Rank Tracking Accuracy

If you want to make sure your SEO strategy is moving in the right direction, you need to be able to verify the tool is showing data that matches actual search results.

Say, for example, you get a notification that your ranking has suddenly dropped dramatically. 

You would normally want to address this issue as soon as possible, but a knee-jerk reaction is the last thing you need.

Because what if the tool is lagging and your position hasn’t actually changed?

Search algorithms are notoriously unpredictable and a margin for error always exists.

Since manually checking keyword rankings is time-consuming and prone to error, SerpWatch has an advanced system in place to ensure the data shown to users is as accurate and reliable as possible.

Besides real-time SERP screenshots, SerpWatch also supports targeted rank tracking for different locations and an image verification function that acts as a defense mechanism against engine failures.  

• Location Verification
• Image Recognition

# Location Verification

Local search intent is one of many factors that can affect the position of keywords in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

While you could technically verify your keyword rankings by performing the same search from different physical locations, this is simply not practical.

SerpWatch shows your keyword rankings based on the precise geo-location enabled by the UULE parameter.

When the UULE parameter is added to the URL of a SERP, it reproduces search results for the specified geo-location.

This is especially useful if your target location differs from your actual physical one or if you’re an SEO agency that runs campaigns for multiple clients in different locations.

# Image Recognition

Seeing different ranking positions in the tool than what the actual SERPs show is a problem many rank tracker users face.

For example, a rank tracker may suddenly show that your keyword is no longer found in the Top 100, but when you open the SERP, you realize your rankings are the same as yesterday.

To bypass this issue, SerpWatch developed a unique image recognition function that prevents these drastic discrepancies from showing up in your ranking chart. 

Here’s how the system works:

1. The app sends ranking data for verification to our engine
2. The engine opens Google and enters the data it received from the app
3. The engine takes a screenshot and parses the data 
4. If the engine doesn’t recognize the data, it sends it to the API endpoint for re-verification based on the screenshot it took
5. The engine analyzes the text from the screenshot with the help of an optical character recognition software
6. The software then passes the text onto the API for further processing
7. The API looks for your specified domain in the text and returns the results to you
8. If your domain is found in the text, then a failure message is sent to Slack and the data is re-checked
9. If, however, the domain is not found, it means the ranking data shown in the chart matches the SERP results.