How to Check Google SEO Position and Your Search Position in Google (Quick Guide)

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How to Check Google SEO Position and Your Search Position in Google (Quick Guide)

Why Your Google Position Matters for Creative Businesses

You can have a jaw‑dropping offer, a gorgeous website, and a heart for serving students and clients—but if people can’t find you in Google, growth feels like pushing a piano uphill. I’m Tonya Lawson, a professional musician turned SEO coach for creatives, and I’ve watched rankings change an artist’s calendar, a teacher’s studio, and a course creator’s launch. When you check your Google position regularly and respond with smart tweaks, you stop guessing and start stacking wins. More discoverability. More qualified traffic. More buyers who already trust you because Google “introduced” you.

Here’s the promise: this quick guide will show you exactly how to check your Google SEO position the right way, verify it without personalization skewing the view, track it over time, and turn those positions into practical next steps that grow your creative business without living on social media. If you’ve been craving a simple, repeatable process you can keep up with—in between rehearsals, lessons, filming videos, and serving clients—this is it.

What “Position” Really Means in Google Search

“Position” sounds straightforward—where you rank for a keyword—but under the hood it’s more nuanced. There are multiple search features (organic blue links, video carousels, image packs, Top Stories, the Map Pack for local results, “People Also Ask,” and more). Your page might appear more than once on a single results page. And Google shows different mixes of features depending on the query and the searcher’s device and location.

So when you check your search position in Google, you want data that accounts for those variations instead of relying on a single, possibly personalized search. That’s why I start with Google Search Console for the source of truth, then use spot checks and rank trackers to corroborate what I’m seeing and to monitor trends over time.

How Google Search Console calculates Average Position (and why your manual checks differ)

In Google Search Console (GSC), the Performance report shows “Average position.” This metric is the mean of your positions across all impressions for a selected query, page, country, device, and date range. If you appear in position 3 for one impression and position 9 for another, your average might land around 6 for that day. If you showed in the image pack or a video carousel, GSC still assigns a position based on where that feature appears in the overall results list.

This is why your manual “I searched my keyword and saw myself at #4” will rarely match GSC exactly. Manual checks are influenced by:

  • Personalization and search history
  • Location and language settings
  • Device (mobile vs. desktop can change features and rankings)
  • Which data center answered your request at that moment
  • The search results layout changing minute to minute

Your goal isn’t to find a single “perfect” rank. It’s to build a consistent method to check your Google position that you trust—one that reflects how real users in your target market actually discover you and click.

Prerequisites: Set Up the Right Data Sources Before You Check

Before you dive into rankings, get your measurement foundation in place. It’s like tuning your instrument before a performance—it saves time and makes everything you play sound better.

Verify your site in Google Search Console and grant the correct permissions

If you haven’t already, verify ownership of your site in Google Search Console. Choose Domain property verification to capture all subdomains and protocols, and install the DNS record with your domain host. If that sounds techy, your host’s help docs will walk you through it in a few minutes. Once verified, add any teammates or contractors who help with SEO as “Full” or “Restricted” users in the Settings area. That way, no one’s sharing passwords or screenshots to collaborate.

While you’re in there, submit your XML sitemap in the Sitemaps section. Most modern platforms generate this automatically at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. This helps Google discover new content faster and makes your performance data more complete.

Decide what you’re tracking: queries, pages, device, country, and search appearance

Clarity keeps you consistent. Decide:

  • Which queries matter to your business model (for example, “online jazz piano course,” “beginner watercolor class,” “podcast editing template,” or your brand keywords).
  • Which pages map to those queries (product pages, blog tutorials, lesson landing pages, YouTube video pages you own, etc.).
  • Which countries you serve (United States and Canada for many of my clients).
  • Whether mobile or desktop is your priority (mobile often dominates for consumer searches).
  • Which search appearances you care about (web results, Video, Image, News, or Discover).

When you check your Google SEO position later, you’ll filter by these choices. That focus helps you make decisions that actually move revenue, not just rankings.

Step-by-Step: Check Your Google SEO Position in Search Console

Here’s the workflow I use weekly with clients. It’s simple, visual, and takes ten minutes once you’ve done it a couple of times.

Enable Average Position in the Performance report and slice by Query or Page

Open the Performance report in GSC (Search results). At the top, toggle on Total clicks, Total impressions, Average CTR, and Average position. Those four metrics tell a story together: how often you’re seen, how high you tend to appear, how compelling your result is, and how many visits that earned.

Now pick your view:

  • Query view shows which searches bring up your site and how you rank for each.
  • Page view shows how each URL performs across all queries.

