# How to Check Website Ranking on Google (Free) > Learn how to check your website ranking on Google for free with Search Console, why your results differ from customers', and how to win page-2 keywords. Canonical: https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/check-website-ranking-google/ Author: Dex SEO, Editorial team Published: Oct 24, 2026 · Updated: Oct 24, 2026 To **check website ranking on Google**, use Google Search Console. It is free, it shows the average position for every query your site appears for, and it is based on real searches, not a guess. Searching your keyword by hand also works for a quick look, but the result is personalized and can mislead you. Tired of guessing? Dex has answers. This guide covers both methods, explains why your view differs from your customers’, shows how to read positions, and explains what to do with keywords sitting just outside page 1. ## How do you check where your website ranks on Google? There are three practical ways. Each answers a slightly different question. ### 1\. Search it yourself (quick, but biased) Type the keyword into Google and scroll. If you run a bakery in Leeds, you might search “bakery Leeds” and look for your site. It takes ten seconds. The catch: Google tailors results to your location, search history and device, so what you see is not what everyone sees. Use a private or incognito window to reduce the bias, but it will not remove it. ### 2\. Use Google Search Console (best free option) [Search Console reports the queries your site actually appeared for](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/check-website-traffic-free/), with impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position. It is the closest thing to ground truth, because it comes from Google itself. More on this below. ### 3\. Use a rank tracker or an SEO plan [Third-party rank trackers check chosen keywords on a schedule](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/). They are useful for watching specific terms, but many are paid. A free SEO plan from Dex takes a different angle: paste your URL, and in 60 seconds Dex reads your pages, learns what you sell and to whom, and shows keywords worth going after. No card required. | Method | Cost | Best for | Weakness | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Manual search | Free | Quick sanity check | Personalized results | | Search Console | Free | Real positions and clicks | Only shows queries you already appear for | | Rank tracker | Often paid | Watching chosen keywords | You must pick the keywords | | Free SEO plan | Free | Finding what to target | A starting plan, not a live tracker | ## Why do you see different rankings than your customers? You may search for your own business and see yourself in position 2. A customer across town may see you in position 9, or not at all. That is normal. Several things change what Google shows: - **Location.** Local searches such as “dentist near me” depend heavily on where the searcher is standing. - **Search history.** If you visit your own site often, Google may nudge it up for you. - **Device.** Mobile and desktop results can differ. - **Language and country settings.** The same query can return different pages in different markets. - **Search features.** Maps, shopping boxes, videos and AI overviews push organic links down the page, so “position 3” may sit far below the fold. Dex’s rule: treat any single manual check as one data point, not the truth. A position of 4 on your laptop does not mean customers see you at 4. ### A fairer manual check 1. Open an incognito window. 2. Sign out of Google. 3. Search the exact phrase a buyer would use, including the city if it is a local service. 4. Note the position and the date. 5. Repeat on your phone. Still, for anything you plan to act on, rely on Search Console averages across many real searches. ## How does Google Search Console show your positions? If you have not set it up, add your site as a property and verify ownership. Your site builder (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix or Framer) usually has a guide for this. Data builds up once it is connected, so older history may be limited at first. ### Where to find positions 1. Open Search Console and go to _Performance_ then _Search results_. 2. Click the _Average position_ box so it shows in the chart and table. 3. Open the _Queries_ tab to see each search phrase. 4. Switch to the _Pages_ tab to see which URLs rank. 5. Set the date range to at least the last three months for steadier numbers. ### How to read the numbers - **Impressions:** how often your page appeared in results. - **Clicks:** how often someone visited. - **CTR:** clicks divided by impressions. - **Average position:** your mean ranking across all those appearances. Average position is an average. If your page showed at position 3 on some searches and position 17 on others, the report may say about 10. Click a single query and look at it alone for a cleaner read. Filter by country or device if you need to compare. Note also that Search Console only lists queries where you already got impressions. A keyword where you do not appear at all will not show up. [That is why a keyword plan matters