The Rank Tracker monitors your Google positions for the keywords you choose to track, checked on a schedule you control. Pricing is per check - 0.5 credits per keyword each time it's checked - so a small weekly list costs very little and you scale up only where freshness matters.
Projects and Tracking Targets
Each project tracks one domain. Inside a project, open the Rank Tracker tab. Rankings are organized by tracking target: a combination of location, device, and default check schedule. A single project can track the same keywords for several targets, for example USA Desktop and Canada Mobile.
Use Manage Targets to create or edit targets:
- Location - a country, or a specific city (start typing and pick from the suggestions).
- Device - Desktop, Mobile, or Both Desktop & Mobile.
- Default schedule - Daily, Weekly, or Monthly for new keywords on this target. You can override it per keyword later.
The target selector at the top of the Rank Tracker switches the whole view - stats, chart, and table - to that target. Deleting a target also deletes the keywords assigned to it, so export first if you need the history.
Adding Keywords
Click + Add Keywords:
- Enter keywords, one per line.
- Choose the Tracking Target they belong to - each keyword inherits that target's location and device.
- Leave Check rankings immediately ticked to get first positions right away (0.5 credits per keyword), or untick it and the first positions arrive at the keyword's next scheduled check.
Already tracking keywords in another tool? See importing below - it brings keywords, positions, and even history in from a file instead.
Stats Cards
Six cards summarize the selected target:
- Avg Position - mean ranking across all tracked keywords. Lower is better.
- Top 3 - keywords at positions 1-3, where most clicks happen.
- Top 10 - keywords on page one.
- Top 20 - keywords on pages one and two.
- AIO Cited - keywords where your site is cited in Google's AI Overview.
- Winning - keywords where you outrank every tracked competitor.
Position Trend Chart
The chart plots average position over time (the axis is inverted, so up means better). Two modes:
- You - your trend only.
- vs Comp - adds a line per tracked competitor, matching the legend above the chart.
Date ranges: 30d, 60d, 90d, 1y, All.
The Keywords Table
| Column |
Description |
| Keyword |
The tracked search query |
| AIO |
AI Overview status for this keyword's SERP (see below) |
| Int |
Search intent: Informational, Commercial, Transactional, or Navigational |
| Tags |
Your own labels - click to add or edit, comma-separated |
| Sch |
Check schedule: D = Daily, W = Weekly, M = Monthly |
| Prev |
Position at the previous check |
| Pos |
Current position |
| Diff |
Change since the previous check: +N, -N, NEW, or LOST |
| Competitor columns |
One column per tracked competitor, green when you outrank them, red when they outrank you |
| SERP Features |
Features present on this keyword's results page |
| KD |
Keyword difficulty, 0-100 |
| Vol |
Monthly search volume |
| CPC |
Average advertiser cost per click |
| Checked |
When the keyword was last checked |
Sorting. Click any column header to sort; click again to reverse.
Columns. The Columns button shows or hides individual columns.
Filtering. The Intent dropdown filters by any combination of intent types, and the search box filters keywords by text as you type.
Diff badges. NEW means the keyword ranked for the first time; LOST means it previously ranked but is no longer in the top 100.
The AIO Column
Each keyword shows one of three icons for Google's AI Overview on its results page:
- Green checkmark - your site is cited in the AI Overview.
- Red X - an AI Overview appears but does not cite you. That's an opportunity: a citation can drive traffic even without a top-10 ranking.
- Gray circle - no AI Overview on this SERP.
The AIO Cited stats card counts the green checkmarks for the selected target.
Competitor Tracking
Each target can track up to 5 competitor domains in the SERP columns. Add them with + Add in the competitors bar. Column headers show a letter icon per competitor; hover to see the domain. Cells are green where you outrank that competitor and red where they outrank you, and the Winning card counts keywords where you beat all of them.
For deeper competitor research - discovery, keyword overlap, and gap analysis - use the project's Competitors tab.
Keyword Actions
History. The chart icon on a row opens that keyword's position history: best and worst positions plus a position-over-time chart with its own date ranges.
Refresh. The refresh icon checks one keyword now for 0.5 credits - the same rate as a scheduled check, shown right on the button.
Refresh All. Queues every keyword on the target for a background check; results update within a few minutes at the normal per-keyword rate.
Bulk actions. Select keywords with the checkboxes to change their frequency (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly), delete them, or estimate their monthly cost.
Export. Downloads the keyword table as CSV.
Tracking Frequency and Cost
Every check costs 0.5 credits per keyword, so frequency is the cost lever:
- Daily - about 30 checks a month (15 credits per keyword). For priority keywords, active optimization work, and volatile SERPs.
- Weekly - about 4 checks a month (2 credits per keyword). The sensible default for most keywords.
- Monthly - 1 check a month (0.5 credits per keyword). For stable long-tail terms you're tracking for awareness.
The Est. Cost button projects the monthly cost of all tracked keywords (or just the selected ones, via the bulk bar) broken down by frequency.
Frequency Optimizer
The Optimize button builds a suggested schedule for the whole target. It scores each keyword on search volume, intent, cost per click, difficulty, and keyword length, then adjusts for current position - keywords ranking in the top 3 are kept daily, while keywords ranking beyond 50 or not at all are shifted toward monthly. Choose a preference (savings, balanced, or performance), review the proposed changes and the projected cost next to your current cost, and apply the plan in one step. Nothing changes until you apply it.
Already tracking keywords somewhere else? The importer brings your existing keyword lists and positions into NitroShock so you keep your data and skip the manual setup. Importing is free, and it works with exports from SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and most other SEO tools. CSV, TSV, TXT, and XLS files are accepted, and the importer recognizes which tool the file came from automatically.
Running an import.
- Open your project's Rank Tracker and click Import (next to Export).
- Upload your export file.
- Choose what to bring in: Keywords + Current Positions, Keywords Only, or Full History Import for SEMrush exports that include historical date columns.
- Under Tracking Target, select which target the keywords belong to.
- Click Preview Import, review the summary, and confirm.
One country per import. Each import goes into exactly one tracking target, and every keyword in the file is saved with that target's location and device. The importer does not read country information from the file itself. Tracking more than one country? Create a target per country, export each location separately from your old tool, and run one import per file with the matching target selected. If you skip the selection, keywords go to the project's primary target.
Good to know.
- Duplicates are skipped - a keyword already on the selected target won't be added twice, and the same keyword can be tracked on separate targets.
- Competitors import too - if your export includes competitor position columns, those competitors are added to the target automatically.
- Redo an import safely - Clear Target Data removes all keywords and rankings from the selected target only, leaving other targets untouched.
- Importing costs nothing - credits are only used when keywords are checked going forward.
Tips for Effective Tracking
Start focused. Track a few dozen keywords first and expand once you have baselines.
Mix intent types. Tracking informational, commercial, and transactional terms together shows your visibility across the whole funnel.
Include brand terms. Your brand name catches reputation issues and competitors moving onto your territory.
Act on declines. A keyword dropping across consecutive checks warrants a content review, a look at the Site Audit tab, and a check of what competitors changed.
FAQ
What does a rank check cost?
0.5 credits per keyword per check - the same flat rate whether it runs on schedule, from the refresh icon, or via Refresh All.
Do I pay while keywords just sit there?
No. Credits are spent only when a check runs, so a monthly keyword costs 0.5 credits a month.
Can I track the same keywords in two countries?
Yes. Create a tracking target per country (or city) and add the keywords to each target. Each target's checks bill separately.
What does LOST mean?
The keyword ranked at the previous check but is now outside the top 100. The history chart shows when it dropped.
