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Why a drop in average rank is a good thing
Why a drop in average rank is a good thing

Lower average rankings could be a sign of growth

Sidra Condron avatar
Written by Sidra Condron
Updated over 8 months ago

Wait, I did everything right and my page's average rank dropped?

Not only is it fairly common, it's a sign of growth.

As your improved page grows, it will start to rank for new keywords. Those new keywords will have lower ranks than what you're reaching on your more established keywords. That drops your average.

Why does my average rank fall when I update my page?

Here's a bike touring company that improved their page titled 3 to 4 Day Bike Tours. Originally, that page ranked for 4 keywords--three of them on the first page. Those 4 keywords ran an average rank of 7.25.
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After improvements, the page gained in all 4 of those keywords. It also ranked for new keywords that it hadn't before--coming in on the 2nd and 3rd pages for most of those.

Before

After

bike touring

4

2

road bike tours

14

8

bike tours

3

1

bicycle tours near me

8

3

luxury cycling holidays

new

23

bike riding tours

new

18

family bike trips

new

19

family bike tours

new

16

long family bicycle trips

new

12

adventure bicycle riding

new

39

day bike

new

35

Average Rank

7.25

16

In this example the page did not lose position on any keyword, but its average rank dropped from 7.25 to 16.

Had you measured only the original 4 keywords, your average rank would have gone from 7.25 to 3.5.

The page grew and improved. It jumped ranks on important keywords and gained more clicks and impressions. It's a success story.
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One way to gut check this is to spot the growth in your Impressions, Clicks, and Number of Keywords.

If you are an agency presenting to clients or an in-house team rolling up to the executive team, be sure to include Impressions and Clicks in your reporting.

Ranks are only a step toward higher clicks (traffic) and impressions (brand exposure). Ranks don't earn you a dime, but traffic can convert into a paying customer. As you improve your content, be mindful of the value that you continue to build.

It's still important to track the individual ranks of your most important keywords. A commitment to ongoing content improvement will help you stay on top of significant rank changes, as they are an indicator of performance when they're singled out.

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