# SEO Rank Tracking > Set up and run rank tracking using Ahrefs MCP: pick the right keywords to track, segment them by purpose, set baselines, and define alert thresholds. Use this skill when starting a new tracking project, baselining for a campaign, choosing what to monitor, or building a rank reporting cadence. Triggers on rank tracking, keyword tracking, monitor rankings, track positions, what should we track, ranking dashboard, baseline rankings, alert thresholds. Also triggers when a stakeholder wants weekly or monthly ranking visibility. - Skill: `majiayu000/seo-rank-tracking` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add majiayu000/seo-rank-tracking` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/seo-rank-tracking/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Product & Planning - Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/seo-rank-tracking --- # SEO Rank Tracking Set up and run an ongoing rank tracking program using Ahrefs MCP data. Stack-agnostic. Produces a tracked keyword set, segmentation, baseline, alert thresholds, and a review cadence. --- ## When to use - Starting rank tracking for a new property or section - Baselining before a campaign, content launch, or major site change - Deciding what keywords are worth tracking - Setting up a ranking dashboard for stakeholders - Establishing alert thresholds for ranking drops - Reviewing whether the current tracked set is still meaningful ## When NOT to use - Keyword discovery (use `seo-keyword`) - Competitor keyword analysis (use `seo-keyword-gap-audit`) - Diagnosing a ranking change that already happened (use `seo-traffic-diagnosis`) - Single-page audits (use `seo-onpage`) --- ## Required inputs - Target property - Target market and language - Business priorities (which segments matter) - Existing ranked keywords (Ahrefs Site Explorer) - Stakeholder reporting cadence (weekly, monthly, quarterly) - Confirmation Ahrefs MCP and Rank Tracker access --- ## The framework: tracking taxonomy A good tracked keyword set has structure. Random keyword lists produce noisy dashboards. Segmented keyword sets produce signal. Group every tracked keyword into one of four buckets. ### Bucket 1: Brand keywords Queries containing the brand name (and major variants and misspellings). Why track: - Detect brand visibility issues - Catch competitors bidding on the brand - Spot reputation problems early Volume in this bucket: typically 10-30 keywords for most brands. Healthy signal: position 1 for all variants. Anything else is investigate-worthy. ### Bucket 2: Money keywords Queries that drive (or should drive) revenue: high-intent transactional and evaluation-stage queries directly tied to the business model. Why track: - These are the keywords that pay the bills - Movement here directly affects revenue - Stakeholders care most about these Volume in this bucket: 30-100 keywords for most properties. More for ecommerce. Healthy signal: top 3-5 positions. Watch for position drift in either direction. ### Bucket 3: Opportunity keywords Queries the property is currently ranking on page 2-3 (positions 11-30) with potential to break into top 10. Why track: - These are the active growth bets - Movement reflects whether content investment is working - Quick wins typically come from this bucket Volume in this bucket: 50-200 keywords typically. Healthy signal: trending toward page 1 over a 90-day window. ### Bucket 4: Competitor benchmark keywords A representative sample of head and torso queries shared with the competitor set, used to track relative position over time. Why track: - Measure share of voice - Spot competitor gains in real time - Provide industry context for movement Volume in this bucket: 50-150 keywords. Healthy signal: relative position improving or holding within a defined competitive band. --- ## Selection criteria ### Brand bucket - Brand name (exact) - Brand name + product or service - Brand name common misspellings - Brand name + "review", "vs", "alternative" - Brand-owned product names if relevant ### Money bucket - Top 20 ranked keywords by traffic value (Ahrefs Site Explorer) - Top transactional queries from Search Console with non-trivial impressions - Conversion-driving queries identified in analytics - Strategic head terms from `seo-keyword-gap-audit` output Quality over volume. 