target market; track local separately	Rankings vary by location
Device tracking	Track mobile AND desktop separately	Mobile rankings differ significantly
Competitor tracking	Track 3-5 competitors for key terms	Context for your own movements
SERP features	Track which features appear	Explain CTR changes
Keyword grouping	Group by topic cluster, intent, funnel stage	Identify patterns, not just keywords

Reference Materials

Tracking Setup Guide — Configuration best practices, device/location settings, and SERP feature tracking setup

Related Skills

keyword-research — Find keywords to track
serp-analysis — Understand SERP composition
alert-manager — Set up ranking alerts
performance-reporter — Comprehensive reporting
memory-management — Store ranking history in project memory

rank-tracker