Rank tracking API and Google rank tracker API for SEO data
The SearchTracking rank tracking API returns daily Google positions, ranking URLs, SERP features, competitor positions, and AI brand mentions and citations as JSON. This token-authenticated REST API is included on Agency and Enterprise, with API tokens created in your account and scoped per team. It is for agencies, SEO teams, and developers who bring stored ranking history into dashboards, client portals, and reporting workflows.
{
"domain": "northwind-outdoor.com",
"keyword": "lightweight hiking backpack",
"device": "mobile",
"country": "US",
"ranking_url": "https://northwind-outdoor.com/backpacks",
"serp_features": [
{
"feature": "shopping",
"present": true,
"owned": false
}
],
"ai_mentions": [
{
"source": "ChatGPT",
"mentioned": true,
"citations": [
"https://northwind-outdoor.com/backpacks"
]
}
]
}02
What the rank tracking API returns
A keyword ranking API is useful when a ranking remains connected to its search context. Keep the project, keyword, location, device, and observation date together when you store or display a result.
| Field group | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Projects | Project context for separating sites and client reporting. |
| Keywords | Tracked phrases and their location and device context. |
| Daily positions | Stored daily Google positions through the top 100, with observation dates for history. |
| Ranking URL | The page holding the recorded organic position. |
| SERP features and ownership | Which search features appear and whether your site owns a recorded placement. |
| Competitor positions | Recorded competitor rankings within the same project and search context. |
| AI mentions and citations | Source, brand mention, mention position, and cited URLs from recorded AI answer checks. |
| Report data | Ranking and AI observations for your reporting workflow. |
Build a daily history view with position and ranking URL side by side. A position change with the same URL raises a different question from a different page taking over the keyword. Keep keywords outside the checked top 100 distinct from keywords with a recorded position. Outside that depth does not establish absence from every Google result.
Use the observation date when joining historical records. Fetching stored data into another system does not mean a new Google search or AI answer check occurs. Your dashboard should describe the observation it displays, rather than imply that every API pull measures the current results page.
03
Google rank tracker API use cases for connected reporting
Use the Google rank tracker API as a data source for systems your team builds. The examples below describe integration workflows, rather than native connectors or managed dashboard templates.
Looker Studio and BI dashboards
Bring daily positions into your own data pipeline, then connect the resulting dataset to Looker Studio or another BI tool. Keep desktop and mobile as separate dimensions so a chart does not average together different search contexts.
Client portals
Display project rankings beside the work your agency delivers. Keep client access limited to the appropriate project data in your application. A client reviewing a ranking URL can then connect a visibility change with the page your team maintains.
Internal alerting
Have your own process compare stored daily observations and flag changes that matter to your team. Check the ranking URL and feature ownership before treating every position movement as the same kind of issue.
Data warehouse
Load ranking history alongside your business data for analysis. Preserve keyword, location, device, and date when joining records. This makes it easier to investigate a regional change without blending it into a broader national trend.
An SEO rank tracking API supplies observations for these workflows. Your integration controls the joins, presentation, and alert rules. Decide which questions the dashboard answers before selecting fields, especially when a client wants both local rankings and a portfolio summary.
04
SERP tracking API data for features and ownership
The SERP tracking API records the layout around an organic result. Feature presence describes what Google shows. Ownership describes whether your site is included in the recorded feature.
| Search feature | Presence and ownership to review |
|---|---|
| Map pack | Whether local map results appear and whether your site has a recorded placement. |
| Featured snippet | Whether a highlighted answer appears and whether it uses your page. |
| People Also Ask | Whether related questions appear and whether your site is represented. |
| Video | Whether video results appear and whether your site owns a recorded placement. |
| Shopping | Whether product results appear and whether your site is represented. |
| AI Overview | Whether an overview appears and whether it cites your domain. |
Keep presence and ownership in separate dashboard columns. If a snippet remains present while ownership changes, review the page that supplies the answer. If the feature disappears from the checked results, the layout itself changes. Those observations call for different investigations even when the organic ranking stays steady.
