Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Check yours now
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Reporting & Analytics
    4. Google Analytics - Average Position

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Google Analytics - Average Position

    Reporting & Analytics
    5
    7
    6795
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • Cocoonfxmedia
      Cocoonfxmedia last edited by

      Hi

      Just trying to get some clarity on Google Analytics Average Positions in "Aquistions/Search Engine Optimisation".

      For a very competitive keyword Google Analytics is saying i am on average position of 6.  Is this Page 6?  I am assuming position six would be 1.6?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Travis_Bailey
        Travis_Bailey @Cocoonfxmedia last edited by

        There are a lot of factors that can influence where a page may rank for a given query. One of the largest differences would be a query that seems to have local intent. If I search 'pizza', there's a good chance I don't care about the history of pizza. I want a pizza place near me.

        So if we skip over the map pack, I see Pizza Hut, Domino's and Andy's. There's no way Andy's should rank #3 organic for 'pizza' for everyone in the United States. It only has three locations in my home town. So it might rank... maybe 403 for everyone outside of my hometown (just for the sake of argument, and ease of calculation). Perhaps it ranks a little higher for someone just outside the city limits... let's say... #8 organic. But that #8 doesn't matter. It's the highest and the lowest rank.

        3+403=406/2=203 So the average position for 'pizza' is #203. If you drop that number in front of Andy after paying you for months, he won't be happy. That's why you'll have to tell Andy that it's a high/low average based upon a complicated algorithm, and that he can easily see he ranks #3 organic when Google knows your approximate location.

        As for the average position you see above all of the queries in Google Analytics, that's just an X-bar-bar. X-bar-bar is the average of averages. You simply add up all the average positions and divide by the number of keywords. You'll see the number is pretty close.

        It helps if you have a little background in statistics or statistical process control. In case that was clear as mud, here's something on basic SPC that can help you better understand the calculations in GA. I was a machinist, prior to all this internet marketing nonsense. 😉 It helps.

        Edit: One thing I forgot to mention: If an average position still seems off - set the secondary dimension to Country. I've found instances where sites show up for queries in foreign countries. This is despite explicit national targeting in Google Search Console.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • anthonydnelson
          anthonydnelson @Cocoonfxmedia last edited by

          This is the Average Position for your Search Impressions.

          Example: Locally, you got 500 impressions at average position of 6.0. Nationally, you got 0 impressions at 122. It would report 500 impressions at an average position of 6.0.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Cocoonfxmedia
            Cocoonfxmedia @Alick300 last edited by

            What you've put makes sense, and I understand what google are showing now. but the calculation doesn't make much sense.

            Great Answer thank you.

            Travis_Bailey 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Alick300
              Alick300 last edited by

              Hi,

              I'm not agree with Lawrence on this . Calculation of Average position in Google search console under 'Search analytics' tab or in "Aquistions/Search Engine Optimisation" is complicated. Google changes definition in 2012 and Here is how Google explains it:

              Let’s say Nick searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 3, 6, and 12. Jane also searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 5 and 9. Previously, we would have averaged all these positions together and shown an Average Position of 7. Going forward, we’ll only average the highest position your site appeared in for each search (3 for Nick’s search and 5 for Jane’s search), for an Average Position of 4.

              Please also check this thread @ http://searchengineland.com/google-changes-definition-of-average-search-ranking-position-109289

              Hope this helps

              Thanks

              Cocoonfxmedia 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • Cocoonfxmedia
                Cocoonfxmedia @Laurensvda last edited by

                thought so... but I think it's wrong in Google as we're no way competing nationally or local for the said keyword.

                anthonydnelson 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Laurensvda
                  Laurensvda last edited by

                  No, pos. 6 is the sixth position on the first page.

                  Page six would generally be 61-70 depending on the type of SERP

                  Cocoonfxmedia 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                  • 1 / 1
                  • First post
                    Last post

                  Got a burning SEO question?

                  Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                  Start my free trial


                  Browse Questions

                  Explore more categories

                  • Moz Tools

                    Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                  • SEO Tactics

                    Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                  • Community

                    Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                  • Digital Marketing

                    Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                  • Research & Trends

                    Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                  • Support

                    Connect on product support and feature requests.

                  • See all categories

                  Related Questions

                  • cPanel-LLC.

                    How to change domains in Google Analytics without losing the data

                    Hi there, We recently changed our domain from .COM to .NET so that all our subdomains from external pages matched. Right now in Google Console we have our new .NET website being tracked, but in GA we are still tracking .COM. It is also causing issues with MOZ crawling our site because of the .COM/.NET discrepancy. My question is what is the best way to change our Google Analytics from .COM to .NET without losing historical data and what considerations do we need to change before implementing this? Our team was concerned that just downloading the old data would be too vast and it we wouldn't be able to continue manipulating it dynamically in GA. Thanks!!

                    Reporting & Analytics | | cPanel-LLC.
                    0
                  • SarahLK

                    Android Webview & Safari (in-app) without any referrer information in Google Analytics

                    I've got a client that gets a considerable amount of traffic that: Enters on an interior page (that we are running properly tagged ads for on various platforms) Bounces Has a browser of either Android Webview or Safari (in-app) which I believe indicates the website is being viewed within a mobile app Has no referrer data: (direct) / (none) We've tested several scenarios (Facebook app, Gmail app, etc.) and ruled them out. Anyone know what this might be? Thanks in advance!!

