> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.asobeast.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Positions and rank depth

> Positions are 1 based. A null position means the keyword was checked and the app was not found within the captured depth, which defaults to 200.

Positions are 1 based, so position 1 is the top result. A `null` position means asobeast checked the keyword and did not find the app within the captured depth. It never means zero.

## How is a position recorded?

Each check writes one row per app, keyword and UTC date, and stores the depth that check covered alongside the position. The default depth is 200.

| Field      | Meaning                                                      |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `position` | 1 based rank, or `null` when the app was not found           |
| `depth`    | How deep the search looked for that observation, default 200 |
| `date`     | The UTC date of the observation                              |

The row is written even when the app was not found. That is deliberate: an absent row and a `null` position mean different things, and only storing both lets you tell "we did not look" apart from "we looked and it was not there".

## What does null mean?

Checked, and not found within `depth`. It does not mean any of the following.

| `null` does not mean     | Which is instead                          |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| Position zero            | Positions start at 1                      |
| The keyword is untracked | An untracked keyword has no rows at all   |
| The check failed         | A failed job writes no row and is retried |
| The app was removed      | Nothing in a position row says that       |

## How is null displayed?

As a bound derived from that row's own depth, never as `0`. A row captured at depth 200 renders as `>200`, and a row captured at depth 100 renders as `>100`.

Reading the bound from the row rather than from a constant matters, because historical rows may have been captured at a different depth than today's.

## How are positions charted?

Ranking charts use a reversed Y axis, so position 1 sits at the top and an improving line rises. A `null` breaks the series rather than dropping it to the bottom of the chart.

<Warning>
  If you consume the API, treat `null` as absent rather than as `0`. Coercing `null` to zero makes every unranked keyword look like the best possible result and inverts every trend, average and delta you compute.
</Warning>

## How deep does the SERP snapshot go?

Position checks capture to depth 200. The stored SERP snapshot, which is what powers volatility, entrants and competitor discovery, keeps the top 10 results for each keyword and date.