too.](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/check-website-keywords/) Dex reports clicks straight from Google Search Console, so the same numbers you would check by hand are tied back to the articles it publishes. ## What does it mean if you rank on page 2? Page 1 holds roughly ten organic results, so positions 11 to 20 are page 2. In Search Console, an average position between 11 and 20 means Google already considers your page relevant, but not strong enough to compete at the top. This matters because most searchers rarely go past page 1. Page 2 positions often bring few clicks, even if impressions are healthy. You are visible to Google but nearly invisible to people. The good news: page 2 is often the cheapest place to win. You have already done the hard part of being relevant. That is why Dex weighs how close your site already is to ranking. A modest improvement can move a page onto page 1 where clicks are far more common. Be careful with expectations, though. Whether a page moves depends on competition, your site history and [the quality of the content](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/domain-authority-checker/), and nobody can promise a result or a timeline. ### What about positions 4 to 10? These are on page 1 but below the top three. They get clicks, just fewer. Improving the title, snippet and depth of the page can help here. ### What about position 30 and beyond? Usually the page is only loosely related to the query. Rather than patching it, consider writing a dedicated page that targets that search properly. ## How do you turn near-rankings into wins? Start with the list of queries in Search Console where your average position is between roughly 8 and 20 and impressions are decent. These are your near-rankings. Then work through them in order. ### Step 1: Pick searches you can actually win Not every near-ranking is worth chasing. Weigh three things: how many people search it (volume), how hard it is to rank (difficulty), and how close your site already is. For example, an illustrative keyword with 400 monthly searches, low difficulty and a current position of 14 is a better bet than one with 10,000 searches, high difficulty and a position of 45. This is exactly how Dex scores every keyword, so the plan focuses on [searches you can actually win](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/topic-clusters/find-keywords-you-can-win/). ### Step 2: Match the search intent Look at who ranks on page 1. Are they guides, product pages, local listings or comparisons? If your page is a different type, it may never climb. Reshape it to fit what searchers clearly want. ### Step 3: Improve the page, do not just tweak it - Cover the topic more completely than the pages above you. - Answer the follow-up questions buyers ask. - Rewrite the title and meta description so they earn the click. - Add clear headings, so both Google and AI search tools can read the structure. - Fact-check claims and keep the information current. ### Step 4: Support it with related content A single page rarely carries a topic alone. Publishing supporting articles on related questions shows Google your site covers the subject in depth. Consistency matters here, which is why Dex publishes daily once you approve the plan. You can also [check backlinks to your website for free](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/check-backlinks/) to see who links to you. ### Step 5: Re-check and repeat Come back to Search Console after a few weeks, compare positions and clicks, and adjust. Rankings move up and down, so look at trends, not single days. If you also want a broader health snapshot, see what your [SEO score really means](https://www.getdexseo.com/blog/free-seo-checks/seo-score-checker/) before changing pages. ## FAQ ### Is there a completely free way to check my Google ranking? Yes. Google Search Console is free and shows average position, impressions and clicks for each query. A manual search in an incognito window is also free, though less reliable. ### Why does my site not show up in Search Console for a keyword? Search Console only lists queries where your site appeared in results. If a keyword is missing, your page is likely not ranking for it yet, or the data has not collected long enough. ### How often should I check my rankings? Weekly or monthly is enough for most small sites. Daily changes are mostly noise, so focus on trends over several weeks. ### Does average position mean I rank exactly there? No. It is an average across all searches where you appeared. Your actual position varies by location, device and the person searching. ### Can Dex check my ranking for me? Dex reports clicks from Google Search Console for the content it publishes, and its free SEO plan shows which keywords are worth targeting. It does not guarantee rankings, since results depend on competition and your site history. ## Want a plan instead of a guess? Checking rankings tells you where you stand. The next step is deciding what to go after. Paste your website into Dex and get a free SEO plan in 60 seconds, no card required. Dex reads your pages, learns what you sell and how you talk, and points you to searches you can realistically win. Questions? Contact Dex SEO and one friendly robot will help.