Start with Query. Click “+ New” to add filters for Country (United States and/or Canada), Device (Mobile first if that’s your audience), and Date (last 28 days is a good window). Then sort by Impressions to see what users actually searched most. You’ll see each query’s Average position next to it, which gives you a realistic baseline.

Click into a single query to drill down. Then switch to the Pages tab to see which of your URLs shows up for it. This is where you can spot consolidation opportunities (“My old blog post and my course page are competing”) or internal linking opportunities (“My blog tutorial ranks #7 but my lead magnet page doesn’t appear; I’ll add contextual links so Google associates them”).

Switch to the Pages view and repeat the process. For each important page, look at the Queries tab to see the exact phrases the page ranks for—and where your position sits. If your Average position is hovering around 9–12, you’re on page one or two… close enough that a few updates can pop you into the top five.

Pro tip from a creative’s workflow: keep a short spreadsheet with columns for Query, Primary Page, Average Position, Impressions, and Action. Ten lines max. This stays manageable and directly tied to outcomes.

Compare by device, country, and date to see real shifts (not noise)

Rankings wiggle. You want to confirm trends, not get yanked around by normal day‑to‑day variance. Use comparisons:

  • Date compare: last 28 days vs. previous period. If your Average position improved while impressions grew, that’s a win worth replicating. If position dropped but impressions and clicks rose, a new feature (like a video carousel) might be stealing the top spot, yet your visibility is still expanding.
  • Device compare: many creative buyers discover on mobile but purchase on desktop. You might rank better on one device; that’s a clue to adjust page speed, layout, or structured data.
  • Country compare: if you serve the U.S. and Canada, check both. You may find Canadian rankings lagging, hinting at content examples or shipping terms that feel U.S.-centric.

Use these comparisons the same way you’d tune a set list after a soundcheck—make small, clear adjustments for the room you’re playing in.

Verify Results Without Personalization and By Location

GSC gives you the best aggregate view, but sometimes you want to spot check how a result looks live—especially after you update a title, add FAQs, or publish a video. The trap is assuming an incognito window equals neutral results. It doesn’t. Incognito reduces history signals, but Google still uses your IP, location, language, device, and even subtle session context.

Use Google’s “Try without personalization” and understand why incognito alone isn’t reliable

When you run a live search, watch for a small prompt that occasionally appears under the results: “Try without personalization.” Click it to strip some personal signals. You can also manually reduce personalization and location influence in a few ways:

  • Append “&pws=0” to your Google results URL to turn off personalized search for that query.
  • Visit google.com/ncr to avoid being redirected to a country‑specific Google domain.
  • In Search settings, turn off “Private results” temporarily, and confirm your language and region.
  • Change your device’s location permissions or use a city‑specific search simulator inside a rank tracker for accurate local results.
  • Use the “Change location” or “Update location” link at the bottom of a results page when Google displays it, then run the query again.

Even with these steps, manual checks are snapshots. They’re helpful to confirm title tags, rich results, or Map Pack visibility, but they won’t match your GSC averages. Treat them as visual verification, not the official record.

If you serve a local market—say you run a private studio or offer in‑person workshops—your position in the Map Pack (the three businesses alongside a map) is location‑sensitive down to the neighborhood. A searcher five miles away can see different results. That’s where specialized local rank tracking grids come in handy, which we’ll cover next.

Track Positions Over Time with Trusted Rank Trackers

If GSC is home base, rank trackers are your tour calendar. They ping Google from neutral locations on a schedule, store the results, and graph ranking changes so you can see progress, not just remember vibes from last week’s search.

General trackers for web results (Semrush, Ahrefs, SE Ranking, AccuRanker, Nightwatch, Moz, Nozzle)

You don’t need them all. Pick one that fits your budget and your brain. Here’s a quick, creator‑friendly comparison to keep the choice simple:

Set your targets (queries + URLs), choose your countries and devices, and schedule daily or weekly checks. Sync this with your content cadence: if you publish every Tuesday, run an on‑demand update on Friday to catch early movement.

Local rank tracking and Map Pack visibility (BrightLocal’s Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid)

For service areas, studios, and workshops, monitor both organic and local pack results. BrightLocal makes this simple:

  • Local Rank Tracker shows positions for your keywords in organic and the Map Pack for your chosen city.
  • Local Search Grid displays a grid of pins across a city and shows your Map Pack rank at each pin. It’s a powerful visual—maybe you rank #1 near your studio but drop to #9 across town. That points you toward citations, reviews, and location terms to shore up.

If you’re not “local” at all (say you sell a digital template bundle worldwide), you can skip local tracking and focus on general rank trackers plus GSC.

