Top CTR statistics on Google
Everything You Need to Know to Optimise Your SEO Strategy
The Click Through Rate (CTR click through rate) is one of the most important KPIs indicators most important to measure the success of your SEO strategies. Recent statistics give us a detailed insight into how users interact with search results. This article delves into the most relevant data and how you can use it to improve your rankings. Source Backlinko.
Article updated on 31/12/2024
All companies that start a SEO strategy aim to rank for important transactional keywords at the top of the search results. Experience teaches us, that being at the top of the SERPs in your niche generated a 39.8% CTR on average in 2023.
The conversion difference is significantly lower if you rank second and third in the results achieving 18.7% and 10.2% respectively.
Apart from the first positions, there is also the so-called ZERO position or enriched results (Rich Snippets). This type of response offers you the possibility of channelling a large amount of traffic without having reached the TOP 10 of Google.
What is CTR and why is it key in SEO?
CTR is a metric that measures the ratio of the number of clicks a link receives to the number of times it is displayed in search results. It is calculated as:
CTR = (Clics / Impressions)×100
A good CTR indicates that your page is attracting users' attention. A high CTR improves the ranking of your website as Google understands that it is responding correctly to the user's search.
CTR is also directly related to domain authority. A high CTR improves the DA, although this metric is not given directly by Google. It is actually provided by SEO tools such as MOZ or Semrush and in many cases it is misleading.
Main CTR statistics on Google
The first result dominates the CTR
- According to recent studies, the first organic result in Google gets a 27.6% of average CTR.
- This means that more than 1 in 4 users click on the first result.
- The lower ranked results have a considerable decrease: the second result receives 15.8%, and the third, 11%.
Fighting for the top spot is essential to capture the most traffic. To achieve this, we must first conduct an SEO audit to establish our starting point. The next step is to carry out a competition study to establish a good keyword study as the backbone of our SEO strategy.
Impact of Featured Snippets, rich snippets or rich results
- The highlighted excerpts (Featured Snippets) can attract up to 8.6% of the CTR.
- These results usually appear above the first organic link.
Optimise your content to appear in these snippets by answering direct questions and using structured data like the FAQs schemaTo test it you can use the following enriched results tool.
Mobile vs. desktop results
- Mobile devices generate a slightly lower CTR, with an average CTR of 23.6% in first placecompared to the 27.6% on desktop.
- This is partly due to searches with more ads at the top.
- It also has to do with usability on mobile compared to PC. Therefore, your website must be perfectly designed and adapted for the mobile version. This implies the adaptability of content, clarity and ease of CTAs (Call to Action), as well as a loading speed of less than 3 seconds.
CTR by meta description length
Meta descriptions are fundamental to improve conversion from SERPs. They do not directly influence SEO in terms of keywords. However, a good commercial text increases the chances of click on the impression and therefore indirectly improves the ranking by improving conversion.
- Meta descriptions of between 120 and 155 characters perform better.
- Clear, attractive descriptions with a call to action significantly improve the CTR from search. This can be obtained by checking your website in Google Search Console.
Would you like one of our SEO Analysts to audit your website?
Factors influencing CTR
Attractive titles and meta descriptions
Titles of up to 65 characters have a direct influence on SEO and should have the main keyword included in the H1.
- Titles that include numbers, questions or attractive keywords such as "best", "guide" or "12 key SEO 2025" tend to have a higher CTR.
- A good title not only improves the CTR, but also the quality of the traffic coming to your site.
Reviews and ratings
Reviews from Tripadvisor, Google My Business and other platforms generate trust and authority. It is important to use them and embed them within the content of your urls.
- Pages with star ratings generate up to a 20% over click-through rate than those without.
- Uses data structured reviews to include qualifications in your results.
Rich snippets and structured data
As we have explained, rich results are a kind of time tunnel that connects your results hosted on page 6 of Google with the Top 10. It is important to make a good study of your competitors and your own search results in order to use the right and better elaborated content than that presented by your competitors.
- Rich results increase CTR by offering more visual information such as prices, opening hours or recipes.
- It implements structured data such as FAQ Schema and HowTo to stand out in search results.
Brand searches
Brand results will have SEO relevance in 2025. The more branded results you have, the more relevant your website will be and therefore the more authority it will have. The latter is an important ranking factor.
- Brand terms generate a much higher CTR rate. Users tend to trust the results they recognise more.
