Your Google search results are not my results. You may not accurately determine your search ranking by searching Google with the default settings through the home page of google.com. This is because Google customizes the search results for each user. Even if you are not logged in to Google, your location, language and other factors are considered. When logged into Google, you can set search preferences, but many are picked up by Google automatically.

Google also tracks your previous searches and looks for relationships to give you more relevant results. Even the ads shown at the top and the right can be shown in response to a combination of searches that Google believes to be related. A new feature in Google now allows you to block sites from your search results- further customizing the results. Additionally Google changes it’s rank algorithm, and competitive websites change – so today’s results may be different than tomorrows results.

So how do you determine your website ranking? Use Google’s free Webmaster Tools. This service allows you to “claim” your websites by making an invisible addition, then reports details on your search results. They report the search terms that were used to initiate searches listing your website, the average ranking, number of clicks and other information. There are other tools both free and paid that can poll search engine results without the customizations. Your SEO professional will have access to specialized rank tracking tools too.

Vital to the success of your website is to determine the relevant keywords for your business, web site content, and search results. Ranking well for your unique company name is of less value than ranking well for keywords that describe your business niche. Searchers who know your company name and location are likely to have your URL,  a relationship with you, or otherwise predisposed to do business with you. The bulk of searchers have not decided who to do business with and capturing them will bring more value to your SEO efforts. As an SEO and SEM professional, I spend a great deal of time learning my clients business and doing keyword research.