# SOP: Weekly Rank Tracking Check

A ten-minute weekly routine for checking rankings, spotting drops, and flagging them to the client.

## Objective

Catch meaningful ranking changes early and separate real problems from normal day-to-day movement.

## When to use

- Every week for active SEO clients.
- After publishing or changing important pages.

## Prerequisites

- A rank tracker with the client’s priority keywords.
- Access to Google Search Console.
- Last week’s notes.

## Steps

1. **Open the rank tracker** — Compare this week with last week for priority keywords only.
2. **Ignore small moves** — Movement of one to three positions is normal; note it but do not report it as a problem.
3. **Investigate big drops** — For drops of five or more positions, check whether the ranking URL changed, the page is still indexed and a competitor published something new.
4. **Cross-check Search Console** — Look at clicks and impressions for the affected pages over 28 days.
5. **Log findings** — Add a short note per keyword group with the likely cause.
6. **Flag to the client** — Only send an alert for drops on high-value keywords, with your explanation and next step.

## Quality checklist

- [ ] Only priority keywords were reviewed.
- [ ] Every big drop has a likely cause written down.
- [ ] Search Console data was checked before alerting the client.
- [ ] The client message includes a next step, not just the problem.

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From AJF VA Practice Platform — https://va-practice.alvinjohnferias.com/sops/sop-weekly-rank-tracking-check/