50 well-chosen money keywords beats 500 noisy ones. ### Opportunity bucket - All keywords currently ranking positions 11-30 with monthly volume above a relevance-appropriate threshold - Queries with rising impression volume in Search Console - Output from the keyword gap audit's quick wins list Refresh this bucket quarterly. Opportunity is a moving target. ### Competitor benchmark bucket - Keywords where 3+ competitors rank in top 20 - Mix of head, torso, and informational queries - Sized to represent the broader category This bucket is for relative comparison, not absolute targeting. --- ## Segmentation beyond buckets Tag every tracked keyword on additional dimensions for filtering: | Tag | Purpose | | --- | --- | | Topic or pillar | Group by editorial theme | | Funnel stage | TOFU, MOFU, BOFU | | Content type expected | Article, product page, calculator, etc. | | Page mapped | Which URL is targeting this query | | Country and language | For multi-market sites | | Device | Desktop, mobile | | SERP feature presence | Featured snippet, AI overview, video, etc. | Tagging up front pays off when filtering reports later. --- ## Baselines Capture the starting state on day one. For each keyword, record: - Current position - Current SERP composition (top 10 domains, dominant content type, SERP features present) - Current click-through rate at that position (from Search Console if available) - Date of baseline Baselines are the reference for measuring future movement. Without one, every dashboard is just current state. --- ## Alert thresholds Not every position change deserves attention. Set thresholds that filter noise. ### Default thresholds | Bucket | Alert if | | --- | --- | | Brand | Position drops below 1 for any tracked variant | | Money | Position drops by 5+ places, or out of top 10 | | Opportunity | Position rises into top 10 (positive alert), or drops past 30 | | Competitor benchmark | Aggregate share-of-voice changes by 10%+ | Adjust thresholds based on volatility of the niche. High-competition spaces need looser thresholds to reduce false alarms. ### Alert routing - Brand alerts: notify SEO lead and brand manager immediately - Money alerts: notify SEO lead within a daily digest - Opportunity alerts: weekly summary - Competitor alerts: monthly summary --- ## Workflow 1. **Define scope.** Target property, market, language, stakeholders. 2. **Pull starting data.** Existing ranked keywords, Search Console queries, competitor overlap. 3. **Build the tracked set.** 4 buckets, 200-500 total keywords for most properties. 4. **Segment with tags.** Topic, funnel stage, page mapped, etc. 5. **Configure tracking.** Set up Ahrefs Rank Tracker projects with tags and locations. 6. **Capture baseline.** Day-one positions and SERP composition. 7. **Define alert thresholds.** By bucket. Wire to notification system. 8. **Build the dashboard.** See [`references/dashboard-template.md`](references/dashboard-template.md). 9. **Set the cadence.** Weekly review of money + brand. Monthly review of all. Quarterly rebuild of opportunity bucket. 10. **Iterate.** Drop dead keywords. Add new ones. Recalibrate thresholds based on noise. --- ## Failure patterns - **Tracking too many keywords.** A 5,000-keyword tracker is unreadable. Pick fewer, watch closer. - **Tracking too few.** A 30-keyword tracker misses the picture. Most properties need 200-500. - **No segmentation.** Untagged tracked keywords produce dashboards that cannot be filtered. - **No baseline.** Without day-one snapshots, "did the campaign work" becomes unanswerable. - **Alert fatigue.** Loose thresholds produce too many alerts. Stakeholders stop reading. Tighten. - **Set and forget.** Tracked keyword sets need quarterly review. Opportunity moves. Money keywords shift. - **Conflating position with traffic.** A position-1 keyword with no clicks is worse than a position-5 keyword with steady traffic. Layer in CTR and clicks data. - **Single-device tracking on a mobile-dominant business.** Track the device that matches the audience. - **Tracking aggregate position only.** Aggregate position averages can hide important movement in specific buckets. Always show by bucket. - **Reporting absolute position without context.** "We are position 4" means nothing. "Up from position 11 over 60 days" means something. --- ## Output format A rank tracking setup document with: 1. **Tracking charter.** Property, scope, stakeholders, cadence. 2. **Tracked keyword set.** All keywords with bucket and tag assignments. 3. **Baseline snapshot.** Position, SERP composition, CTR per keyword. 4. **Alert configuration.** Thresholds by bucket, routing. 5. **Dashboard layout.** What charts, what filters, what is visible. 6. **Review cadence.** Weekly, monthly, quarterly responsibilities. 7. **Methodology notes.** Country and device settings, refresh frequency, data caveats. Plus a recurring rank report at the chosen cadence (typically weekly or monthly). --- ## Reference files - [`references/dashboard-template.md`](references/dashboard-template.md) - Template for the rank tracking dashboard layout, including the recurring report structure for weekly and monthly cadences.