What Is Average Position?
Average position is a metric in Google Search Console that shows the mean rank of your pages across all search queries where they received impressions. If your homepage appeared at position 2 for one query and position 8 for another, your average position would be 5. Google calculates this by averaging the highest position your page held for each query in the selected date range.
It is important to understand that average position reflects rank across all queries combined, not just your best-performing ones. A single page can have dozens or hundreds of queries contributing to its average, and each one is weighted equally in the calculation. This means a page with a handful of strong top-3 rankings can still show an average position of 15 if it also ranks on page 2 or 3 for many other related terms.
Google changed how average position is reported in Search Console in 2019, aligning it more closely with the actual position on screen rather than a generalised rank number. SERP features such as featured snippets, knowledge panels, and image carousels affect where organic results appear visually, which can make the reported average position feel higher or lower than the actual user experience.
For South African businesses tracking organic search performance, average position is a useful trend metric. A consistent improvement from position 14 to position 7 over three months indicates that your SEO efforts are moving content in the right direction. However, it should always be read alongside impressions and organic CTR, because a high average position with low impressions may mean you rank well for queries very few people search.
Average Position In Practice
A Pretoria-based law firm running an SEO campaign publishes a series of blog posts targeting questions South Africans commonly search before consulting a lawyer. After three months, their Search Console data shows an average position of 18.4 for the entire site. This initially looks discouraging, but when they filter by their target keywords they see their primary landing pages rank between positions 4 and 9 for high-value queries.
The low overall average is being pulled down by dozens of informational blog posts ranking between positions 20 and 50 as Google begins to index them. This is a normal pattern for growing sites. The SEO team focuses on the queries driving the most impressions and clicks, identifies pages sitting at positions 8 to 15, and prioritises those for content updates, internal linking improvements, and title tag refinements. Over the following two months, several pages move from position 12 to position 5, which doubles their organic CTR and brings in measurably more enquiry form submissions from prospective clients.
FAQ
What is a good average position in Google Search Console?
A good average position is between 1 and 10, placing your page on the first results page. Positions 1 to 3 attract the most clicks. For South African businesses, even moving from position 15 to position 8 can significantly increase organic traffic and enquiries.
Why did my average position drop even though traffic increased?
Average position is a mean across all queries, including newly indexed low-ranking pages. Adding content that ranks between positions 40 and 60 pulls the average down even as more pages become visible and drive incremental clicks and traffic to your site.