Teams searching for a SERP track API often need this context beside position history. The SERP tracker explains how feature observations complement classic rankings. A feature placement does not replace the organic position field, and a feature appearing does not mean your domain owns it.
05
AI mentions and citations through the API
AI visibility describes recorded answers from specific sources. It is a separate measurement from a daily Google organic position, even when both observations relate to the same topic.
Google AI Overview
Review overview presence and citations alongside the search result context. An overview can appear without citing your domain. A cited URL can also differ from the page holding the organic ranking, so keep those URLs separate in your report.
ChatGPT and Perplexity
The API returns recorded brand mentions and citations from ChatGPT and Perplexity, including AI mention position. A named brand and a cited domain describe different observations. Show both so a mention without a link is not reported as a citation.
AI answers vary between runs. Treat a recorded answer as an observation from that check, rather than a fixed result every user sees. Preserve the source and the context of the check in your reporting, and review repeated observations before drawing a conclusion about a visibility change.
Monthly AI answer checks are separate from daily keyword capacity. The allowance does not imply that every keyword is checked across every AI source every day. The AI visibility tool explains the distinction between brand mentions, citations, and the position of a mention.
06
An SEO report API for agency client workflows
Use the SEO report API to bring ranking and AI data into client reports you control. Agency and Enterprise also include white-label reports and client viewer logins for reporting inside SearchTracking.
A rank tracker API for agencies helps keep portfolio reporting consistent across projects. Use the same location and device labels in each client view, and show the ranking URL next to the position. Clients can then understand which page appears for a phrase rather than receive a number without context.
Combine daily ranking observations with information from Search Console import. Search Console data and location-specific rank checks answer different questions, so label their measurements separately. The SEO ranking report software workflow helps connect Search Console context with tracked keywords without presenting average position as an identical metric.
Use tags and groups to organize keywords, and chart notes to keep content changes understandable during report reviews. Owner, editor, and viewer roles support team access, while client viewer logins support client review. Your own portal still needs its own access controls when it displays API data.
Explore the agency rank tracker for the client workflow and white label rank tracking for branded reporting. A custom API dashboard is useful when you need a specific layout or join to another dataset. Included white-label reports are useful when the existing reporting workflow meets the client requirement.
07
How to use the rank tracking API
Start with a consistent tracking setup, then connect your reporting system. SearchTracking supplies stored daily observations in JSON, while your integration decides how to load and display them.
- 01
Create a project
Set up the site you want to monitor. Keep projects aligned with the sites or client accounts your team reports on so the resulting data has a clear reporting destination.
- 02
Add keywords, locations, and devices
Choose the phrases, locations, and desktop or mobile contexts you need. Country, state, city, and ZIP tracking are available on the plans that include API access. One keyword plus one location plus one device counts as one tracked keyword.
- 03
Create an API token
Create a team-scoped API token in your account. Use token authentication in your integration and keep the token on your server rather than in a public dashboard or browser script.
- 04
Pull JSON daily
Retrieve the stored daily history and reporting fields for your workflow. Preserve observation dates and search context when loading your dataset. Keep the time your process retrieves data separate from the date of the ranking observation.
Choose the keyword coverage before you design summary charts. Desktop and mobile use separate tracked keywords, and additional locations use additional capacity. Unlimited projects help organize a portfolio, but they do not remove the plan limit on keywords tracked daily.
08
API rank tracker vs raw SERP API vs CSV export
Choose the data workflow around the result you need. Stored history, individual search requests, and a manual export serve different jobs and require different amounts of integration work.
| Approach | Data and workflow | Capacity and effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank tracker API | Stored daily ranking history, SERP features, competitor positions, and recorded AI fields in JSON. | Works within plan keyword capacity and the separate AI check allowance. You build the destination integration. | Recurring dashboards, client portals, and reporting pipelines. |
| Raw SERP API | Search result responses for requests you submit. | Usually bills per request. You build storage, history, scheduling, and reporting yourself. | Custom search collection workflows where you control requests and storage. |
| CSV export | A file for reviewing or moving exported ranking data. | Manual export and handling rather than an automated JSON reporting pipeline. | Spreadsheet analysis and occasional client data handoffs. |
A raw SERP API usually bills per request, so cost depends on the requests your application makes. A rank tracker API gives you stored daily history and recorded AI fields within the subscription capacity. Avoid comparing subscription keyword counts directly with raw request counts as if they measure the same work.
