Searchmetrics SEO Visibility: what the score measured, where Searchmetrics stands now, and how to build the same view

Searchmetrics SEO Visibility was a single score that summed how prominently a domain appeared in search results across a large set of keywords. It was built from three inputs: where the domain ranked, how often each keyword is searched, and how many clicks a result at that position usually earns. The score was a trend line, not a count of visitors. Searchmetrics now sits inside Conductor, so the practical question today is how to read a visibility score from any tool and how to build one for your own keyword set.

Where Searchmetrics stands

Conductor announced the acquisition of Searchmetrics in February 2023, as reported by Search Engine Land and described in Conductor's own announcement. On 12 October 2026 the searchmetrics.com address redirects to the Conductor website, so a reader searching for the old glossary page lands on a different company's site. Check the current product pages before you plan a purchase, because plans, names and features change when platforms merge.

The idea behind the metric did not go away. Most large SEO suites report a version of it under a different name: visibility, share of voice or estimated traffic share.

What a visibility score is made of

Every visibility index follows the same logic. The tool keeps a list of keywords, checks where your domain ranks for each, and turns each rank into a weighted value.

Input	What it contributes	Why it is included
Ranking position	Where your page appears for the keyword	Position one earns far more clicks than position eight
Search volume	How often people type the keyword	A top ranking for a rare phrase matters less than a modest ranking for a busy one
Click share by position	The share of searchers who click at that rank	Converts a position into an expected portion of the demand
Keyword set	The list of terms being checked	The score only describes the terms in the list

The sum across all keywords gives one number. A rise means the domain moved up for the terms that carry volume. A fall means it slipped. Because the weighting is a model, two vendors report two different numbers for the same site, and neither is wrong. Each describes its own keyword set and its own click curve.

How to read the score

Watch the direction, not the value

A score of 12 means nothing alone. The same domain at 14 next month, on the same keyword set, means something. Compare a domain with itself, and with two or three direct rivals measured by the same tool.

Check what changed in the keyword set

Adding a thousand keywords moves the score without any change in the site. Before you report a gain, confirm the keyword set was constant. Tools that track a database of keywords may refresh it, so ask the vendor how often.

Split by page type

A single number hides which part of the site moved. Break the score by folder: blog, product pages, support. A fall that sits wholly in one folder points to a template, a migration or a content change in that folder.

Separate brand from non brand

Rankings for your own name are high by default. A score dominated by brand terms rises when marketing raises awareness, which is useful, but it is not the same as winning new buyers. Report the two parts apart. The method for splitting them is in how to measure and read organic traffic.

Build your own visibility index in a spreadsheet

You can reproduce the logic with data from Google Search Console and a click curve you choose. It takes an hour and gives you a number you control.

1. Pick the keyword set. Use the 50 to 200 queries that match what you sell. A five step keyword research method produces this list.
2. Record each position. Take the average position per query from the Search Console performance report, filtered to the same date range each month.
3. Add the monthly search volume. Use any keyword tool or Google Keyword Planner and keep the source constant.
4. Assign a click share to each position. Choose a simple curve, for example a high share for positions one to three and a steep drop after. State the curve in a notes cell so a colleague can check it.
5. Multiply and sum. For each keyword, volume times click share. Add the column. That total is your visibility value for the month.
6. Index it. Set the first month to 100 and show later months against it.

Your own sheet will not match a vendor's score, and it does not need to. It tells you whether your own work moved the numbers that matter.

When a visibility score helps and when it misleads

• It helps when you report to people who want one line: up, flat or down, with a rival comparison.
• It helps after a site migration or a template change, where many pages move together and one trend line shows the net effect.
• It misleads when the keyword set is not yours. A score built on a general database describes everyone's keywords, not the ones your customers use.
• It misleads when featured snippets, local packs and AI answers take the click. A page can hold position two and still receive fewer visits than the curve predicts. Pair the score with clicks from Search Console.

For choosing which queries are worth tracking in the first place, SEO competition research sets out how to rank them by how winnable they are.

Alternatives that report a similar metric

Several suites report a comparable index. SEO PowerSuite is covered on this site for readers who prefer a desktop tool, and Conductor, which now owns Searchmetrics, serves enterprise teams. Whichever you choose, ask each vendor three things: how many keywords sit behind the score, how often positions are refreshed, and whether you can supply your own keyword list.

Visibility when the answer is written by an assistant

A visibility score counts positions in a list of blue links. When a buyer asks an assistant "which supplier should I choose?", there is no list and no position, only a short answer that names a few businesses. A site can hold a strong SEO Visibility trend and still be missing from that answer. The measure for that surface is whether the assistant names you, how often, and which sources it draws on. AI Knows Us (aiknowsus.com) runs that check on a fixed set of buyer questions, which gives you a second line to chart next to the ranking index.

Questions about SEO visibility scores

Is Searchmetrics still available?

Conductor acquired Searchmetrics in 2023 and, on 12 October 2026, the Searchmetrics web address redirects to Conductor. Ask Conductor directly about the current status of any Searchmetrics product or contract.

What is a good SEO visibility score?

There is no universal good value because each tool scales its score differently. A good result is a rising trend on a fixed keyword set, and a score that moves above your direct rivals.

Is SEO visibility the same as organic traffic?

No. Visibility estimates your share of available demand from rankings. Organic traffic counts real visits. Use visibility for direction and Search Console clicks for the visits themselves.

Can I get a visibility score for free?

Yes. Build the spreadsheet above from Search Console data, or use the free tier of a rank tracker and record the figure monthly.

How often should I check it?

Monthly for reporting and weekly after a major site change, so you are working from current data when you decide what to fix.