Rank Tracker
Tracks, analyzes, and reports on keyword ranking positions over time. Monitors both traditional SERP rankings and AI/GEO visibility to provide comprehensive search performance insights.
What This Skill Does
Tracks keyword positions, detects ranking movements, benchmarks against competitors, monitors SERP features and AI citations, and generates ranking performance reports.
Quick Start
Start with one of these prompts. Finish with a short handoff summary using the repository format in Skill Contract.
Set Up Tracking
Set up rank tracking for [domain] targeting these keywords: [keyword list]
Analyze Rankings
Analyze ranking changes for [domain] over the past [time period]
Compare to Competitors
Compare my rankings to [competitor] for [keywords]
Generate Reports
Create a ranking report for [domain/campaign]
Skill Contract
Expected output: a delta summary, alert/report output, and a short handoff summary ready for
memory/monitoring/
.
- Reads: current metrics, previous baselines, alert thresholds, and reporting context from CLAUDE.md and the shared State Model when available.
- Writes: a user-facing monitoring deliverable plus a reusable summary that can be stored under
memory/monitoring/
.
- Promotes: significant changes, confirmed anomalies, and follow-up actions to
memory/open-loops.md
and memory/decisions.md
.
- Next handoff: use the
Next Best Skill
below when a change needs action.
Handoff Summary
Emit the standard shape from skill-contract.md §Handoff Summary Format.
Data Sources
All integrations optional (see CONNECTORS.md). With tools connected, pulls rankings from ~~SEO tool, impressions from ~~search console, traffic from ~~analytics, and AI citations from ~~AI monitor. Without tools, ask user for keyword positions, search volumes, competitor data, and SERP feature status.
Instructions
When a user requests rank tracking or analysis:
-
Set Up Keyword Tracking -- Configure domain, location, device, language, update frequency. Add keywords with volume, current rank, type, and priority. Set up competitor tracking and keyword categories (brand/product/informational/commercial).
-
Record Current Rankings -- Ranking overview by position range (#1, #2-3, #4-10, #11-20, etc.), position distribution visualization, detailed rankings with URL, SERP features, and change.
-
Analyze Ranking Changes -- Overall movement metrics, biggest improvements and declines with hypothesized causes, recommended recovery actions, stable keywords, new rankings, lost rankings.
-
Track SERP Features -- Feature ownership comparison vs competitors (snippets, PAA, image/video pack, local pack), featured snippet status, PAA appearances.
-
Track GEO/AI Visibility -- AI Overview presence per keyword, citation rate and position, GEO performance trend over time, improvement opportunities.
-
Compare Against Competitors -- Share of voice table, head-to-head comparison per keyword, competitor movement alerts with threat level.
-
Generate Ranking Report -- Executive summary with overall trend, position distribution, key highlights (wins/concerns/opportunities), detailed analysis, SERP feature report, GEO visibility, competitive position, recommendations.
Reference: See references/ranking-analysis-templates.md for complete output templates for all 7 steps.
Example
User: "Analyze my ranking changes for the past month"
Output:
# Ranking Analysis: [current month, year]
Summary
Your average position improved from 15.3 to 12.8 (-2.5 positions = better)
Keywords in top 10 increased from 12 to 17 (+5)
Biggest Wins
| Keyword | Old | New | Change | Possible Cause |
|---|
| email marketing tips | 18 | 5 | +13 | Likely driven by content refresh |
| best crm software | 24 | 11 | +13 | Correlates with new backlinks acquired |
| sales automation | 15 | 7 | +8 | Correlates with schema markup addition |
Needs Attention
| Keyword | Old | New | Change | Action |
|---|
| marketing automation | 4 | 12 | -8 | Likely displaced by new HubSpot guide |
Recommended: Update your marketing automation guide with [current year] statistics and examples.
Tips for Success
- Track consistently - Same time, same device, same location
- Include enough keywords - 50-200 for meaningful data
- Segment by intent - Track brand, commercial, informational separately
- Monitor competitors - Context makes your data meaningful
- Track SERP features - Position 1 without snippet may lose to position 4 with snippet
- Include GEO metrics - AI visibility increasingly important
Rank Change Quick Reference
Response Protocol
| Change | Timeframe | Action |
|---|
| Drop 1-3 positions | Wait 1-2 weeks | Monitor -- may be normal fluctuation |
| Drop 3-5 positions | Investigate within 1 week | Check for technical issues, competitor changes |
| Drop 5-10 positions | Investigate immediately | Full diagnostic: technical, content, links |
| Drop off page 1 | Emergency response | Comprehensive audit + recovery plan |
| Position gained | Document and learn | What worked? Can you replicate? |
Reference: See references/tracking-setup-guide.md for root cause taxonomy, CTR benchmarks by position, SERP feature CTR impact, algorithm update assessment, tracking configuration best practices, keyword selection and grouping strategies, and data interpretation guidelines.
Save Results
Ask "Save these results?" If yes, write a dated summary to
memory/monitoring/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md
with headline finding, actionable items, and open loops.
Reference Materials
- Tracking Setup Guide — Configuration best practices, device/location settings, and SERP feature tracking setup
Next Best Skill
Initial setup (no baseline) → alert-manager. Subsequent runs (baseline exists) → Terminal. Visited-set rule applies per skill-contract.md.
