In Search Console, the average of the topmost position your site or page held in Google results, across the searches where it appeared. Position 1 is the top result.
Example
Meera's site shows an average position of 6.2 one month and 15.1 the next, while clicks rose from 50 to 80. The drop came from many new, low-ranking queries joining the average, not from her old rankings falling.
How you'll hear it
“Do not panic about average position. Filter by query; our main terms actually improved.”
What it helps you decide
Which queries and pages to work on, and whether a change in rankings is real or caused by new queries joining the report.
Where people misread it
People read a site-wide average position as one ranking. It blends hundreds of queries; when you start appearing for many new queries low down, the average gets worse even as traffic grows. Always look at it per query or per page.
The story
Average position fell. Traffic rose.
Meera published ten new guides. A month later, her site's average position in Search Console dropped from 6.2 to 15.1. She feared a penalty.
She split the report by query group.
| Old queries: impressions | 1,000 |
| Old queries: average position | 6.2 → 5.8 |
| Old queries: clicks | 50 → 55 |
| New queries from the guides: impressions | 3,000 |
| New queries: average position | 18.2 |
| New queries: clicks | 25 |
| Total clicks | 50 → 80 |
|---|
Her existing rankings actually improved. The new guides added 3,000 impressions at position 18 or so. Blended together (5.8 on 1,000 and 18.2 on 3,000 impressions), the site-wide figure becomes 15.1.
So the headline number fell for a good reason. The useful view is per query: which new queries sit on page two, close enough to push to page one.
Figures are illustrative. Search Console reports average position for the topmost result of your site per search.
Don't confuse it with
- Rank for a keyword: your position for one query. Average position blends every query and page in the report.
- Organic CTR: whether people click once they see you.
Related terms
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Sources
- What are impressions, position, and clicks?, Search Console Help
- Performance report (Search results), Search Console Help