Scoring the best ranks is the ultimate competition for any company listed on google. Having the best selection of keywords brings a webpage miles ahead in terms of SERP’s ranking.
Each article, product page, landing page or any content used in a website when searched on google with its affiliated keywords receives its individual ranking. Looking at Google Search Console is a method that helps analyze the average position.
In today’s article we will discuss about the average position, dropping of google search consoles average position along inter-related metrics!
Understanding Google Search Console Average Position Metric
The average position value is an algorithm that provides an average rank for a website and its keywords in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) for a specified time period in Google Search Console.
The console allows users to view the average positions of the website overall, and for specific pages and queries too.
Along the average positioning, other metrics such as the total clicks, total impressions, average CTR also depict the overall performance. These are present right besides average position on search console.
How is An Average Position Calculated?
Google keeps track of all the ongoing metrics with real time data, calculating average position when showing you the data.
Let’s understand how it works. When a user puts a query, a search word, various pages from your website appear in several organic search attempts. This opens doors to website traffic!
Individual Keyword Positions:
GSC tracks the position of your site for each keyword (query) in search results. For example:
- Keyword A: Position 3
- Keyword B: Position 10
- Keyword C: Position 20
Weight by Impressions:
Each keyword’s position is weighted by its number of impressions. Impressions refer to how many times your site appeared in the search results for that keyword.
- If Keyword A (Position 3) has 1,000 impressions and Keyword B (Position 10) has 500 impressions, Keyword A will carry more weight in the calculation.
Calculate the Average:
The positions of all the keywords are summed up and then divided by the total number of keywords tracked. For example:
Average Position = 33 ÷ 3 = 11
Total Position (3 + 10 + 20) = 33
Total Keywords = 3
GSC Average Position Dropping? How Is This A Good Thing?
Noticing your Google Search Console (GSC) average position dropping? Before you panic, let’s explore why this could actually be a positive sign for your SEO strategy.
Every article targets a primary keyword, aiming to rank prominently for it. Alongside this, your article might also rank for several secondary keywords naturally woven into the content. While your primary keyword might hold a strong position, like 3, the secondary keywords could initially rank much lower, such as at 90.
Here’s the exciting part: even though these secondary keywords rank lower, their impressions are increasing because they’re tied to an article already performing well for the primary keyword. This broader visibility means your content is starting to attract more search queries.
So, how does this affect your GSC average position? As your content starts ranking for more keywords—especially those with lower initial rankings—the average position metric may drop. But this isn’t bad news. It’s a sign that your content is expanding its reach and becoming relevant to a wider audience.
In short, a dip in your average position can signify growth in keyword diversity, higher impressions, and potential traffic boosts. It’s a metric worth celebrating as your content gains traction across multiple search queries!
In What Situations Is Position Dropping can be Bad?
Having a low number of keywords ranking combined with a poor average position is detrimental to your SEO efforts and overall business success.
Fewer ranked keywords limit your website’s visibility and potential reach, while a bad average position reduces click-through rates (CTR) since most users rarely go beyond the first page of search results. Together, this results in significantly lower organic traffic, fewer leads or sales, and missed opportunities to engage your target audience.
It also signals that competitors are outperforming you, making it harder to build authority and trust. Addressing this requires targeted keyword research, optimized content, and strategic SEO improvements to increase both the quantity and quality of your rankings.
Tools such as GSC itself or other prominent SEO tools can be used to verify that traffic hasn’t been affected. For peace of mind, this analysis is highly recommended.
We hope your knowledge base has now been upgraded. Also, better content decisions will be planned now that your query on GSC Average Position Dropping?, has been addressed and It’s Actually Good for SEO!
