Published November, 8th 2019
by Jim Flint
If you hadn’t heard, Google removed the Average Page Position from reporting.
As Google’s intent-based advertising platform reaches issues with “scale,” the departure does make sense. When a demand model meets its logical limit, it has to maneuver to different supply-side metrics.
What do I mean?
The supply of searches is ample. As Google continues to bring relevance the last thing Google wants advertisers to sample is the more economical #2 spot. Who–in a competitive industry–has ever wanted to be #2 and actually won the game? I’m sure there’s an example somewhere.
Please comment below if you can think of one.
However, at a logical limit—aka a rational business model limit–advertisers have been recommending that clients look to lock-in that #2 spot as a value proposition to keep the cost per click down.
Presto! Chango! Google’s removed the value proposition from the equation, and a more salient and trackable goal is to be #1! It has its merits.
But for the value-conscious among you, the best replacement metric is “Absolute Top of Page Position”.
With all the available site extensions, it’s one of the more important metrics to know in a “looking forward” grab as much real estate as I smartly can kind of way. By buying the top spot, you gain more screen space, more relevance, and ultimately more meaningful clicks in moments that matter.
While Average Page Position won’t be terribly missed, it does open up the idea that other metrics should be removed. I vote that Google considers removing Bounce Rate since it’s poorly defined and is routinely manipulated by Internet Service Provider.
Clients, marketers, and advertisers — which metric would you like to see Google remove next?