It’s no surprise that everyone wants to rank higher for their chosen keywords, which requires putting a lot of time and effort into their digital strategy.
According to research, the average CTRs (clickthrough rates) by its position in the Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are helpful for improving SEO investment since there’s a noticeable growth in website visits with better rankings when doing a keywords gap analysis.
The Advanced Web Ranking Organic CTR Research (May 2018)
Now, let’s have a look at three different examples showing how clickthrough rates (CTRs) vary by position based on users intent:
- Organic SERPs CTRs for Brand VS Non-Brand Keyword Intent
The truth is, CTRs for branded keywords are way higher when compared to non-branded keywords. Here are the numbers for being one from the top three: CTRs from 30% in the first position down to 10% in the third position.
- Organic SERPs CTRs for Generic VS Long-Tail Keywords
Usually, generic search for different products consist of one or two words, whereas long-tail keywords are four words or even more. And, research shows a higher CTR level for long-tail keywords by 3 up to 5% by position due to the fact that these have less ads and lower competition.
- Organic SERPs CTRs Variation Based on Intent Type
Similarly, there’s a decline here, too, yet commercial and location-based intent type have the lowest figures. In these intent types, there’s usually more competition from AdWords clicks and from other features, such as maps for location.
Fortunately, the AWR (Advanced Web Ranking) data is regularly updated. Plus, it is fully compatible for smartphone resolution and it offers category breakdown.
The MEC Manchester CTR Research (June 2011)
Let’s move on and have a look at the cross-industry comparison of CTRs by MEC Manchester back in 2011. Here are their findings from the Google clickthrough rates by position research:
- Brand VS Non-Brand Clickthrough Rates
Back then, research showed much higher clickthrough rates for brand keywords and also presented the way they actually impact the rates in general.
- Sector-Specific Clickthrough Rates
The findings of the industry reports are actually quite compelling. Research shows a great variation among different sectors. Yet, the top 3 positions still share a very common pattern – more than 50% of clicks.
- Paid VS Natural Share of Search Clicks
Finally, the MEC Manchester research shows that most of the clicks (94% to be more precise) are on the natural listings regardless of the changes to the SERPs Google has made over the years.
