Top 9 SERP Crawling Tools Reviewed (2023)

If you want to win at SEO, having data that sheds light on your results is crucial.

Without it, you're fumbling around hoping your campaigns will work, but you're not sure which campaigns are successful and which are not.

Usually, the most useful data you have is the most easily accessible: where does my website rank on the search engine results page (SERP) for a given keyword?

Of course it is useful to know other metrics, e.g. B. how much search volume this keyword has, the average click-through rate per SERP position, and what SERP features you are fighting for.

But the main information you need is: what does the search results page look like for that keyword?

The tools that give you this information are called SERP tracking tools. There are a lot of them, some doing slightly different things. This article will help you determine which SERP tracker is best for your use case.

What is SERP Tracking Software?

SERP tracking software gives you data on how the search results page looks for a specific search query.

Many tools go beyond this basic implementation to show you whereareRanking of the website in the SERP. These are generally called "ranking trackers" and are a very common SEO tool.

Others give you historical data about the SERP itself: which pages are ranking, the keyword's search volume, the keyword's CPC, and which featured snippets are showing.

Some newer tools look at the SERPs holistically, not only telling you which pages rank for each keyword, but also what content falls within the ranking pages. For example, HubSpot may rank for the keyword "best SEO tools", but in your post what pages are doingEllalink to? These tools are called "surround sound"tools orSERP Visibilitytools and are being used more and more by SEOs, growth marketers, product marketers, and digital PR professionals to gauge and measureImprove brand and product awareness.

And then of course some tools just give you raw access to the SERP data and let you do whatever you want with it.

This list covers a selection of the above SERP software types. For each software on the list, I explain what it is, what it does, why I like it, and how much it costs.

1. Surround Sound by Semrush
2. SE Classification
3. Google search console
4. Serp-API
5. was SERP
6. SEOMonitor
7. Accuranker
8. Rang-Tracker
9. SERP Statistics

1. Semrush surround sound

What is it: Surround Sound by Semrushis a unique SERP tracking tool that unlocks data on more than just your websites and rankings.

Rather, you can use this tool to analyze which pages rank for a particular keyword and how you can benefit from it. For example, let's say your keyword is "best SEO software."

With this tool, you can see which websites rank in the top 10, 20, or 30 positions for that keyword. You can then see how many of those sites mention your brand or link to your site. This gives you a "visibility" metric, essentially what percentage of the total SERP mentions you and your brand.

Outside of the surround sound product, SEMRush is also an all-in-one digital marketing platform with rank tracking, keyword research, competitive analysis, website audit tools, and more.

Because we like it:SEO is obviously a highly leveraged marketing channel. But if you look at the click-through rate that goes to a single page ranking in the SERPs, it's not that high. Position one averages just under 40%, which is not bad. But then position 2 drops to around 11%.

image source

But what if your brand could appear in multiple listings on the first page? So your presence and traffic would accumulate with each location. Instead of only getting 11% CTR for position 2 whenmonopolize the SERPsand are enumeratedeach side, then your brand coverage is universal. Offers the same name.„Surround sound“ effect.

How does it work:The tool is quite easy to use, which is a plus. TOCreate a surround sound campaign, enter the keywords that interest you the most. I recommend something in thebottom of funnel, because these are more valuable when it comes to your product awareness.

In fact, you can choose multiple keywords and you'll probably get more useful results if you do, so let's add some variations like "best SEO tools" and simply "SEO software." We then changed the "SERP Depth" to the top 20 positions and added our brand and domain. Adding competitors brings out the super power of this tool. You can see how your coverage compares to similar brands and where they are mentioned (in list articles and the like) that you might also want to mention, increasing your SERP coverage!

Then click "Save Campaign" and you'll be able to see the full dashboard and top-level metrics:

You can also drill down into individual keywords to see what their viewability scores are for each campaign and even identify pages where you might be mentioned:

You can then click on each keyword and see which specific pages mention and/or link to your brand or domain or your competitor's domains:

For the keyword "SEO tools", Semrush is mentioned or linked to on the pages in places 3, 4, 6 and 8. Number one mentions two competitors but not Semrush. This would be a great place to start your public relations.

How much does it cost:Try it free.

2. SE Classification

What is it:SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO software aimed at agencies and SMEs.

Its SEO toolset includes a keyword rank tracker, website auditing capabilities, on-page SEO analysis, backlink tracking, and keyword research and planning tools.

Your particular keyword rank tracker fits our definition of a SERP tracking tool. It allows you to upload a list of keywords and track their position and SERP over time.

Because we like it:SE Ranking offers a buffet of excellent SEO tools for a wide audience. It doesn't take months to set up or learn how to use it. The interface is easy to use and the rank tracking feature is simple.

