Ranking is the position a page holds in a search engine's organic results for a specific query. Google works it out for every search, so the same page can appear in different places depending on the query, the location and the device of the person searching.
Ranking is a page's position in search results: how Google decides it and how to measure it in Search Console.
What ranking means
In digital marketing, ranking refers to a page's position among the organic results, the ones Google does not charge for. The word is also used as a verb: a page "ranks" for a query when it appears in the results for that search. Spanish speakers often say posicionamiento for the same idea.
The word turns up in two contexts that are worth keeping apart. Organic ranking depends on Google's search systems, and according to Google no one can pay to improve it. Ad Rank orders paid ads in a separate auction. The signals that influence organic ranking have their own entry: ranking factor.
How it works
Google describes three stages: crawling pages, indexing them and serving results. Ranking happens in the last one. When someone searches, Google looks through its index for matching pages and returns the ones it considers most relevant and of the highest quality. According to Google, relevance depends on hundreds of factors, including the location, language and device of the person searching.
On its How Search Works site, Google groups these factors into five: the meaning of the query, the relevance of the content, its quality, its usability, and the user's context and settings. As one quality signal, it mentions whether other prominent websites link to or refer to the content. Its guide to ranking systems adds a detail: the site diversity system generally does not show more than two listings from the same site in the top results.
Position is measured in Search Console. Each element on the results page occupies one position, whether it holds one link or many, so a carousel or an AI Overview counts as a single position. For each query, Search Console takes the topmost position the site reached and then averages that across all queries. If one query shows the site at positions 2, 4 and 6 and another at 3, 5 and 9, the average position is (2 + 3) / 2 = 2.5.
How Search Console counts the average position, using Google's own example.
crawlingindexingserving resultsranking happens here
1 element = 1 positiona carousel or an AI Overview too, even though it holds many links
topmost position per query: countsother positions of the site: don't count
One query
1
2site
3
4site
5
6site
7
8
9
Another
1
2
3site
4
5site
6
7
8
9site
(2 + 3) / 2 = 2.5average position
Per query only the site's best spot counts; the others stay out of the average.
Why it matters
Position decides whether a result is seen at all. Search Console records a position only when the result got an impression: if the page is on the third page of results and the user only looks at the first, that search leaves neither an impression nor a position.
The number is also easy to misread. Google warns that average position is a complex metric: in a desktop search, a value of 11 could be the knowledge panel at the top right or the first result on page two. That is why it recommends watching changes over time, especially sudden ones, as well as the absolute value.
Searching for yourself is not a check either. According to Google, the result of any single search depends on search history, location and other factors, so it can differ from the average position in the report.
Best practices
Measure position in Search Console, by query and by page, instead of searching by hand.
Compare time periods and look for sudden changes, as Google recommends.
Check which page appears for each query, not only at which position.
Read position together with impressions and CTR.
Work on the relevance and quality of the content, which Google lists among its factors.
Common mistakes
Confusing organic ranking with the ranking of paid ads.
Taking average position as the exact place in one particular search.
Checking position by searching yourself while signed in to Google.
Paying someone who promises a higher ranking: according to Google, organic ranking cannot be bought.
Expecting a fixed position when it changes with the query, location and device.
Manuel Riveiro RodriguezCEO & Digital Strategist
A technical audit covers this and everything else in one pass.
It is the position a page holds in a search engine's organic results for a query. It should not be confused with Ad Rank, which orders paid ads.
How does Search Console calculate average position?
For each query it takes the topmost position the site reached, then averages that across all queries. A carousel or an AI Overview occupies a single position, even if it contains several links.
Why does my own search show a different position from the report?
The report shows an average across all searches. According to Google, each individual search depends on search history, location and other factors, so it can give a different result.
Can you pay to rank higher on Google?
No. Google states that it does not accept payment to rank pages higher and that ranking is done programmatically. Ads appear separately and are labeled as ads.
Which factors decide ranking?
Google speaks of hundreds of factors and groups them into the meaning of the query, the relevance, quality and usability of the content, and the searcher's context. The ranking factor entry explains which ones Google has confirmed by name and date.
