A ranking position is the place at which a page appears in a search engine’s results for a given query, counted from the top. In SEO, position 1 means the first result.
How does Google count position?
Search Console describes position as a relative ranking of your link on Google, where 1 is the topmost position. Counting goes from top to bottom on the primary side of the page, then top to bottom on the secondary side. The number reported is the topmost position your site held in the results, averaged across queries. If a page appears at positions 2, 4 and 6 for one query, only position 2 counts.
Why is one number not enough?
Google warns against simple assumptions. A position of 11 can mean the first result on page two, a knowledge panel entry in the top right, or a row of image results, depending on screen width. Results also vary by location, search history and personalization, so a result seen on your own screen can differ from the average in Search Console. Google recommends watching changes over time, particularly sudden ones, along with the absolute position.
Search results also contain elements beyond text links, such as image and video results and rich results, which Google lists in its search result elements gallery. A position therefore says where a link is listed, not how visible it is on screen.
Example
As an example with made-up numbers, a page appears at position 3 for “canonical tag” in Search Console. After a title change the average moves to 5. Checking the individual queries shows whether the loss came from one query or from all.
Sources
- Position in Search Console – Search Console Helpsupport.google.com
- Keyword Ranking Report – Search Atlassearchatlas.com
- Search result elements gallery – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
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