Best SERP Checkers to Inform Your SEO Strategy [Free & Paid]

Understanding the search engine results page (SERP) is crucial for any successful SEO strategy.

SERP checkers are tools that analyze search results to provide valuable insights into keyword rankings, competitor performance, and the overall search landscape.

In this article, we’ll explore the best SERP checkers available, both free and paid, to help you make informed decisions for your SEO campaigns.

What Is a SERP Checker?

A SERP checker, or SERP analysis tool, allows you to analyze the SERP for specific keywords. It provides data on website rankings, competitor performance, and other relevant search metrics.

The best SERP checkers show this data in real time.

Why Should I Use a SERP Analysis Tool?

A SERP checker is an important tool within your SEO arsenal.

SERP checkers help you:

• Identify top-ranking competitors: Analyze their strategies to gain a competitive edge.
• Discover keyword opportunities: Find relevant keywords with high search volume.
• Improve content quality: Understand what type of content performs best in search results.
• Track keyword rankings: Monitor your website’s performance over time.

By utilizing a SERP analysis tool, you can make data-driven decisions to boost your website’s visibility and organic traffic.

Best SERP Checkers

1. LowFruits SERP Analyzer [Paid]

The LowFruits SERP Analyzer is a user-friendly tool for viewing Google rankings of specific keywords.

It combines keyword research with SERP analyses to extract the top 10 organic results from Google.

To get started, enter a keyword into the KWFinder and click Search.

LowFruits will generate a report with related keyword ideas.

The example report below shows keywords that have already been analyzed using the SERP extraction option.

(If you haven’t analyzed keywords yet, this SERP analysis tutorial shows you how. You’ll need to do this before proceeding to the next step.)

From here, you can click on View the SERP next to any analyzed keyword.

LowFruits will open a pop-out window with the top 10 organic results ranking now in Google search results.

It will also show the featured snippet when present.

You’ll also get additional insights, including:

• Weak spot signals are represented by the green LowFruits logo in the second-to-left column. (These are websites with low domain authority, meaning they’re easy to outrank.)
• Domain Authority (DA) of the ranking website.
• Info about the page. For example, if it’s an eCommerce, forum, or affiliate site.
• Word count of the ranking page.

These insights can inform your own content strategy, empowering you to see what works for competitors.

As for viewing competitors’ content, you can click any of the blue hyperlinks to visit the ranking page.

Studying a competitor’s content is a great way to learn how they approach the topic and optimize their article.

You can gather valuable insights from analyzing their content to make yours better and outrank them on the SERP.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that if you prefer a more traditional view, you can always click the View on Google button from the report.

This action will open up a new tab in Google for that keyword.

However, you’ll still want to check out the latter SERP view for competitor insights.

Overall, LowFruits is really quick to learn.

It offers a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) credit system or subscriptions (with credits and access to additional tools.) Each keyword analysis corresponds to 1 SERP extraction and is equivalent to consuming 1 credit.

LowFruits Pricing: Starts at $25 for 2,000 credits. LowFruits also offers a free trial, no credit card required.

2. Semrush SERP Analysis [Paid]

Semrush is another popular tool for SEO professionals and digital marketers. It’s a comprehensive SEO platform with several features, including SERP analysis.

To access the Semrush SERP Analysis, you’ll start in the Keyword Overview tool.

Enter your keyword in the box and click Search. (You can enter multiple keywords, but you’ll only be able to do a SERP analysis one at a time.)

This action will bring you to a new page with keyword insights. Scroll down until you see SERP Analysis.

You’ll get a list of competitors ranking for that keyword and insights into their performance, including:

• Page Authority Score (AS)
• Referring domains
• Backlinks
• Search traffic
• Ranking keywords

I also like how Semrush shows you if there is a SERP feature for a ranking page.

In the above screenshot, the pages in position 3 and 4 have sitelinks.

And in the example below, we see three types of SERP features: People Also Ask, Images, and a Knowledge Panel.

Finally, what’s unique about Semrush’s SERP checker tool is that you can view the search results for the top 100 positions.

Very few SERP checkers allow you to do this. Most will show you the top 10 only.

Realistically, though, there’s not much to learn from content beyond the first page.

I can’t imagine a scenario where you’d want to view the results in positions 90-100 except for learning what not to do.

Ultimately, this feature doesn’t bring a ton of value, but it does set it apart from other SERP checkers.

Semrush Pricing: Semrush plans start at $139.95/month.

3. Mangools SERPChecker [Free]

Good news: Our next tool is completely free.

Mangools has several powerful SEO tools, and some are “forever free.”

(Personally, I’ve been using their SERP Simulator forever because I love the simple, clean design.)

Their SERPChecker is also incredibly easy to use and efficient. Just a heads up — you’ll need to create a free account to access the results.

