Average position is where your site typically appeared in Google’s results for a search, averaged over every time it appeared. In RankDots it is the Rank column. Lower is better: 1.0 means you were the first result every time. It comes from your Google Search Console, so it is measured, not estimated.
Where you’ll see it
On the Keywords and Pages screens, Rank sits next to Clicks, Impressions and CTR. Rank covers searches in all countries; Rank by country covers only the country you chose when you created the project. Both show a Connect GSC button until Search Console is connected.
Why it is an average
Your position is not one fixed number. It changes from day to day, between countries, devices and searchers. Search Console records the highest position your site held each time it appeared, and averages them over the last 28 days. A page’s Rank is the average of its keywords’ Rank.
What the average hides
- Swings. A page that was first for half the month and near the bottom of the first page for the rest averages somewhere in between - a position it never actually held.
- Rare appearances. A good rank built on a handful of impressions says little. Read Rank alongside impressions.
- Weak keywords inside a strong page. A page’s Rank is a simple average of its keywords, so one keyword near the top and another far down can average out to a middling figure. Check the keywords in the page’s details.
- Country differences. The all-countries Rank mixes markets; Rank by country shows your project’s market on its own, and the two can differ a lot.
How to read it
Ranks around 1 to 3 earn most of the clicks. If CTR is low there, look at the title - see What is click-through rate?
Ranks just below the top are often the quickest wins: a better page can move up a few places and gain a lot. Opportunities recommendations call this being “within striking distance”.
Ranks beyond the first page bring few visits, however many impressions they have.
How we get it
RankDots reads Rank (average position) from Search Console with your clicks and impressions, per keyword, for the last 28 days. It is not refreshed automatically; start a rescan from Opportunities to update it.
What it doesn’t tell you
- Who ranks above you. The Google Top 20 column shows that - but as a snapshot from project creation, so it can differ from your 28-day Rank.
- Your position today. Rank is an average of the last 28 days before your last rescan.
- Your place in AI answers. Position in AI Visibility is a different metric: your place among the brands an AI answer mentions.