For anyone managing a website, Google Search Console (GSC) is an indispensable tool. It offers a direct line of communication from Google, providing data on how your site performs in search results. Among its many metrics, “average position” often gets the most attention. Seeing a low number feels like a win, while a high number can cause panic. But what if we told you that this metric isn’t the reliable benchmark you think it is?
Relying solely on average position can give you a skewed view of your SEO performance. This blog will explore why the average position metric in Google Search Console isn’t always reliable. We will uncover the nuances behind the number, discuss its limitations, and guide you toward more effective ways to measure your search visibility.
Key Takeaways
- Google Search Console’s Average Position combines data across locations, devices, personalization factors, and multiple queries. This aggregation often masks important variations, making it an unreliable standalone indicator of your actual search visibility.
- Modern search results include featured snippets, local packs, video carousels, and other rich elements that impact real visibility and click-through rates. A strong “position” does not automatically translate into traffic or conversions, which is why context matters more than the number itself.
- Clicks, impressions, CTR, and page-level performance provide clearer insight into what’s working and what needs improvement. A strategic, data-driven SEO approach delivers sustainable organic growth far more effectively than tracking a single vanity metric.
What is the Average Position in GSC?
Before we dive into its flaws, let’s clarify what the average position actually represents. Google calculates this metric by averaging out your site’s ranking for a specific query or a set of queries. If your site appears at position 3 for one search and position 7 for another, your average position would be 5 (3+7 / 2).
It seems straightforward, but this simplicity is precisely where the problem lies. The calculation is an average of all the times your URL appeared for a query, across different users, locations, devices, and times. This aggregation of data often masks the critical details you need to make informed SEO decisions. This is one reason many marketers argue that Google search rank and position tracking is a mess, especially when performance is reduced to a single blended number without segmentation.
The Flaws of the Average Position Metric
The average position metric can be deceptive because it smooths over significant variations in your rankings. Let’s break down the factors that make this number less reliable than it appears on the surface.
1. Personalization and Localization Distort the Data
Google’s search results are anything but static. They are highly personalized based on a user’s search history, location, device, and even the time of day. A user in New York searching for “best pizza” will see different results than a user in Chicago. Similarly, someone who frequently visits food blogs will get different recommendations than someone who doesn’t.
GSC’s average position lumps all these different experiences together. Your site might rank at position 2 for users in your target city, but at position 40 for everyone else. Your average position might then show up as 21, a number that accurately represents neither scenario and offers no actionable insight.
2. Device Type Creates Ranking Variance
Rankings often differ significantly between desktop and mobile devices. Google has been a mobile-first indexing company for years, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your content for indexing and ranking. A website that is perfectly optimized for desktop but clunky on mobile will likely rank much lower for mobile users.
Let’s say you rank at position 4 on desktop but position 12 on mobile for a high-value keyword. If mobile searches account for 70% of the impressions for that query, your average position will be heavily skewed toward the lower mobile ranking. The GSC report might show an average position of 9 or 10, completely hiding your strong performance on desktop.
This is one of the core reasons why relying purely on ranking data can be misleading. While there are clear benefits of regular rank tracking for SEO growth, those benefits only materialize when rankings are segmented by device, location, and intent rather than averaged into a single blended metric.
3. The Impact of Rich Results and SERP Features
The Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is no longer a simple list of ten blue links. Today, it’s a dynamic space filled with Featured Snippets, People Also Ask boxes, image packs, video carousels, and local packs. These features push traditional organic results further down the page, even if their “position” is high.
Your website could hold the number one organic position for a query, but if that position is below a Featured Snippet, three “People Also Ask” questions, and a video carousel, are you truly in the top spot? A user might not even scroll far enough to see your link. The average position metric fails to account for the actual visibility and click-through potential in a crowded SERP.
4. Keyword Cannibalization Muddies the Waters
Sometimes, multiple pages on your own website compete for the same keyword. This is known as keyword cannibalization. For example, you might have two different blog posts about “how to create a budget.”