For SEOs and marketers who just want to get started with essential SEO tools and SERP tracking features, this product is great.

How does it work:For the rank tracking feature, all you have to do is choose your keyword or keywords. You can upload different sets of keywords as campaigns and view aggregated metrics for your campaigns, e.g. B.% in the top 10 and their overall search presence.

While this doesn't give you a lot of data about other SERP positions, competitors, or SERP features, it does a very good job of giving you basic keyword rank tracking data like average position, traffic forecasts, and trends over time.

How much does it cost:Plans start at $39.20/mo. This is based on 250 keywords tracked for rank tracking. They also have discounts on how often you update your tracking. If you switch to weekly updates, your monthly cost drops to $23.52/month. For more detailed price estimates, seeits website.

3. Google-Suchkonsole

What is it:Google Search Console is the free SEO toolset that everyone running a website should be using.

You can submit sitemaps to Google for crawling, measure your keyword performance (including click-throughs and SERP click-through rate to your pages), and track all of this based on location and device.

Additionally, it is ideal for identifying website issues such as website crawling, site and page speed, security, indexing, mobile usability, and structured data.

Because we like it:For starters, it's free. And since it's from Google, you can get the data directly from the source. Also, webmaster tools like submitting sitemaps and checking for mobile compatibility, site speed, and crawling issues are great QA and management tools.

However, the data and visualizations provided are limited on their own, so I recommend using this tool in conjunction with other SEO tools and data visualization platforms.

How does it work:Data Studio, DashThis, Databox for visualization.

How much does it cost:$0.

4. Serp-API

What is it:serpapi.com differs from others on this list in that it is simply an API that gives you raw data and access to the search results page.

This is ideal for technical SEOs and marketers with custom use cases. In fact, that is partly the case.HubSpot's Alex Birkett created the first data productFor himsurround soundStrategy.

However, such a tool does not give you aggregate metrics like average position or SERP visibility. You have to carry out data processing.

Because we like it:Having raw access to an API can be very useful. It can allow you to build your own tools when the ones available on the market are not enough. Specifically for this API (because there are so many), it's good because Google doesn't stop you from scraping your pages, it's relatively affordable, and the data is accurate and location-specific.

How does it work:The way you use this tool depends on the technical stack and the programming language you are using. It's basically just raw data, so it's up to you how to use it.

A nice high level illustration is available on their home page. You can enter a location and a keyword, and it will show you what the SERP looks like, as well as the metadata they give you related to that search:

If you're using the API, you're probably integrating it with an existing tool or requesting the API through a programming language. The home page also shows different ways to do this, depending on the language you're using:

How much does it cost:Cost depends on usage and starts at $50/month for up to 5,000 searches per month. If you want to upgrade, it's $150/month for up to 15,000 searches. This suits business use cases.

5. Zen Snake

What is it:Zenserpis another API that allows you to search directly on search engine results pages and access the raw data. Again, like serpapi.com, you don't get summary metrics or position tracking, but rather you can access and own the data yourself, allowing you to develop it in any way you choose.

Because we like it:Zenserp is one of the cheapest direct search APIs I've come across, starting at just $29/mo. It scales incredibly well, reaching up to 1,000,000 searches per month.

It includes various search APIs including Google Image API, Google Trends API, Google Maps API, Google News API, YouTube API, Bing Search API and many more.

It really is a complete package when it comes to directly accessing data from the search results page.

How does it work:Similar to serpapi.com, using Zenserp depends on your technology stack, use case, and preferred programming languages.

You can try it on your website in a limited way and see what kind of metadata you get:

You can access your API endpoint using pretty much any programming language, from Javascript to Python (and R, but no one mentions R).

How much does it cost:starts at just $29/month for up to 5,000 searches (this includes all SERP types). The enterprise price is $1599 per month and includes a whopping 1,000,000 searches per month plus “custom features”.

6. SEO Tracking

What is it:SEO Monitor is an all-in-one SEO software marketed to agencies. These include a ranking tracker, organic traffic dashboards and analytics, SEO forecasts, and keyword research tools. They also have agency-specific features like dashboards and reporting tools for clients.

Because we like it:SEO Monitor has a powerful and comprehensive set of tools, but what sets it apart is its agency approach. There are many products that are more geared towards a feature set and have more customizable and powerful features, but for the specific things that SEO agencies are concerned about, SEO Monitor offers a great solution.

How does it work:Their ranking tracker offers different levels of reporting, from the keyword level ("best SEO software") to the keyword group level (content group or tagged keywords) to smart keyword groups and keyword tracking. landing pages.

For basic keyword and keyword group reports, it's pretty similar to how other tools work. You choose your keyword or set of keywords and SEO Monitor gives you desktop and mobile rankings every 24 hours. This includes search volume estimates, as well as SERP features that give you a bit more holistic data than other simple ranking trackers.

