Device Ranking Gap Report

Fix ranking gaps between desktop and mobile before they cost you traffic

The Device Ranking Gap report finds keywords where your desktop and mobile rankings differ by 3 or more positions. If a keyword ranks position 5 on desktop but position 15 on mobile, you are missing out on mobile traffic - and mobile now accounts for over 60% of all Google searches.

These gaps usually point to mobile-specific issues: slow page speed, poor responsiveness, or content that renders differently across devices. Fixing them often means a quick technical audit rather than new content.

See it in action

What the report looks like

Device Ranking Gap report comparing desktop and mobile positions

Each row shows a keyword with its desktop position, mobile position, and the gap between them. A "Better On" badge tells you which device ranks higher at a glance.

What the report shows

  • Keyword - The search query with a ranking difference between devices.

  • Better On - A badge showing whether Desktop or Mobile has the better ranking.

  • Desktop Position - Your average position on desktop searches.

  • Mobile Position - Your average position on mobile searches.

  • Gap - The absolute position difference between desktop and mobile.

  • Desktop/Mobile Clicks and Impressions - Traffic data split by device so you can see the impact.

  • Landing page - The page Google shows for this keyword.

How to use it

  1. Filter by "Better on Desktop" to find keywords where mobile is underperforming. These are usually the most actionable since mobile-first indexing makes mobile the priority.

  2. Audit page speed for the landing page on mobile using Google PageSpeed Insights. Slow mobile load times are the most common cause of ranking gaps.

  3. Check responsiveness - test the page on mobile to see if content is cut off, buttons are too small, or layout shifts happen.

  4. Review Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console for device-specific issues (LCP, FID, CLS).

  5. Add it as a Task to track progress. The task completes when the gap narrows below 3 positions.

How it is calculated

The report compares desktop and mobile rankings for each keyword over the last 30 days. Only keywords with a gap of 3 or more positions and at least 50 impressions per device are included. This filters out noise from low-traffic keywords.

This is a cross-device report - it queries desktop and mobile data separately and compares them in PHP. Results are sorted by gap size descending. Data refreshes daily.

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