Skip to main content

Positions History

See how your domain's positions have changed for every tracked keyword across all monitoring dates in the selected period.

Written by Mike

See How Every Keyword's Position Has Changed Over Time

The Positions History report shows a chronological table of position changes for every tracked keyword across all monitoring dates in the selected period. Each date becomes a column — so you can see at a glance whether rankings are moving in the right direction, and exactly when a change happened.

What you can achieve:

  • Audit ranking trends over any period: View position changes date by date for every keyword to identify when rankings shifted and what may have triggered the move.

  • Compare your domain against tracked competitors: Switch between your domain and competitors to see how their positions changed on the same monitoring dates.

  • Export historical data for reporting: Download the full position history in CSV, XLS, XLSX, or Google Sheets for client or internal reports.

Getting Started

  1. Navigate to Rank Tracker → [your project] → Positions History in the left sidebar.

  2. Select a domain from the dropdown to analyze your site or a tracked competitor.

  3. Set the date range with the Datepicker — each monitoring date appears as a column in the table.

  4. Filter by tag to narrow results to a specific keyword group.

  5. Filter by region to view data for one or multiple search regions.

  6. Click Export to download in CSV, XLS, XLSX, or Google Sheets.

Key Metrics Explained

  1. Keywords: All tracked keywords listed in the order they were added to the project.

  2. Tags: Tags assigned to each keyword for grouping and filtering.

  3. Search regions: The regions for which position data is displayed.

  4. Volume: Monthly search volume in the selected country or city.

  5. Expected URL / URL in SERP: Expected URL is your target page for the keyword; URL in SERP is what actually ranks. Red = mismatch between target and actual page.

  6. Dates and positions: Each date column shows the domain's position on that monitoring date. SERP feature icons appear next to positions where detected.

Pro Tip: Spot Algorithm Update Impact in Two Steps

A broad, simultaneous drop across unrelated keywords on the same date is a strong signal of an algorithm update — not a content issue.

  1. Look for a monitoring date where multiple high-volume keywords show a simultaneous large drop or spike.

  2. Cross-reference that date with known Google algorithm update announcements.

  3. If the pattern is broad and affects unrelated keywords, prioritize recovery by content improvements rather than technical fixes.

  4. Use the Turn dates option to reverse the column order and read the timeline left to right.

⚠️ Important: Position data is available only for the dates when Rank Tracker ran an update for your project. Gaps in the date columns mean no update was run on those dates — either by schedule or manual trigger.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I change the direction dates are displayed in the table?
​A: Yes. Use the Turn dates option to reverse the column order — most recent dates first, or oldest first.
​

Q: Why is a position cell empty for some dates?
​A: An empty cell means no data was collected on that date — either no update was scheduled, or the domain was not in the Top 100 for that keyword on that date.
​

Q: Can I see SERP features in this report?
​A: Yes. Toggle Show SERP features to display or hide SERP feature icons next to position numbers in the date columns.
​

Next Steps

  • Project Overview — See current positions and ranking movements for all tracked keywords.

  • SERP History — View the full Top 100 for any tracked keyword on any monitoring date.

  • Competitors — Track how competing domains trend across your keyword set over time.

Did this answer your question?