When a user searches for that term, Google might show one of your pages at position 5 one day and the other page at position 15 the next. GSC might average these out and report an average position of 10. This hides the fact that one page performs reasonably well while the other performs poorly, preventing you from identifying the opportunity to consolidate or de-optimize the weaker page.
This is also where understanding the use of Google Search Console for better writing becomes essential. By analyzing query-level data and identifying which pages compete for the same terms, content teams can refine messaging, merge overlapping content, and strengthen topical authority instead of unintentionally splitting ranking signals.
Better Metrics for Measuring SEO Performance
If the average position is so flawed, what should you focus on instead? A more holistic approach involves looking at a combination of metrics that tell a more complete story.
Clicks and Impressions
These are the foundational metrics of search performance.
Impressions: This tells you how many times your URL was shown to a user in the search results. A high number of impressions means you are appearing for relevant queries, which is the first step toward visibility.
Clicks: This shows how many users actually clicked on your link. This is the ultimate goal: driving traffic to your site.
Tracking the relationship between impressions and clicks gives you your Click-Through Rate (CTR). A rising number of impressions with stagnant or declining clicks could signal that your title tags and meta descriptions aren’t compelling enough, or that SERP features are stealing your traffic.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is the percentage of impressions that result in a click. It is a powerful indicator of how well your search result snippet resonates with users. A low CTR for a high-ranking page suggests your message isn’t hitting the mark. Is your title engaging? Does your meta description promise a solution to the user’s problem? Analyzing CTR helps you optimize these critical elements to attract more visitors.
Top-Ranking Queries and Pages
Instead of obsessing over an overall average, dig deeper into the performance of specific queries and pages. GSC allows you to filter your performance report to see which search terms are driving the most traffic. Are you ranking for the keywords that matter most to your business?
Look at your top pages. Which pages receive the most clicks and impressions? Focusing on optimizing these high-performers can often yield better results than trying to improve your site’s overall average position. For example, if a page ranks at position 8 but has a high CTR, a little push could move it into the top 5 and significantly increase its traffic.
A More Strategic Approach to SEO
Shifting your focus away from the vanity metric of average position allows you to adopt a more strategic and effective SEO workflow. Use GSC to identify opportunities, not just to admire a single number. Filter your data by device, country, and query to understand the nuances of your performance.
Look for pages with high impressions but low CTR. These are your prime candidates for optimization. Test new title tags and meta descriptions to make them more compelling. Analyze the SERP for those queries. Are rich results dominating the page? If so, you might need to adjust your content strategy to target those features directly.
Final Thoughts
While Google Search Console’s Average Position offers a quick, high-level snapshot of search visibility, it is not a reliable indicator of overall SEO success. Because rankings vary based on personalization, location, device type, and increasingly complex SERP features, the metric often presents a blended average that doesn’t accurately reflect what users are actually seeing. This can create a misleading impression of performance and lead businesses to focus on the wrong priorities.
At The Ocean Marketing, we believe effective SEO goes beyond surface-level numbers and centers on metrics that directly impact growth, including clicks, impressions, CTR, and the performance of individual pages and queries. A data-driven approach provides clearer insight into what’s truly working and where optimization efforts should be directed. By analyzing meaningful engagement and conversion signals rather than relying solely on average rankings, businesses can make smarter decisions that drive sustainable organic growth. If you’re ready to move beyond simplified metrics and build a strategy rooted in measurable performance, start with a free SEO audit to uncover real opportunities for improvement. Contact us today to learn how we can help unlock your website’s full potential.
Marcus D began his digital marketing career in 2009, specializing in SEO and online visibility. He has helped over 3,000 websites boost traffic and rankings through SEO, web design, content, and PPC strategies. At The Ocean Marketing, he continues to use his expertise to drive measurable growth for businesses.