                    Reporting & Analytics | | SarahLK
                    0
                  • QRN

                    New GSC Search Analytics report: position mixes web and image

                    Dear all, I am auditing a site in Google Seach Console (GSC, formerly Google Webmaster Tools) and find the Position data in the new Search Analytics report very, very improbable. I suspect that even if you filter by "SearchType = web", the Position data does count the ranking of images in the Image search widget as a search position. Has anybody observed this as well? Here is the case: the site targets a quite broad search query in the bath room domain. I have made a number of searches with private browser sessions, different browsers, alternative IP address via a VPN, etc, and the look of the search result in the relevant geographical market is consistently the following. Three Adwords ads #1 organic result Images universal results widget #2-10 organic results The site’s first page ranks consistently around #15 of the organic results, hence on the second SERP. But it also consistently has an image in the Images universal results widget (usually #2 or #3). This is consistent with the data I have in Moz Analytics. Yet, the GSC Search Analytics report shows 2.2 as average position with the default SearchType=Web setting. I have done the search over and over, and never has a PAGE of the site ranked that high. Is there any public information how exactly the position is calculated? I mean, something more precise than the very general information on https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6155685?hl=en Is there any way to get the correct position/ranking? Thanks for sharing your experience!

                    Reporting & Analytics | | QRN
                    0
                  • Bio-RadAbs

                    Google Analytics: Different stats for date range vs single month?

                    I've been scratching my head, chin, and you name it over this one. I have an advanced segment to remove bot traffic from my data. When I look at the Audience Overview data for a single month (let's say Aug). I am shown a session count. No problems here, however If I set the date range to (January - August). The august monthly stats is incorrect, much lower. What this means is that, if I export a CSV report from Jan-Aug, the data is wrong compared to individually recording a month. Anyone faced this? I've asked the question over at the Google Analytics technical section as well, but no answer P.S I even used the 'control the number of sessions used to calculate this report' tool but no luck.

                    Reporting & Analytics | | Bio-RadAbs
                    0
                  • AdvanceSystems

                    Google Analytic - Is it possible to see which organic keyword triggered goals?

                    Hi, I am trying to see which of my Google organic keywords triggered my goals? In GA I click > Conversion > Goals > Overview > Source Medium (This then says where my goals came from but when I click Google / Organic it just brings me to the overview page of my organic traffic). Is it possible to see which organic keywords trigger goals?

                    Reporting & Analytics | | AdvanceSystems
                    0
                  • CeCeBar

                    Setting up Google Analytics default URL

                    If someone has set: the default url in Google Analytics to a non-www address (http://mysite.com) then placed the UA tracking script from that GA account within the CMS framework of the website... ... and then set the permanent 301 redirect in the htaccess file to redirect to the www address (http://www.mysite.com). How less accurrate will my GA analytics measurements be considering the default url within GA is non-www and the permanent 301 redirect in htacess is to the www-address? Anyone know how reliable GA reports are until the default url in GA analytics is changed to match what is the redirected url in htaccess file? _Cindy

                    Reporting & Analytics | | CeCeBar
                    0
                  • eMagineSEO

                    Google Analytics: Difference Between Goal Conversions & Goal Completions

                    When using Google Analytics, what is the difference between total goal conversions and total goal completions? We have many goals set up in a lead generation environment. Therefore, the only element of conversion is submitted a lead and arriving on the "Thank You" page. THose thank you pages are tagged accordingly. When we run reports though, the number of "Total Goal Conversions" and "Total Goal Completions" never match up.

                    Reporting & Analytics | | eMagineSEO
                    0
                  • ErinTM

                    How do shortened links show up in Google Analytics?

                    Hey, How do shortened links show up in GA? So if I tweet about something and use bitly, does twitter get the referral? I am thinking not. I have never seen bitly show up as a referrer, but we gets lots of clicks from those links. Hmmmm. Anyone? E

                    Reporting & Analytics | | ErinTM
                    0

                  Get started with Moz Pro!

                  Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                  Start my free trial
                  Products
                  • Moz Pro
                  • Moz Local
                  • Moz API
                  • Moz Data
                  • STAT
                  • Product Updates
                  Moz Solutions
                  • SMB Solutions
                  • Agency Solutions
                  • Enterprise Solutions
                  Free SEO Tools
                  • Domain Authority Checker
                  • Link Explorer
                  • Keyword Explorer
                  • Competitive Research
                  • Brand Authority Checker
                  • MozBar Extension
                  • MozCast
                  Resources
                  • Blog
                  • SEO Learning Center
                  • Help Hub
                  • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                  • How-to Guides
                  • Moz Academy
                  • API Docs
                  About Moz
                  • About
                  • Team
                  • Careers
                  • Contact
                  Why Moz
                  • Case Studies
                  • Testimonials
                  Get Involved
                  • Become an Affiliate
                  • MozCon
                  • Webinars
                  • Practical Marketer Series
                  • MozPod
                  Connect with us

                  Contact the Help team

                  Join our newsletter
                  Moz logo
                  © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                  • Accessibility
                  • Terms of Use
                  • Privacy

                  Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.