Metric Definitions

Rank alone no longer describes a SERP. Nozzle also measures how much of the page you cover, how far down it you appear, and how much traffic that is likely to earn you. This page defines each metric on your dashboards. To choose which ones a dashboard shows, see How do I add or remove metrics on a dashboard?

Rank

The average rank of your top-ranking result on each SERP. Nozzle counts only your best result on each SERP, so ranking in positions 1, 3, and 25 for the same search does not drag your average down.

The average also has to account for SERPs where you don't rank. Nozzle collects the top 5 pages (50-60 results), and a SERP where you don't appear counts as rank 101. That way a site that ranks 5th for a couple of keywords, out of the thousands you track, doesn't show up as one of the top-ranking sites.

In the Keywords table, the Rank column sometimes shows a second, gray number. That is the Item Rank: your position within a pack or SERP feature, such as a local pack, a product pack, or an image pack.

Base Rank

Rank counting only traditional organic results and featured snippets. It ignores ads, People Also Ask boxes, and other SERP features. See What is Base Rank?

Pixels from Top

The average distance, in pixels, from the top of the SERP to your highest-ranking result. If you rank more than once for the same search, Nozzle uses only your best measurement, since you shouldn't be penalized for having multiple listings.

To average correctly across SERPs where you don't rank, Nozzle counts each of them as 30,000 pixels. That removes the noise from sites that rank well for only one or two keywords. Pixels From Top – A Nozzle Feature explains why the metric matters.

Above the Fold Percentage

Above the Fold % is the share of the SERP's above-the-fold space that your results occupy, by pixel coverage. Nozzle renders each SERP at a common desktop or mobile resolution and measures which pixels are visible without scrolling. Each result's coverage includes the white space around it. For a group of keywords, Above the Fold % is the average across the group.

SERP Percentage

SERP % is the share of the whole SERP that your results occupy, by pixel coverage. Nozzle renders each SERP and measures the height and width of every result, including the white space around it, then compares each result's coverage with the coverage of all the results on the page. SERP % is not weighted by position. For a group of keywords, it is the average across the group.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The estimated share of searchers who click each result. Nozzle starts from a base CTR curve for each device type, built from recent research and clickstream data, then adjusts each result for its position, its type of SERP feature, and the features around it on that SERP. How does Nozzle calculate CTR? walks through the model.

Estimated Traffic

An estimate of the monthly search traffic each domain receives, from the keyword's monthly search volume and the click-through rates on its SERP. It is summed across every result the domain has on the same SERP. See How does Nozzle calculate Estimated Traffic?

PPC Value

An estimate of what you would have to spend on PPC ads to get the same search traffic: Estimated Traffic multiplied by the keyword's cost per click.

Search Volume

The number of monthly searches for the keyword in the location you are tracking, from the Google Ads API. See How does Nozzle calculate Search Volume?, and Why does search volume show zero sometimes? if it reads 0.

Keywords

The number of unique keywords each domain ranks for at least once. By default that means anywhere in the top 5 pages (50-60 results) Nozzle collects; you can filter it down to, for example, only the top 10 or top 20.

Unique URLs

The number of unique URLs ranking on each SERP.

Results

The number of individual results each domain has. Any link on the SERP, however small, counts as a result. An organic listing with two sitelinks, plus an image in an image pack for the same search, is 4 results.