Calculation of the SISTRIX Visibility Index

The calculation of the SISTRIX Visibility Index is no secret. It is done in three steps: collection of data, weighting of data and summation of the values for the Visibility Index

There have been no changes to the basic calculation since the first Visibility Index was introduced in 2008, so all values are historically fully comparable.

The Three Steps of Calculation

The Vi is calculated in three steps.

1. In the first step, we collect the search results for a million search queries (keywords). We have selected these keywords so that they form a representative cross-section of the search volume in the respective country. We regularly exchange a portion of these keywords to reflect changes in demand. For the Visibility Index, only the so-called organic Google results count in the search results, usually 100 results per keyword. In this way, 100 million data points (1,000,000 x 100) are determined as the basis for the Visibility Index.
2. The second step of the calculation consists of weighting these data points according to the search volume of the keyword and the expected click probability on the measured, organic position. Position eight on a very high-traffic search term such as “nintendo switch” gives a higher value than position one on a low-traffic keyword such as “nintendo switch memory card recommendation”. Click probabilities also often differ in terms of the search intent of the keyword: while searchers with a “website intent” generally only click on the first result, “know intent” results also get clicks on lower results more often.
3. In the final, third step, the weighted values for all rankings of a domain are added up. The sum of all values results in the Visibility Index. In SISTRIX, you can see the overall Visibility Index of a domain, but also partial values for individual subdomains, directories and even URLs.

The Visibility Index is automatically calculated for each domain that ranks for at least one of the one million keywords examined. 100,000 Visibility points are distributed across all rankings found, i.e., domains found. Visibility values for over 100 million domains are available in SISTRIX.

Create Your Own Visibility Index

Even though we cover most industries and topics in the Google search well with 100 million daily data points, there can still be very small niches and specific topics where the search volume is too low in order to be sufficiently represented in the keyword set of the Visibility Index. In these cases, you can create your own project Visibility Index based on your keywords. This is also useful for countries we do not support yet, or for local tracking down to city level.

Visibility Data for Over 50 Countries

There are no artificial analysis restrictions in SISTRIX. With your SISTRIX account, you have access to the Visibility indices of all countries and all domains.

Since the start of the Visibility measurement for Germany at the beginning of 2008, new countries have been added continuously, so that Visibility values are now available for over 50 countries. The search results are measured in one language per country. In multilingual countries like Switzerland or Belgium, we have chosen the most widely used language.

We add new countries when there is sufficient demand for the respective country from our customers. Please contact SISTRIX Support if a country is missing. We will not add the country directly, but will gladly include your request in our planning.

Daily & Weekly Updates

For the thirteen countries with mobile and desktop data, we have been calculating the Visibility Index daily since 2016. This allows you to make the right decisions, quickly and based on daily updated data, especially when it comes to Google updates, important relaunches or migrations. The daily data is usually available in SISTRIX after midnight and is displayed automatically.

For the UK, all visibility-relevant keywords are fully updated every day. This is done for both desktop and mobile data.

Daily Visibility data is available for 90 days after it is created. Monday’s data point is permanently archived in the Toolbox and is used for historical comparison over longer periods of time.

Originally, the Visibility values were updated once a week: During the week, the search results were collected, followed by the processing and publication of the figures at the weekend. This continues to be the case for all pure mobile countries: the complete update of all SERPs during the week and the publication of the new data at the end of the weekend.

Mobile vs. Desktop Rankings

Since Google announced, in 2015, that there may be differences in ranking between desktop and mobile use, SISTRIX offers both desktop and mobile data and, consequently, a mobile Visibility Index. In the account settings, you can determine whether the display of the desktop or the mobile is preferred in your SISTRIX account.

Since significantly more mobile than desktop searches are now taking place in almost all countries, we collect only the mobile rankings for the countries added since 2018. There are no desktop rankings and therefore no desktop Visibility Index available for these countries.

Use and Features of the Visibility Index