Strategy: Work on your branding to increase the volume of searches related to your brand.
| Average CTR on Paid Ads and organic search by industry | ||||
| Industry | Average CTR Google Ads | Organic CTR Position 1 | Organic CTR Position 2 | Organic CTR Position 3 |
| Overall Average | 1.6% | 39.6% | 18.4% | 10.1% |
| Aerospace and Defence | 1.3% | 42.7% | 19.6% | 11.2% |
| Addiction Treatment | 1.1% | 36.4% | 17.5% | 9.5% |
| Automotive | 1.6% | 40.3% | 18.6% | 9.9% |
| Aviation | 1.4% | 39.5% | 17.4% | 12.5% |
| B2B SaaS | 2.1% | 39.8% | 19.0% | 11.3% |
| Biotechnology | 1.4% | 42.2% | 18.0% | 11.7% |
| Commercial Insurance | 2.3% | 41.0% | 17.4% | 9.5% |
| Construction | 1.3% | 39.1% | 18.9% | 10.1% |
| Cybersecurity | 1.7% | 38.7% | 16.9% | 9.9% |
| E-commerce | 1.7% | 35.4% | 15.2% | 8.8% |
| Engineering | 1.4% | 41.9% | 16.2% | 14.1% |
| Entertainment | 1.5% | 37.7% | 19.7% | 12.7% |
| Environmental Services | 1.9% | 38.9% | 17.5% | 9.2% |
| Financial Services | 1.1% | 39.4% | 16.4% | 9.1% |
| Higher Education and Universities | 0.9% | 37.5% | 18.8% | 10.0% |
| HVAC Services | 2.3% | 36.2% | 19.2% | 9.6% |
| Industrial IoT | 2.2% | 43.0% | 19.2% | 10.8% |
| IT and Managed Services | 1.8% | 41.1% | 20.2% | 10.6% |
| Legal Services | 1.5% | 36.8% | 19.3% | 10.4% |
| Manufacturing | 2.0% | 40.4% | 18.4% | 9.2% |
| Medical Devices | 1.5% | 41.2% | 19.1% | 11.1% |
| Oil and Gas | 1.6% | 40.1% | 18.6% | 9.4% |
| PCB Design and Manufacturing | 1.8% | 43.4% | 19.0% | 10.3% |
| Pharmacist | 0.9% | 38.1% | 18.1% | 9.9% |
| Real Estate | 1.0% | 38.3% | 18.5% | 9.7% |
| Software Development | 1.6% | 39.9% | 18.9% | 10.0% |
| Solar Energy | 1.3% | 37.6% | 16.9% | 9.0% |
| Transport and Logistics | 1.9% | 39.8% | 18.0% | 10.7% |
How to improve your CTRs
Normally any marketer or SEO consultant will tell you, to improve CTRs (Click Through Rates) is to write more personalised meta titles and descriptions, or use catchy phrases to entice searchers to click through to your page. While this is good advice, the table above shows that ranking position in the SERPs is much more important in influencing CTRs.
If you want to improve your position in paid ads it is simple: invest more money than your competitors for the selected keyword group. However, improving the natural or organic position is more difficult. Within your SEO strategy, you should emphasise the importance of developing high quality content. To achieve this, make a note of the following as basic rules:
- Responds to Search Intent: Searchers for a specific keyword have an implicit question or problem. Clearly answering this question significantly improves the conversion rate, leading to higher rankings and better CTRs.
- Offers Original Perspectives: Users have learned to identify generic content created solely for SEO purposes. Providing real and original information is the best way to capture their interest.
Thought leadership content must be combined with a keyword targeting strategy using the Hub & Spoke model and a high frequency of publishing in order to rank for competitive keywords. It usually takes 4-6 months of consistent publishing of original content to see results. However, when executed correctly, increases in search position have a much greater impact on CTR than any other factor.
How to optimise CTR on Google
1. Improve your titles and descriptions
- Use relevant keywords at the beginning of your titles.
- Incorporate numbers, dates and calls to action.
2. Bet on Featured Snippets
- Answer specific questions in your content.
- Structure your texts with clear lists, tables and headings.
3. Use structured data
- Implement rich snippets such as FAQ, ratings and prices.
- This not only improves the CTR, but also the relevance of your results.
- Use Chrome extensions for validate the results.
4. Optimised for mobile phones
- Make sure your site is responsive and fast.
- Performs mobile speed and optimisation tests.
5. Strengthen your brand
- A recognised brand has a higher domain authority and CTR.
- Use multi-channel digital marketing campaigns to increase your brand's visibility.
Key metrics to measure CTR
Use Google Search Console
- View statistics on impressions, click-through rate and CTR for each page of your site.
- Identify underperforming pages and improve them from an Onpage SEO perspective.
Analysis tools
- SEMrush and Ahrefs offer detailed insights on CTR and keyword performance.
- Conduct frequent audits to keep your strategies up to date.
CTR as an essential factor for SEO
The CTR not only measures the success of your strategies, but also influences the SEO positioning organic. Implementing good optimisation practices, such as attractive titles, structured data and a focus on user experience, can make all the difference.
Do you want to improve your CTR and increase your organic traffic? At Marketzilla SEO company we are experts in customised SEO strategies - contact us today and request a free SEO audit!.
"CTR should be a priority in your SEO strategy. On the one hand, it helps to attract more leads from the SERPs and on the other hand, once inside your website, it increases the number of qualified leads and thus the amount of business. All of this results in improved rankings for your keyword dictionary in the medium to long term."
CEO and SEO of Marketzilla SEO Agency