Average SERP rank vs competitors
also called Average rankavg_rankWeighted position
Definition
The impression-weighted average results-page position your site holds on a tracked keyword, read side by side with the same figure for tracked competitors.
How it's calculated
One read of the rank-tracking dataset returns keyword, competitor domain and average rank for every tracked domain in the segment; the roster marks which of those domains is yours. Rows are split by domain into per-keyword maps and sorted ascending, so the best positions lead. The verb states the contract in its own payload: average rank is impression-weighted position, lower is better, and it is distinct from share of voice. The semantic layer defines the position itself as the sum of position weighted by impressions over total impressions, wrapped so that a keyword with no impressions returns zero rather than null.
Scope, grain and dimensions
- Grain
- One keyword × domain × segment × period × medium.
- Dimensions
- keyword · competitor domain · device · country · brand
- Required filters
- segment_id · selected_period · source_medium
- Aggregation
- Never summed. Averaging across keywords discards the demand behind each one, see the separate overall figure and its caveats.
- Metric type
- rank · results-page position (1 is best; higher is worse)
Data sources
Where you'll see this
Named reports that normally include this metric.
Skills and analyses that use it
Skills carry the judgment; the analysis verbs do the reading.
Analysis verbs
competitive_keyword_rankingcompetitive_trends
Method rungs and levers
A rung tells you what a movement here can and cannot explain, read the rungs below it first.
Ask Quattr
- "Where do we rank against rivals on these keywords?" Simulate this →
- "Which keywords do we hold the best positions on?" Simulate this →
- "Which of our positions are worst on mobile?" Simulate this →
How to read it
The plainest competitive read available: one number per keyword per domain, on the same observation for everyone. Impression weighting means a keyword's figure is dominated by the device, geography and day mix that actually generated impressions, so a position that moves without any ranking change is usually a mix shift.
Caveats, freshness and failure modes
A keyword with no impressions in the period comes back as rank zero, not null: the semantic layer wraps the ratio in a zero default. Zero is not a position, and an ascending sort puts it first, so a raw row carrying 0 is an absence of data dressed as best-in-class.
The underlying read is capped at five thousand keyword-and-domain rows across every tracked domain in the segment, so a wide segment or a long roster truncates the keyword set before any of these figures are computed.
Positions come from the rank-tracking dataset, which is a different surface from the share family, a domain can hold good positions and little share, and the reverse.
Only tracked keywords and tracked domains appear; a keyword outside the segment has no row rather than a bad position.
Rows with no position are excluded before the best and worst lists are built, so an empty list means no ranked rows, but that filter protects only those lists, not the raw rows.
Device and country filters change the impression mix and therefore the weighted value; comparing across filter settings compares different populations.
- Freshness
- ~1 day behind, Daily observation, available the following day.
Common failure modes
- Reading a position improvement as a traffic gain without checking the demand behind the keyword.
- Comparing a filtered read with an unfiltered one and narrating the mix shift as movement.
Not the same as
The confusions that cause the most wrong decisions.
Average SERP rank vs competitors Search market share Compare definitions →
Impression-weighted position on a keyword versus CTR-modeled share of tracked demand, different explores, different denominators, and they move independently.
Average SERP rank vs competitors Overall average rank Compare definitions →
This is per keyword; the overall figure averages those per-keyword values without re-weighting by demand.
Average SERP rank vs competitors Your rank in the standings Compare definitions →
That is a search-results position on keywords; this is a position in a share league table. Different explores, different meaning of the number one.
Average SERP rank vs competitors Competitor share by rank bucket Compare definitions →
Average rank is one number per keyword; this distributes share across ranking bands. Position is the axis here, not the measurement.
Related metrics and workflows
Verification
A definition is the smallest part of this.
The measurement matters because something acts on it. Here is the rest of the showcase, in the order most people find useful.