Hey there! If you‘re a video creator looking to improve your YouTube rankings, you‘ve come to the right place. Rank tracking is crucial for understanding how your channel and videos are performing in search.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know as a beginner, from YouTube SEO basics to the best tools and strategies to optimize your video rankings. Let‘s dive in!
Why YouTube Rankings Matter
Before we get into the nitty gritty, it‘s important to understand why rank tracking even matters in the first place.
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. Over 2 billion logged-in users visit YouTube every single month. With such a massive built-in audience, ranking highly for relevant searches can drive tons of views, subscribers and revenue for your channel.
The higher your videos rank, the more visibility they will get in YouTube search and suggested videos. Rankings affect:
- Your potential reach and viewership
- How many new subscribers you attract
- Your watch time and audience retention
- ultimately, your revenue from YouTube ads, affiliate links, etc.
Simply put, good rankings = more growth opportunities. By tracking your video ranks consistently, you‘ll gain crucial insights to further optimize your YouTube SEO and content strategy.
A Beginner‘s Guide to YouTube SEO
Before we get into the tools, let‘s quickly cover some YouTube SEO basics.
YouTube SEO refers to optimizing your videos to rank better in YouTube‘s search results and suggestions. Like Google, YouTube relies on an algorithm and several ranking factors.
Some key factors that affect search rankings:
- Video title and description
- Tags
- Watch time and audience retention
- Number of views, likes, comments and shares
- Backlink quality and quantity
By optimizing your metadata, promoting engagement and building backlinks, you can steadily improve your YouTube SEO and search visibility. Rank tracking allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your efforts.
Why Track YouTube Rankings?
As rankings directly impact your channel‘s potential reach and growth, tracking them consistently gives you:
- Benchmarks – Understand how well your channel performs for important search terms.
- Progress monitoring – See if your optimization efforts are actually working.
- Competitor analysis – Research what top-ranking videos in your niche are doing.
- Opportunity identification – Discover new potential keywords to target.
With rank data, you can tailor your metadata, promotion strategy and video ideas towards terms that are already working well or represent untapped potential.
Let‘s now break down the key metrics you‘ll want to track for YouTube rankings.
Key YouTube Rank Tracking Metrics
The most common metrics tracked in rank reports include:
1. Keyword Rank
This refers to the position of your video in YouTube search results for a given term. A rank of #1 means your video appears first.
Rank will vary based on location and search personalization. So you may see slight variations in ranks, but overall #1 positions are golden.
2. Search Volume
This indicates roughly how often a keyword is searched on YouTube. High volume means more searches and traffic potential.
3. Rank Change
Shows whether your video‘s position rose, fell or remained unchanged for a keyword since the last tracking period. Useful for monitoring optimization impact.
4. Backlinks
The number of external sites linking to your video also positively impacts rankings. Track backlink quantity to gauge off-site SEO.
Now that you know why rank tracking matters, let‘s explore some of the best tools at your disposal.
Choosing the Right YouTube Rank Tracker
While tracking rankings yourself manually seems like an option, it becomes tedious at scale. That‘s where rank tracking tools come in – to automate the process and provide in-depth reports.
You have both free and paid options based on your budget and needs:
Free Tools
- ✅ Simple, easy to use
- ✅ Enough for basic tracking
- ❌ Limited keywords and features
- ❌ Less accurate data
Paid Tools
- ✅ Very accurate ranking data
- ✅ Tons of useful metrics
- ✅ Robust features for in-depth analysis
- ❌ Can get quite expensive
While starting out, free tools are a good way to get your feet wet without investment. But for professional creators and agencies managing multiple channels, paid tools provide the most powerful analytics.
Now let‘s take a look at 10 of the best YouTube rank tracking tools available today across both free and paid tiers.
10 Best YouTube Rank Trackers
1. TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy is hands down the most popular all-in-one YouTube management suite. Alongside its unparalleled optimization tools, it also offers excellent rank tracking capabilities.
With TubeBuddy‘s Chrome extension, you can instantly view detailed ranking reports for videos right from your YouTube creator studio dashboard.
Key Features:
- One-click rank reports
- Historical rank data
- Location and device rank segmentation
- Shareable reports
Pricing: Starts from $9/month
Ideal for YouTubers looking for an integrated platform with rankings and much more.
2. VidIQ
Similar to TubeBuddy, VidIQ is a popular all-in-one YouTube creator toolkit. It also provides a one-click rank tracking feature through its Chrome extension.
You not only see current ranks, but can also track changes over days or weeks to monitor progress.
