Mention position
Updated 2026-09-15
Mention position records where a brand appears relative to other named brands inside a single generated answer — first named, second, third. It is the closest analogue to a ranking in a category that has no rankings.
How it is recorded and read
For each answer that mentions the brand, the order of brand names is captured and the brand's index recorded; the reported figure is usually a mean across mentions. It is deliberately a secondary metric: generated text is not a ranked list, order can follow sentence structure rather than preference, and an answer that names you second while describing you as the better fit is not a worse outcome than being named first in a list.
Illustrative set (example numbers)
Five mentions at positions 2, 1, 3, 2, 1 give a mean position of 1.8. Useful as a trend across cycles; misleading if read as "we are the 1.8th best option", which is not a thing the answer said.
Common mistakes
- Optimising for position instead of inclusion. Appearing at all is the larger, harder win.
- Comparing mean position across engines with different answer formats.
- Reporting position without mention count, which lets one flattering answer define the metric.
Frequently asked questions
- Does being named first matter?
- Modestly. First mention gets a small attention advantage, but answers are read as a whole and the qualifying sentence next to your name usually carries more weight than its index.
- Should position be in a client report?
- As supporting detail, not a headline. Coverage and citation rate change decisions; position mostly explains them.
