Track Google rankings daily with Decodo and Google Sheets

Daily keyword tracking without the morning grind. This workflow pulls live Google results with Decodo every day and logs positions straight into Google Sheets. Set your keywords once, wake up to fresh ranking data. Last updated: September 2026. Why This Workflow? Save Time: The hour you spent checking rankings by hand every morning? Gone. Everything runs on autopilot. Save Money: Skip pricey SEO tools that charge per keyword for basic rank tracking. Accurate Data: Every result, meta descriptions and URLs included, recorded without copy-paste mistakes. Easy to Scale: More keywords, new countries, different devices? One config node handles it. Who Is This For? - SEO Specialists: Daily keyword movements for clients or internal projects. - Content Marketers: See how fresh content stacks up against competitors for target keywords. - Digital Agencies: Ranking reports for clients without touching a spreadsheet manually. How It Works 1. Scheduled Start: The workflow kicks off every morning at 9:00 AM using the Schedule Trigger. 2. Set Parameters: Keyword, country code (e.g., "id"), language ("en"), and device type are defined upfront. 3. Fetch Results: The Decodo node runs a live Google search based on your settings. 4. Filter & Validate: The workflow strips out ads, maps, and snippets, keeping only organic results with valid URLs. 5. Store Rankings: Top results (e.g., Top 5) get appended to a "SERPResults" tab in Google Sheets. 6. Log Issues: If something goes wrong (API timeout, empty results), errors are recorded in a separate "SERPErrors" tab. What You Need | Requirement | Purpose | |-------------|---------| | n8n instance | Platform to run the workflow | | Decodo API | Pulls live Google Search data | | Google Sheets | Stores ranking data and error logs | Setup Steps 1. Import the JSON file into your n8n instance. 2. Add your credentials: - Decodo API: Sign up at Decodo, grab your API key, and paste it into the Decodo Search node. - Google Sheets: Connect your Google account via OAuth2. Make sure your spreadsheet has two tabs: SERPResults and SERPErrors. 3. Select your spreadsheet: In the Write SERP Results and Write SERP Errors nodes, pick the spreadsheet you prepared. 4. Adjust your settings: Open the Set Search Input node to change the keyword, country code, and how many results to track (topn). 5. Run a test: Click "Test Workflow" and confirm the data shows up in your Google Sheet. How the Logic Works The workflow uses a Split Out + Extract Organic approach. Even when Google returns mixed results like ads, map packs, or featured snippets, this setup specifically targets organic blue links. The "Valid Row" check keeps your spreadsheet clean by only saving results that fall within your Top N threshold. Customization Quick Changes: - Run Frequency: Switch the Schedule Trigger to hourly, weekly, or whatever fits your needs. - Rank Depth: Change the topn value in the input node to track the Top 10, 20, or 50. Going Further: - Slack Alerts: Add a Slack node to notify your team when a keyword drops out of the Top 3. - Multiple Keywords: Swap the "Set" node with a Google Sheet "Read" node to loop through hundreds of keywords at once. Real-World Examples Competitor Tracking for E-commerce Problem: A retail brand needs to know who's ranking for "best running shoes" every day. Solution: This workflow checks the Top 5 results each morning, making it easy to spot when a competitor's blog post overtakes their product page. Outcome: The marketing team catches ranking drops within 24 hours and updates content right away. Local SEO Monitoring Problem: A service business wants to track rankings specifically in Indonesia ("id") using English ("en") search settings. Solution: By setting the country and language parameters in the Set node, the workflow captures localized search data accurately. Outcome: The business gets a clear view of their local visibility without needing a VPN. --- Quick Answers When does it check? Every morning at 9:00 AM. Sw