Average Position
Quick definition
Average position is a Search Console metric: the average position of the topmost result from your site for the aggregation you are viewing. A lower number means a higher position.
How definitions differ
- Property or page aggregation
- Search Console aggregates the same data by property and by page, and the figure you see applies to the aggregation in view. The same site can therefore show a different value in each view, and filtering changes it again.
How to interpret it
Average position is a summary produced by Search Console, not a ranking you can read at a single moment. It is an average over the queries, pages and filters in the report, so it changes whenever you change the aggregation or filters.
Track it for a specific query or page over time, and read it with impressions and click-through rate. Do not read it as a benchmark curve against CTR.
When it is useful
- Tracking whether a page's visibility is improving for a query.
- Finding pages that sit just below the first results.
- Checking whether a ranking change coincides with a change in clicks.
Limitations
- It is calculated by Search Console and cannot be reproduced from your own data.
- A single average blends different queries, devices and locations.
- The value depends on whether you are viewing property-level or page-level data.
Common mistakes
- Treating the average as a fixed ranking.
- Comparing averages across different filters.
- Chasing position without watching clicks.