The first thing to accept about mobile positions is that they are not desktop positions measured on a smaller screen. The same set of results gets arranged differently, the features above them take a different share of the first view, and a page that reads as fourth on a desktop can be the fifth thing a thumb reaches on a phone. If your log does not say which device a number came from, the movement it shows next month may be nothing but the device changing.
Decide the surface before you take any reading
Pick the device that matters for the query and write it down beside the keyword. For most business queries that is mobile, because that is where the searches happen; for a tool people use at a desk it may genuinely be desktop. What you must not do is take whichever number is convenient each month, because the comparison between the two readings is the only thing you are actually going to use.
Search Console is the free reading, and it is your own data
The Performance report gives average position for each query and lets you filter to mobile, which means you can get a device-specific reading for your own pages without paying anybody. The average is over a period rather than a moment, so it moves more slowly than a tracker's daily check, and it only covers pages you own. For most small sites that is enough, and it is the reading that is hardest to argue with.
A tracker buys you a fixed location and a schedule
Where Search Console stops is when you want a position for a page that is not yours, or a specific city, or a check on the same day each week rather than an average over twenty-eight days. That is what a rank tracking tool sells. It is a real thing to want, and it is worth being clear that it is the checking you are paying for, not the keeping.
Keep the reading, or you have measured nothing
A position on its own tells you almost nothing: position nine is good news or bad news entirely depending on where it was last month. Logged against the query, the page you aimed at it, the device and the date, it becomes the one piece of evidence that says whether the work you did in March mattered by June. Longtailo keeps that log; it does not take the reading for you.
Questions people ask about track mobile rankings
Why do mobile and desktop rankings differ?
The same results are laid out differently and the features around them take different amounts of the first screen, so the practical visibility of position four is not the same on both. Track them separately or the log mixes two measurements.
Can I track mobile rankings for free?
For your own pages, yes: Search Console's Performance report filtered to mobile gives you average position per query at no cost. It does not cover pages you do not own.
How often should I check?
Monthly is enough for most sites, and weekly is enough for almost all of them. Daily checking mostly records noise, and it tempts people into reacting to movement that reverses by itself.
Does Longtailo check mobile rankings for me?
No. You log the position and the device; Longtailo keeps it against the keyword and the page with its history, so the comparison is there when you need it.