Troubleshooting Discrepancies and Common Mistakes

Every creative I coach runs into a few predictable hiccups when they first start to check their Google position. Here’s how to handle them with zero panic.

You saw yourself at #2 yesterday, but GSC says average position 7.8. That’s normal. Your live check captured a single personalized moment; GSC averages all impressions. If your impressions are low, the average swings more. Give it a week, then evaluate.

Your position improved, but clicks didn’t. Two likely culprits: your title and description aren’t compelling, or a SERP feature (like a video carousel) is stealing attention above your result. Rewrite your title to include a clear benefit and a unique angle. Add FAQ schema to win “People Also Ask” spots. If video is prominent, embed a related YouTube video on your page and optimize that too—you can rank twice.

You rank top‑3 on desktop but not on mobile. That’s usually a signal to speed up, simplify your layout, and ensure tap targets and fonts are comfortable. Test your URL with PageSpeed Insights and prioritize real fixes: compress images, lazy‑load embeds, and remove layout shifts.

Your brand ranks, but your “money” page doesn’t. Internal linking—contextual, not dumped in a footer—passes authority where it’s needed. Update two or three related blog posts with natural, descriptive links to the target page. Add a short “Recommended next” section that explains why the link is relevant. This works wonders for moving a page from positions 8–12 into the top 5.

Local results look chaotic; you’re in and out of the Map Pack. Proximity and prominence drive local. Confirm your Google Business Profile categories, add location terms to your landing page H1 and title, and keep gathering reviews that mention your service and neighborhood. Use a grid tracker monthly to see coverage expand.

You’re checking too often and scrambling. Rankings fluctuate. Creatives burn out when they refresh all day and rewrite headlines every 24 hours. Shift to a weekly or biweekly rhythm and tie checks to action sprints: publish, optimize, wait, review, adjust.

You only check one keyword. Real buyers use dozens of variations. In GSC, sort your queries by impressions and build a cluster: for example, “podcast editing course,” “learn to edit a podcast,” “podcast post‑production tutorial.” Optimize your pillar page for the core term and create supporting content answering related questions. Rankings across the cluster reinforce each other.

Turn Rankings into Action: Quick Wins for Creatives

Rankings aren’t a trophy. They’re a roadmap. Here’s how to turn “I can check your Google position any time” into “My site brings clients while I teach, create, or perform.”

Start with pages sitting on the edge of greatness. In GSC, filter Pages where Average position is between 6 and 15 and Impressions are healthy. These are your low‑lift, high‑return targets. Tighten the title to front‑load the main keyword and promise a result. Clarify the intro so readers (and Google) instantly understand the page. Add a crisp call‑to‑action that matches the intent—newsletter for informational posts, product or lesson page for commercial intent.

Upgrade intent alignment. If you’re ranking for a “how to” query with a sales page, you may get impressions but low clicks. Create or refresh a tutorial that answers the question deeply. Link from that tutorial to your product with a “next step” transition. You’re not fighting the SERP’s intent—you’re surfing it.

Win the click with rich results. Add FAQ schema to relevant pages using a tool or your CMS. Include two to three Q&As your audience actually asks. If your niche leans visual—artists, designers, musicians—embed a short video and mark it up with VideoObject schema. Even when position doesn’t jump overnight, a richer result can double your CTR.

Cover the local dimension if it matters. If you teach in person or host workshops, create a location landing page with your city in the title and H1, driving directions, parking tips, and a few student quotes that mention the city or neighborhood. Link your Google Business Profile to this page, not your homepage. Then track Map Pack positions monthly.

Build a habit you can keep. My clients do a 30‑minute “SEO stand” each week: open GSC, scan top queries and pages, log one or two actions, and execute. No rabbit holes. No dashboard binges. Just consistent reps. Remember, the goal is to check your search position in Google with purpose—then make one improvement that compounds.

If you want help prioritizing, grab my free SEO cheatsheet on my site—it distills these steps into a one‑page flow you can tape next to your mic stand or monitor. It’s built for creatives who want sustainable growth without the hustle spiral.

Finally, let me leave you with a rallying cry. Ranking high isn’t about gaming a system; it’s about serving the exact person who typed that search. When you create the best answer for their moment—clear, helpful, and aligned with what they hope to do next—Google notices. Your students notice. Your bank account notices. And yes, you can absolutely check your Google position with confidence, week after week, and watch it climb.

Now, open Google Search Console, pick your top three queries, and run the process you just learned. Ten minutes today beats ten hours of guessing tomorrow.

#ComposedWithAirticler