To get started, enter your keyword and select your location and device type.

Then, click Analyze SERP.

You’ll reach a page that shows the top 7 search results.

There’s also a button at the bottom of the list (not pictured below) that allows you to Load More Results. (I’m not sure exactly how high it goes, but I tested it out and went up to 55 and still had the option to load more.)

With Mangools, you get a lot of competitor insights.

Here are some of the most important:

• Domain Authority (DA)
• Page Authority (PA)
• Backlinks
• Referring domains

Mangools also generates some unique metrics that aren’t available in other tools, such as:

• Clickthrough rate (CTR): Shown in the first column as a percentage.
• Citation Flow (CF): Predicts how influential a page may be depending on how many sites link to it.
• Trust Flow (TF): Estimates link quality, with higher scores designating more trustworthy backlinks.
• Facebook Shares (FB): How many Facebook shares a URL has received.

Overall, these metrics can provide additional insights to support your SEO strategy and content creation efforts.

Mangools Pricing: Free

4. Ahrefs SERP Checker [Free + Paid]

Our next two tools are free but have limitations. You’ll need to pay to get additional results. (I’ll explain for each one.)

First is the Ahrefs SERP Checker.

Like Semrush, Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool with robust features.

Its SERP Checker is very straightforward and intuitive.

You just enter your keyword, set your location, and click Check SERP.

Ahrefs will open a new pop-out window that showcases your results.

While you can see the top 10 ranking pages (just need to scroll down), you’ll only get metrics for the first 3 results.

And if you’re like me and don’t currently have an Ahrefs subscription, you’ll have a prompt to sign up for a plan.

(I’ve used Ahrefs in the past, and it’s a good alternative to Semrush. It just depends on the features you’re looking for because they each have different strengths. Here’s an in-depth comparison of the two tools.)

As for the metrics, you’ll get:

• Domain Rating (DR): Ahrefs equivalent to Domain Authority.
• URL Rating (UR): Represents the strength of the backlink profile.
• Backlinks
• Domains
• Traffic
• Keywords

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick snapshot of the top-ranking pages, Ahrefs is a good, free option.

However, if you’re wanting insights into more results, you’ll need to sign up for a paid plan.

Ahrefs Pricing: Ahrefs debuted a new starter plan in 2024 for only $29/month. It has limited access to certain tools, but you can read more about it here. You can also access metrics for the Top 3 pages in the SERP Checker for free.

5. SE Ranking SERP Analyzer [Free + Paid]

Last up is the SERP Analyzer by SE Ranking.

This tool’s search function is similar to the others but has a unique field for depth of analysis. You can choose the Top 3 or Top 5 results.

Once you click Check SERP, SE Ranking will ask you to log in or create an account. They offer a 14-day free trial (no credit card required), which gives you 5 free searches.

Note: If you already have an account and are performing a search directly in the dashboard (Audit > SERP Analyzer), you’ll have additional options for depth of analysis. You can choose from Top 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50.

Once you’ve entered your keyword, SE Ranking will work on creating a report.

It can take a few minutes, and you’ll get an email once it’s ready.

When you first open your report, you’ll see a visualization of SEO metrics for the top ranking pages.

You can interact with this report by hovering over a position to see that specific page’s metrics.

This feature presents data in a unique way. Personally, I prefer just scrolling down to the main report, but it’s nice to have a visual option, too.

You’ll find the more traditional view below this graph.

This report includes all the standard metrics, like page score and traffic forecast, but you can view even more data points by clicking the three dots (…) to the right of referring domains.

The screenshot below is just one section of these additional metrics.

I like how it shows the keyword density and word count because these insights can help you formulate your own content strategy to rank for that particular keyword.

Ultimately, SE Ranking’s data points go deeper than what you think at first glance.

These additional metrics make it a good option for someone who enjoys data analysis. It can be very informative when you’re creating your own website’s SEO strategy.

And, if you don’t need all the data, that’s okay too.

The initial view is still informative and beginner-friendly.

SE Ranking Pricing: SE Ranking starts at $65/month. You can, however, get 5 searches with the 14-day free trial.

SERP Checkers: Your FAQs Answered

Final Thoughts

Understanding the SERP landscape is crucial for achieving SEO success.

By utilizing a SERP checker, you can gain valuable insights into your competition and identify keyword opportunities for your website.

These insights can help you make data-driven decisions to improve your rankings and drive organic traffic.

Don’t be afraid to try different SERP checker tools to find the one that best suits your needs and budget.

Many of the tools mentioned here offer free trials, so you can experiment before committing.

Further reading:

• How to Find Competitors’ Keywords (& Outrank Them!)
• Buyer Intent Keywords: What They Are & How to Find Them
• 7 Best Rank Tracker Tools (And Why You Should Use One)