How much does it cost:You can check thoseprice calculatoron your page (based on the keywords tracked). Starting price with at least 4,000 keywords and a single website is $217/month. The prices have been changed based on the keywords and the number of websites.

7. Accuranker

What is it:Accuranker is one of the most powerful keyword ranking tracker and SERP crawling tool. Unlike others on this list, they are not an all-in-one SEO suite and specialize solely in ranking tracking and SERP analysis.

Because we like it:First, instead of updating your positions and rankings on a daily or weekly basis, you can update your data as needed. This real-time tracking is powerful, especially if you're an agency working with multiple clients or running a large content operation with multiple subsets of keywords.

They also give you historical data about the SERP, including changes to SERP features and rankings.

After all, they do crawl at scale, allowing for multiple websites and over millions of keywords (although that will be expensive).

How does it work:Their basic reports are like many other ranking trackers: just enter your list of keywords and track them over time. Simple interface that allows you to search your reports, and you can also send regular email updates to your team.

image source

How much does it cost:Pricing starts at $109/month and you can use it to track up to 1,000 keywords. If you want to scale to 50,000 keywords, it will cost you $2,149 per month. Anything else is company specific pricing and you will need to discuss with sales. Pricing is based on the number of keywords tracked.

8. Ranking Tracker

What is it:The name is "Ranktracker" so it's obvious that it tracks keyword rankings.

But they also have other tools, such as the "keyword finder" that allows you to get a list of related keywords from a single input keyword.

They also have website auditing and project management capabilities. Finally, they have a “SERP checker” that allows you to analyze the current state of each search results page.

Because we like it:First of all, the tools are simple and useful. While they may not have all the SEO tools you need, their keyword research tool is easy to use and will give you tons of insights you may not have considered. Their SERP checker is also a great and easy tool to see if a particular keyword is worth competing for.

Finally, their ranking tracker is also simple and gives you nice clean reports.

How does it work:It all starts with your keyword list, but from there you can go to your website and the country, region or city that interests you. So you can see what it ranks for in which regions.

You can also switch between mobile and desktop views, so you can check your SERP ranking on different platforms.

Two great features:daily email alerts and white-label reports.

Daily email reports, because who has time to manually check these things all the time? And white label reporting is a really great feature for agencies that want to add a nice branding touch.

Finally, it is the cheapest tool on our list, making it ideal for independent entrepreneurs and those on a budget.

How much does it cost:This is the cheapest on our list, starting at just $7.20/mo. This only allows you to track up to 100 keywords, but it's a great starting price. You are also subject to various other restrictions, e.g. B. Only 2 users on this plan and only 50 keyword difficulty checks.

If you're of the order of magnitude, you could see these limitations start to bog you down.

But luckily, for $83.60/month, you can upgrade to the Hex Data plan, which allows you to track up to 2,000 keywords.

9. SERP Statistics

image source

What is it:SERPStat bills itself as a "growth hacking tool". It consists of a few different modules, mostly SEO-oriented: Rank Tracking, Backlink Analysis, Keyword Research, Site Audit, and Competitor Research.

If you break it down, they offer a lot of cool features in these modules, including:

• Competitive analysis in organic and paid search
• Detailed keyword analysis
• Batch analysis of keywords and domains
• Analysis of contextual advertising
• text analysis
• Grouping
• SERP Crawl
• Team management

However, for our purposes, it does two SERP tracking things: it tracks the SERPs and it tracks your keyword rankings.

Because we like it:As mentioned above, it is very feature-rich. For the small SEO or marketing team, it gives you many tools you could want in one package.

For range tracking, you can also get quite a bit of granularity. It shows you historical data. You can split by local search and device types.

And interestingly, you can see the traffic distribution for your set of keywords:

image source

How does it work:All you have to do is add your keywords and put them in the category you want.

image source

From there, you can view your reports in various formats, such as: B. Aggregate Time Series or my favorite:

image source

How much does it cost:Base pricing starts at $69/month. This gets you 15,000 position checks per month, as well as access to their API (all plans include API access, and the basic plan gets you 100,000 credits). Enterprise pricing increases to $499/mo.

Diploma

When looking for SERP tracking software, the first question to ask yourself is: "What exactly do I mean by SERP tracking?"

Because, as you saw in this list, many tools give you data about search engine results pages. But each of these tools will show you a different angle of the SERPs.

Something likesurround soundby Semush, gives you a holistic view of the SERPs, including not only where your site ranks, but also what other pages rank for and what they link to.

Some are ranking trackers that track your website or keyword positions over time.

Some are just APIs to give you the raw data on the SERPs so you can do whatever you want with it.

But no matter what your use case or complexity, this list should give you the right tool for the job.