What Is the Average Position In Google Search Console? – Explained

Google Search Console is an essential DIY SEO tool for understanding how your website performs in organic Google search results. 

One key metric it provides is the average position – a crucial indicator of your pages’ visibility and ranking for specific keywords. 

What is the Average Position in Google Search Console?

Put simply, the average position is the mean ranking of your website’s pages in Google search results for a given keyword or query. 

If your page’s average position is 3 for “best running shoes”, it typically appears as the third result when people search for that phrase.

Average position provides valuable insights into how your pages stack up against competitors for your target keywords. 

It’s a key indicator of your site’s visibility and SEO performance. 

Understanding and tracking average position helps you identify optimization opportunities to boost your rankings and organic traffic.

How Google Calculates Average Position

Google determines average position based on factors like:

• Your page’s relevance to the search query
• Overall content quality and user experience
• Number and quality of backlinks
• Page load speed and mobile-friendliness

To calculate average position, Google takes into account:

1. How often your page appeared in search results
2. Its exact ranking each time
3. The search queries that surfaced it

For example, say your page on “healthy recipes” ranked 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th for related searches. 

Your average position would be (2+4+6+8) / 4 = 5.

Importantly, average position isn’t static – it fluctuates as algorithms evolve and you optimize your site. 

Regularly monitoring it allows you to spot trends and make data-driven SEO improvements.

Why Average Position Matters for SEO

Your average position has a direct impact on clicks, traffic, and conversions from organic search. 

The higher you rank, the more visibility and clicks your site tends to get.

Top-ranking pages hoover up the lion’s share of search traffic. 

Improving your average position, even slightly, can significantly boost organic traffic and conversions.

Monitoring Average Position in Search Console

To check your average positions, log into Search Console and navigate to the Performance report. 

There you’ll see a table of search queries along with key metrics like average position, clicks, impressions, and CTR.

Use the Performance report to:

• Identify your top-performing keywords
• Spot pages with low average positions to prioritize for optimization
• Track average position changes over time
• Correlate position changes with clicks and conversions

5 Tips to Boost Your Average Position

1. Target relevant, high-volume keywords: Careful keyword research process research is key. Pick keywords that match search intent and have decent search volume.
2. Create high-quality, keyword-optimized content: Craft in-depth, engaging content that naturally incorporates your target keywords. Optimize page titles, headings, meta descriptions.
3. Improve page experience signals: Boost page load speed, implement responsive design, ensure easy navigation. Positive UX is good for SEO.
4. Build quality backlinks: Earning links from authoritative, relevant sites is crucial for off-page SEO. Focus on link quality, not quantity.
5. Track and iterate: Regularly monitor average position and make data-informed tweaks. Continuously optimize pages that aren’t ranking as high as you’d like.

Conclusion

The average position metric in Google Search Console is a vital indicator of your site’s SEO health. 

It reflects how prominently your pages rank for target keywords, which directly impacts organic visibility, traffic, and conversions.

By understanding what average position means, how it’s calculated, and its SEO significance, you’re well-equipped to improve it. 

Tracking average positions in Search Console and following SEO best practices will help you rise through the ranks. 

Boosting your average position means more eyeballs on your content – and that means more customers for your business.