Why don't I see the same ranks (SERP) when I check manually?

Important Update: Manual checking on Google these days is highly unreliable (and quite impossible in many cases).

Checking manually used to be easy and accurate. These days, however, your individual device, your location and your past search history can all affect the rank you see. That's why non-biased results, like you get with ProRankTracker, are essential.

If you see different rankings:

  • Check your URL-Terms settings on PRT.
    Make sure the URL was entered without a typo and that all other info is as you wanted to set it.
    If you had set a city, make sure you check it manually from within this city. PRT shows the rank most people from this city will see.

  • If this is a new rank (just changed), wait a few days to see where the rank stabilizes. 
    It usually means that a change is rolling. Different Google data centers return different rankings, and in this case, it's better to wait and see where it stabilizes.

  • Google still applies personalization on the results—even in incognito mode / private browsing, in the ad preview tool, etc.
    It geo-targets your real location and also applies other info Google has about you to affect the order of the results.
    That's especially true for local / snack pack / videos on Google's first results page, and of course mobile local results.
    You may be able to check it with a proxy/VPN from the location set at country level. 

  • It's impossible to manually remote-check rankings from the city level!
    If you are not located at the city used in your setting, or if you don't use a proxy/VPN from the exact city in your settings, you will not get accurate results.

  • If you need to check the rank that people from another country get for a searched term on google.com, check Organic Tracking type and select a country when adding the URL/Terms.

    For Google local sites (google.ccTLD), as of August 2025, the choice of country service is no longer be indicated by domain. Instead, only google.com is used - make sure to select the correct and exact location and language you need results for.

 

PRT is 100% accurate. We perform clean searches of the search term with your settings, and you can rely on our results.

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