Why Does LemRank Show Different Rankings Than Google?

Google personalises your SERPs — LemRank doesn't

When you use Google Search, your search results (SERPs) are often unique to you. Google personalises results based on factors such as your search history, location, device, and even whether you are logged into a Google account.

LemRank, by design, eliminates these personalisation factors. Its purpose is to provide an objective measure of how a website ranks for specific keywords. LemRank does not log into a Google account, does not use cookies, and clears all session data between checks. This ensures that the tracked rankings reflect the most generic, unpersonalised view available for the specified parameters.

Location differences (yours vs the tracked location)

Your physical location significantly influences the Google search results you see. Google aims to provide locally relevant information. If you are physically located in London and search for "best pizza", you will likely see results for pizza restaurants near London.

LemRank tracks rankings from a specific country, city, and language that you configure for each keyword. If you have set a keyword to be tracked in Paris, France, and you search for the same keyword yourself from New York, USA, your personal Google search results will almost certainly differ from the ranking LemRank reports.

To see how location affects a specific search, you can use Google's search tools or a VPN to simulate searching from different geographical areas.

Device differences (desktop vs mobile)

The device you use to search on Google can also lead to different results. Mobile-first indexing means that Google often uses the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing. This also means that SERPs can vary significantly between desktop and mobile devices, especially for queries where mobile-specific content or local services are prioritised.

LemRank allows you to specify whether a keyword should be tracked on desktop or mobile. If your LemRank project is configured to track mobile rankings for a keyword, but you manually check Google on your desktop computer, you may observe discrepancies.

Ensure that when comparing your manual Google search to LemRank's data, you are using the same device type (desktop or mobile) that you configured within LemRank for that keyword.

SERP volatility within the day

Google's search results are not static. Rankings can fluctuate throughout the day due to various factors including:

• Algorithm updates: Google regularly rolls out minor updates.
• Indexing changes: Google continuously crawls and re-indexes web pages.
• Content freshness: Newer, more relevant content may temporarily outrank older content.
• Server load: Search results can sometimes be influenced by real-time server performance.

LemRank refreshes tracked keyword positions at specific intervals: every 24 hours for paid plans and every 72 hours for the 14-day trial. This means that the ranking reported by LemRank is a snapshot taken at a particular moment in time. If you perform a manual Google search hours later, especially for highly competitive or volatile keywords, you might see a different result. Studies and observations suggest that rankings for volatile queries can shift by 1-3 positions within a single day.

Consider the LemRank data as a consistent average over time, rather than a prediction of what you will see if you search at any random moment.

How LemRank strips personalisation

LemRank employs several methods to ensure that the rankings it reports are as objective and unpersonalised as possible:

1. Clean IP addresses: LemRank uses a vast network of clean IP addresses to perform searches, ensuring that no prior search history or user behavior is associated with the request.
2. No account login: LemRank never logs into a Google account. Personalisation linked to Google accounts (e.g., Gmail, YouTube history) is therefore avoided.
3. No cookies: All cookies are cleared before each search query is executed. This prevents Google from using past browsing data or tracking cookies to influence results.
4. Specific geo-targeting: For each keyword, LemRank precisely emulates a search from the exact country, city, and language you have configured.
5. Specific device emulation: LemRank accurately simulates searches from either a desktop or mobile device based on your chosen setting for each keyword.

This rigorous approach ensures that the rankings you see in LemRank are a neutral measurement, distinct from what an individual user might experience.

The right way to spot-check

To accurately compare a manual Google search with LemRank's reported ranking, you need to replicate LemRank's search conditions as closely as possible.

Follow these steps for a more accurate manual comparison:

1. Use an incognito or private browsing window: This prevents Google from using your search history or cookies.
2. Log out of your Google account: Ensure you are not logged into any Google service.
3. Specify region and language: Add &gl=<country_code> and &hl=<language_code> to the Google search URL to emulate the region and language. For example, for a search in Germany (DE) with German language (de) for "keyword": https://www.google.de/search?q=keyword&gl=de&hl=de.
4. Emulate device (if possible):
   • Mobile: Use your phone or tablet.
   • Desktop: Use your desktop computer.
5. Clear cache and cookies: Before opening your incognito window, ensure your browser's cache and cookies are cleared.

Even after taking these steps, small differences may still occur due to factors like intraday SERP volatility or Google’s continuous experimentation. However, by eliminating significant personalisation factors, you can get a ranking closer to what LemRank reports.

Related

• Daily vs Weekly Rank Tracking
• SERP Volatility Tracking