SEO Basics: What is the Visibility Index?

Search Engine Optimization without analysis? That is possible, but not useful. Because only if you know exactly the strengths and weaknesses of your website and follow the development over a longer period of time, you can take targeted measures. A central key figure in SEO analysis is the visibility index. We show you what insights the index holds for you and how you can improve it.

What does visibility index mean?

The visibility index shows how often and how well a page appears in Google search results. The more and the better rankings, the higher the visibility index and with it the visibility of the website. Often a high index is accompanied by a good traffic index.

What is a good visibility index?

The first question you will probably ask yourself when looking at your visibility index is: Is this value good or bad? Unfortunately, there is no general answer to this question. The search volume of the many analysed keywords and the search intentions of the users are simply too different.

In order to be able to classify the visibility index meaningfully, you should compare your own value therefore best with your direct competitors.

How meaningful is the visibility index?

The visibility index reflects no more and no less than the number and quality of your rankings. It is therefore an important key figure for assessing the success of your SEO measures and for discovering any influences of Google updates. However, it does not allow direct conclusions to be drawn about the development of traffic on your website.

Admittedly, in most cases an increased visibility index also goes hand in hand with rising visitor numbers. But there are exceptions.

For example, it can happen to you that your SEO efforts bear fruit in the middle of summer and the index rises as a result. Unfortunately, your customers are on vacation at that time, so website visits will decrease. Or you look at a low visibility index and still get more traffic than usual: for example, because Christmas is approaching and gifts are still being bought quickly in your online store.

Orientation to the visibility index can also be problematic if you are thematically located in a small niche. It is possible that common SEO tools then only control a few keywords that are relevant for your business — or none at all. This is reflected in a poor index score, but does not necessarily mean that you are less visible than your competitors in the same niche.

How to increase your visibility index

Your visibility index improves as your rankings improve. If you want to increase the value, you have to make sure that you appear more often in the search results — as prominently as possible on the first page.

The obvious solution is to produce more content. But that alone will not get you anywhere: it must also meet SEO standards. This means, among other things, that your content must be particularly relevant to your target group, unique, and of course of high quality.

A good way to develop a promising SEO strategy is to analyze your best ranking competitors. What topics do they cover? In what way? How can you do it even better?

Looking at the competition is not about copying. Rather, you can seek inspiration and then specifically outperform your competitors with even better content. As soon as your site is played out more often and in a better position in Google search results, your visibility index increases.

The visibility index helps to develop a good SEO strategy

In the area of SEO analysis there are a number of important key figures that provide you with valuable impulses. The visibility index is one of them. It shows you how visible your website is in the search results of Google.

The value for niche topics is not very meaningful and ignores seasonal traffic fluctuations. But if you are targeting a broader audience, the evaluation is definitely worthwhile. Especially the comparison with your direct competitors as well as the development of your website’s visibility over time contain important information and can be read as indicators for your SEO strategy.