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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Starting today, we're updating our Top Search Queries feature to make it better match expectations
about search engine rankings. Previously we reported the average position of all URLs from your
site for a given query. As of today, we'll instead average only the top position that a URL from
your site appeared in.
An example
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.
We anticipate that this new method of calculation will more accurately match your expectations
about how a link's position in Google Search results should be reported.
How will this affect my Top Search Queries data?
This change will affect your Top Search Queries data going forward.
Historical data will not change. Note that the change in calculation means that the Average
Position metric will usually stay the same or decrease, as we will no longer be averaging in
lower-ranking URLs.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle's Top Search Queries feature is being updated to better reflect search engine rankings by only averaging the highest position a website's URL appears in for a given query.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis update provides a more accurate representation of a website's average position in search results, typically resulting in the same or a lower average position compared to the previous calculation method.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe update only affects future Top Search Queries data; historical data remains unchanged.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can access the updated Top Search Queries data within Google Webmaster Tools and can also download it programmatically.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The Top Search Queries feature's calculation method for Average Position is updated. Instead of averaging all URL positions for a given query, it now averages only the highest position per search. Historical data remains unchanged, but future data will reflect this new method. Consequently, the Average Position metric will likely stay the same or decrease. This change aims to more accurately reflect search engine rankings. Users can access and download updated data.\n"],null,["Wednesday, January 25, 2012\n\n\nStarting today, we're updating our Top Search Queries feature to make it better match expectations\nabout search engine rankings. Previously we reported the average position of all URLs from your\nsite for a given query. As of today, we'll instead average only the top position that a URL from\nyour site appeared in.\n\nAn example\n\n\nLet's say Nick searched for \"bacon\" and URLs from your site appeared in positions 3, 6, and 12.\nJane also searched for \"bacon\" and URLs from your site appeared in positions 5 and 9. Previously,\nwe would have averaged all these positions together and shown an Average Position of 7. Going\nforward, we'll only average the highest position your site appeared in for each search (3 for\nNick's search and 5 for Jane's search), for an Average Position of 4.\n\n\nWe anticipate that this new method of calculation will more accurately match your expectations\nabout how a link's position in Google Search results should be reported.\n\nHow will this affect my Top Search Queries data?\n\n\nThis change will affect your Top Search Queries data going forward.\n**Historical data will not change.** Note that the change in calculation means that the Average\nPosition metric will usually stay the same or decrease, as we will no longer be averaging in\nlower-ranking URLs.\n\n\n[Check out the updated Top Search Queries data](https://google.com/webmasters/tools/home)\nin the Your site on the web section of Webmaster Tools. And remember, you can also\n[download Top Search Queries data programmatically](/search/blog/2011/12/download-search-queries-data-using)!\n\n\nWe look forward to providing you a more representative picture of your Google Search data. Let us\nknow what you think in our\n[Webmaster Forum](https://support.google.com/webmasters/community).\n\n\nPosted by\n[Chris Anderson](https://plus.google.com/107151885064924654655/about),\nGoogle Analytics team, and\n[Susan Moskwa](/search/blog/authors/susan-moskwa),\nWebmaster Trends Analyst"]]