Key Features:
- One-click rank reports
- Customizable tracking intervals
- Channel & video analytics
Pricing: Starts from $7/month
Another great integrated platform for creators seeking rankings and insight.
3. Semrush
Known for its stellar SEO software, Semrush offers an extensive video rank tracking tool dedicated solely for YouTube keyword rankings.
You can track up to 200 keywords for free or more with paid plans. Automated email reports also help monitor rankings over time.
Key Features:
- Rank change alerts
- Location & device filters
- Competitor benchmarking
- Backlink analysis
Pricing: Free or starts from $99/month
Perfect for creators and agencies wanting to supercharge video SEO through robust rank tracking.
4. Rank Ranger
A formidable paid rank tracker, Rank Ranger offers YouTube video ranking capabilities alongside tracking for Google and 130+ other search engines.
It stands out with features like rank distribution graphs, competitor tracking and personalized weekly PDF reports.
Key Features:
- Individual and comparison reports
- Custom reporting cadence
- RANK notifications
- Support for videos, channels and playlists
Pricing: Starts from $50/month
Ideal for both individual YouTubers and agencies to monitor comprehensive rank reports.
5. Rank Tracker by Link-Assistant
This is a formidable rank tracker focusing just on YouTube with support for localized rankings. One of its best features is automated rank tracking history to visualize trends.
Key Features:
- Ranking history graphs
- Location & device filters
- Custom reports
- Backlink checker
Pricing: Starts from $20/month
Great for creators who want a dedicated video rank tracker with visual rank trend analysis.
6. Nightwatch
Nightwatch excels at rank tracking across videos and websites globally. It captures rankings from YouTube and other major search engines to give you a complete picture.
Key Features:
- Universal rank tracking
- Location-based rankings
- Custom alerts
- Competitive insights
Pricing: 14-day Free Trial, $40+/month
One of the best platforms for complete SERP tracking including YouTube and websites.
7. SERPWatcher
SERPWatcher is a versatile rank tracking tool with dedicated support for video platforms like YouTube. You can track up to 10K keywords across locations.
It also lets you research and track competitor domain and ranking metrics for benchmarking.
Key Features:
- Universal SERP tracking
- Location-based ranks
- Competitor tracking
- Custom analytics
Pricing: 14-day Free Trial, $30+/month
A great choice for individuals and agencies seeking expansive rank coverage.
8. Rank Tracker
The aptly named Rank Tracker gives excellent video rank monitoring support alongside website tracking. It captures the most accurate rankings with stringent monitoring protocols.
Key Features:
- Advanced rank tracking
- Ranking history
- Location segmentation
- Custom reporting
Pricing: Starts from $19/month
Reliable accuracy alongside historical rank trend analysis makes this a great pick.
9. AccuRanker
Designed for simplicity, AccuRanker gives creators an easy way to track video and website rankings from multiple search engines without the complexities.
Billing is based on the number of keywords you need to monitor in a scalable manner.
Key Features:
- Scalable pricing
- Multi-platform ranks
- Location filters
- Ranking alerts
Pricing: Starts from $15/month for 1K keywords
Perfect for anyone looking for simplicity without compromising on powerful tracking.
10. RankActive
Last on our list is RankActive – a freemium rank tracker with support for YouTube and websites. The free plan lets you track upto 5 keywords making it accessible.
Key Features:
- Free starter plan
- Location-based ranks
- Rank change tracking
- Some competitor tracking
Pricing: Free or starts at $9/month
The free option makes this a great starting point for new creators wanting to test rank tracking.
Get Started With Rank Tracking!
And there you have it – everything you need to start unlocking the power of rank tracking for your YouTube channel success!
As the first step, I‘d suggest starting with free tools like VidIQ or RankActive. Begin tracking your top 10 target keywords relevant to your niche and videos.
Based on gaps that emerge from your initial tracking, further optimize your video SEO – titles, descriptions, tags etc. Retest rankings in a few weeks to gauge impact.
Eventually graduate to paid tools for more advanced analytics as your channel scales. Software like TubeBuddy or Semrush give the full power of rank tracking alongside robust YouTube optimization.
Don‘t forget to test tracking for localized rankings beyond just your country for maximum insight. Monitor competitors in your space as well.
Consistent rank tracking, tweaking, re-testing and scaling efforts is crucial to keep building visibility and viewership on YouTube.
I hope this guide served as the perfect starting point to unravel ranking success on YouTube! Feel free to reach out if any questions pop up along the journey.
Stay tuned for more pro tips soon!
