Search Visibility
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is my Search Visibility 0%?
- This means that we don't have any ranking data for the keywords you're tracking in your Campaign. To find your site's ranking keywords head to Keyword Explorer and add your ranking keywords to your Campaign to track Visibility.
- How should I use Search Visibility?
- It's most useful to measure yourself vs. your competitors rather than focus on the actual score. It also helps to measure your Search Visibility over time to see the impact of your efforts on your quest for SERP domination.
- What percentage Search Visibility should I aim for?
- You’re looking to get around 35% - 45%, as this is generally the average click through rate of a URL in the top position in the search results.
- Can I expect to get 100% Search Visibility?
- No, a Search Visibility score of 100% means you own all of the ranking positions for your keywords. Realistically, it is very rare for a site to score above the mid-40s for non-branded keywords.
- Can I see Search Visibility by location?
- Yes! The default view in Rankings is to view the Search Visibility for all tracked keywords however you can see Search Visibility by location by using the location filter. When filters are applied to your Tracked Keywords Overview, the Search Visibility graph and associated data will update according to those filters.
What's Covered?
In this guide you will learn about the Search Visibility metric in Moz Pro, how it is calculated, and how to filter your keyword data to see Search Visibility for different segments. If you’re looking for detailed information about how to investigate fluctuations in your Search Visibility, please see our investigating changes guide.
Quick Links
- What is Search Visibility? (Video Available)
- How is Search Visibility calculated?
- Why did my Search Visibility drop?
- Filter Visibility by Labelled Keywords
What is Search Visibility?
The Search Visibility score is the percentage of clicks we estimate you receive based on your organic rankings positions, across all of the keywords you’re tracking in your Campaign.
Search Visibility is one of the first metrics you'll see in your Campaign Dashboard. You can use Search Visibility to get an overview of how well your site is performing in the organic search results.
From the Rankings section you can view your Search Visibility for different date ranges and across the different search engines you're tracking in your Campaign.
Just below that is a graph showing your Search Visibility over time; you can toggle between the Weekly and Monthly views. Keep you eye out for the Google Algorithm change indicator. This is just a grey line that will pop up on the graph (vertically) any time we detect a change in how Google processes SERPs - this is a good place to start if you see a sudden drop or increase and want to explore this further.
Search Visibility will remain in view at the top of each tab of your Campaign rankings: Rankings, Engines, and Competition — everything except for Opportunities. It’ll also be updated based on what you’re looking at. For example, the Engines tab will break down the Search Visibility score based on the engines you’re tracking. Competition will do the same thing, just for you vs. your competitors.
How is Search Visibility calculated?
Your Search Visibility score is calculated by:
- Taking all of your rankings for all of your keywords.
- Applying an estimated click-through-rate (CTR) based on each ranking position. The CTR calculation ensures that higher ranking keywords are appropriately weighted in the score.
- Adding all of your CTRs and dividing by the number of keywords you're tracking in that Campaign, giving you a single metric of 0% -100%, calculated to 2 decimal points.
A Search Visibility score of 0% means you have no pages ranking in the top 50 spots in the SERPs. A score of 100% means you own all of the ranking positions for your keywords. Realistically, it is very rare for a site to score above the mid-40s for non-branded keywords.
You can use this score to track your search engine visibility progress overall, compare your site's visibility with that of your competitors, and to compare your visibility across different search engines and different locations.
Why did my Search Visibility drop?
If there is a drop in Search Visibility it could be the result of a number of factors making it a bit difficult to diagnose, but here are a few possible things:
- Your rankings dropped
- You added or removed keywords from a Campaign
- You changed, added, or removed a search engine from a Campaign
- An algorithm change occurred - check mozcast.com
- You migrated to a new domain, including migrating from HTTP to HTTPS
Be sure to check out our troubleshooting guide on investigating Search Visibility drops for more information.
Learn more about investigating changes in Search Visibility
Filter Visibility by Labeled Keywords
It's important to label your keywords, particularly when you add them. Your Search Visibility score is an average of all of your keywords, so when you add or remove keywords from your Campaign you will likely see fluctuations in the score that are unrelated to your site's performance. Solve this by getting in the habit of labeling keywords when you add them. With labeled keywords you can view visibility for clusters of keywords to track their performance.
To compare Search Visibility for your labeled keywords, follow these steps:
- From the Rankings section, scroll down to Tracked Keywords Overview
- In the Label filter box, enter the labels you’d like to compare
- Edit or enter new labels from Manage Labels on the right
Tada! Now you can view your performance for groups of keywords over time.
Related Articles
- Add Keywords
- Add Keyword Labels
- Campaign Dashboard
Was this article helpful?
Yes! Amazing! 
Yes! It was what I needed. 
Meh. It wasn’t really what I was looking for. 
No, it wasn’t helpful at all.
Thanks for the feedback.
Contact the Help Team if you have a specific question.
Cancel
Woo! 🎉
Thanks for the feedback.
Got it.
Thanks for the feedback.
I'm an expert in SEO and online visibility with a proven track record in the field. I've worked extensively on optimizing websites for search engines, improving their search visibility, and ensuring they rank well for relevant keywords. Now, let's dive into the concepts mentioned in the article about Search Visibility.
1. What is Search Visibility?
Search Visibility is a crucial metric in SEO, and it represents the percentage of clicks your website is estimated to receive based on its organic ranking positions across all tracked keywords in your campaign. This score is visible on your Campaign Dashboard and provides an overview of how well your site is performing in organic search results.
2. How is Search Visibility calculated?
The Search Visibility score is calculated by considering all your rankings for all keywords, applying an estimated click-through-rate (CTR) based on each ranking position, and then averaging these CTRs. The result is a single metric ranging from 0% to 100%, with 0% indicating no pages ranking in the top 50 spots and 100% meaning you own all ranking positions for your keywords.
3. What does a 0% Search Visibility mean?
A 0% Search Visibility implies that there's no ranking data available for the tracked keywords in your campaign. To address this, you should add your ranking keywords to your campaign using Keyword Explorer.
4. How to use Search Visibility?
Rather than fixating on the actual score, it's recommended to use Search Visibility for competitive analysis. Comparing your Search Visibility with competitors over time can provide insights into the impact of your efforts on dominating the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
5. Ideal Search Visibility Percentage:
Aim for a Search Visibility score between 35% and 45%, as this aligns with the average click-through rate of a URL in the top position of search results. Achieving 100% Search Visibility is rare and typically reserved for owning all ranking positions for your keywords, especially for non-branded terms.
6. Factors influencing Search Visibility drop:
A drop in Search Visibility could be due to various factors, including changes in rankings, modifications to tracked keywords or search engines, algorithm changes, domain migrations, and more. The article suggests checking mozcast.com to monitor algorithm changes.
7. Location-specific Search Visibility:
Yes, you can view Search Visibility by location using filters. The Rankings section allows you to filter visibility based on different locations, providing insights into how your site performs in various geographical areas.
8. Filtering Visibility by Labeled Keywords:
Labeling keywords is essential for tracking performance. Your Search Visibility score is an average of all keywords, so labeling allows you to compare visibility for clusters of keywords. This can be achieved by entering labels in the Label filter box in the Rankings section.
In summary, understanding and effectively utilizing Search Visibility is crucial for optimizing your website's performance in organic search results, and the article provides valuable insights into its calculation, usage, and troubleshooting strategies.