CSV export remains useful for an analyst checking a set of keywords in a spreadsheet. An API integration makes sense when the same dataset feeds recurring reports or another application. Neither workflow changes the meaning of a tracked keyword or turns monthly AI checks into unlimited daily observations.
09
Rank tracking API plans and capacity
API access is included on Agency and Enterprise. Solo and Team do not include API access. Prices below are in USD, and yearly billing is a single annual charge.
| Included capacity | Agency | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | $299 per month | $799 per month |
| Yearly billing | $149 per month, billed yearly at $1,788 | $399 per month, billed yearly at $4,788 |
| Keywords tracked daily | 700 | 2,000 |
| AI answer checks per month | 400 | 600 |
| Projects and seats | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Competitors per project | 5 | 5 |
| API access | Included | Included |
| White-label reports and client viewer logins | Included | Included |
| SAML SSO, audit log, and invoice billing | Not included | Included |
Both plans include daily Google positions through the top 100, desktop and mobile tracking, local tracking, SERP features, and feature ownership. AI checks have their own monthly allowance. Count each keyword, location, and device combination before choosing a plan, then budget AI coverage separately.
Compare rank tracking tools pricing for the full plan details. The enterprise rank tracker is relevant when your organization also needs SAML SSO, an audit log, and invoice billing. Choose capacity based on your tracked coverage rather than the number of people who need access.
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Rank tracking API questions
Is there an API for rank tracking?
Yes, SearchTracking provides a token-authenticated REST API that returns ranking data as JSON on Agency and Enterprise. It includes projects, keywords, daily Google positions, ranking URLs, SERP features, competitor positions, and recorded AI mentions and citations. Use those fields to build dashboards, client portals, or reporting pipelines.
Does Google have a rank tracking API?
No, Google does not provide a rank tracking API for daily rank checks by location. The Search Console API gives average position from Google's own data, which measures a different context. SearchTracking includes Search Console import so you can review that information alongside location-specific daily ranking observations.
Which SearchTracking plan includes API access?
Agency and Enterprise include API access, while Solo and Team do not. Agency includes 700 keywords tracked daily and 400 AI answer checks per month. Enterprise includes 2,000 keywords tracked daily and 600 AI checks per month. Both include unlimited projects and seats, white-label reports, and client viewer logins.
Can I pull AI Overview and ChatGPT mentions through the API?
Yes, the API returns recorded AI Overview citations and ChatGPT mentions and citations, along with Perplexity observations and AI mention position. AI answers vary between runs, so report them as observations from recorded checks. Your monthly AI check allowance is separate from daily Google keyword capacity and does not cover unlimited checks.
How much does a rank tracking API cost?
SearchTracking API access costs $299 per month on Agency or $799 per month on Enterprise with monthly billing. Yearly billing costs $1,788 for Agency ($149 per month) or $4,788 for Enterprise ($399 per month). Raw SERP APIs usually bill per request, so compare their collection costs with your reporting needs.
Can I use the API for white-label client dashboards?
Yes, you can use the API data in white-label client dashboards you build on Agency or Enterprise. Both plans also include white-label reports and client viewer logins in SearchTracking. Keep each client's project data separate in your integration, and label location, device, and observation date so the dashboard remains clear.
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Bring daily ranking data into your reporting workflow
Check rankings in the Google ranking demo, then choose the API plan that fits your keyword coverage and AI reporting needs. Connect daily positions, ranking URLs, and recorded AI observations to the dashboards your team uses for client decisions.