Methodology
Metric definitions, on the record
A number is only as honest as the definition under it, and a definition only counts if it is written down before you argue about it. These are ours: what counts, over what denominator, from which source, with what uncertainty. Changing any of these requires a new dated version, never a quiet edit.
A citation
- What counts
- One answer using one of your URLs as a source, as returned by the engine's own citation structure. We never infer a citation from prose.
- Denominator
- Sampled answers in the window being reported.
- Source
- The engine's returned source list, extracted deterministically and stored.
- Uncertainty
- Reported as counts with dates; shares over them carry Wilson intervals.
Visibility Score
- What counts
- A composite over measured pillars only. It is withheld entirely until at least five of seven pillars are measured; an unmeasured pillar is absent, never a zero.
- Denominator
- The measured pillars, named on the dashboard beside the score.
- Source
- Each pillar's own measured observations, provenance-tagged per component.
- Uncertainty
- Changes smaller than 3 points are not reported as changes; the floor is published and held against the measured noise floor.
Answer stability
- What counts
- A question is unstable when repeat samples of the same run disagree about whether you were cited. Judged only on questions with at least 2 samples in their latest run.
- Denominator
- Tracked questions with enough repeat samples to judge, per engine.
- Source
- Repeat samples inside one stored measurement batch.
- Uncertainty
- Flip counts are reported with the group count they came from.
A measured sweep
- What counts
- One full re-measurement of one site: every tracked question, every engine on the tier, sampled repeatedly, stored. The unit the monthly meter counts.
- Denominator
- Not a share; a counted unit, defined identically on /pricing.
- Source
- The runs themselves; a sweep that spent no engine call does not count against you.
- Uncertainty
- Not applicable: sweeps are counted, not estimated.
Google position
- What counts
- Search Console's average position for a page over its query window, read from the owner's own connected property.
- Denominator
- The GSC window's dated range, printed wherever the position renders.
- Source
- Google Search Console API, stored as dated windows; never blended into any AI metric.
- Uncertainty
- Reported as Google reports it; we do not add precision Google did not.
Related: the floors we refuse to report below, the instrument disclosure, and the measured noise floor.