Data Explained | How do I read the histogram in my Organic Search Performance Dashboard?

Histograms are useful visuals to see how your data is distributed across many points. In a histogram, data is split up into groups of data called bins. 

What is a Bin

By default, the ChannelMix Organic Search Performance histogram is split into a bin size of 10. The bins in this visual refer to the spots where a query appears on a Search Engine Response Page (SERP). 

For example, if I complete a search for "ChannelMix" on Google, these are my top four positions:

What is a Unique Query?

The unique query metric is taken from data sources in the Organic Search OneView with the dimension of "Top Query" (learn more about data granularity in this dashboard here: Data Explained | What is the difference between Google Search Console's Top Queries dataset and the Total Queries dataset?).

The BI tool then looks at each unique query to determine how often it appears in what spot of the SERP. This visual does use weighted average position (see below for definition). 

Adjusting the Bin Size

Different search engines have different numbers of spots on their results page. The bin sizes allow you to account for these differences. You can also adjust the bin size if, for example, you want to see how many times you fall in the top 5 spots. 

How do you Calculate the Weighted Average Position?

To calculate the weighted average, we use the following formula:

Number of impressions * the average position / the number of impressions.