What is Click-Through Rate?

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click your link after seeing it. If 100 people see your listing in search results and 5 click it, your CTR is 5%.

CTR matters because it determines how much traffic you get from your SERP position. A page ranking #3 with high CTR can get more traffic than a page ranking #1 with low CTR.

Why CTR matters

Higher CTR means more traffic without needing to rank higher. It's one of the few SEO metrics you can improve without waiting for ranking changes.

CTR likely influences rankings, though Google doesn't confirm exactly how. If many people click your result over others, that signals your content is relevant and valuable. Low CTR compared to your position suggests your title or description isn't compelling, which might hurt rankings over time.

Even small CTR improvements compound. If you're getting 1,000 impressions per month at 3% CTR (30 clicks) and improve to 5% CTR, you get 50 clicks - a 67% traffic increase with no ranking change.

Position dramatically affects CTR. First Page Analytics data shows position 1 gets 30-35% CTR, position 2 gets 15-20%, position 3 gets 10-15%, positions 4-10 get 5-10%, and position 11+ gets under 5%. These are averages - your CTR depends on your meta title, meta description, URL slug, and competing SERP features.

How to improve CTR

Write compelling meta titles that match search intent and stand out from competing results. Include specific benefits, numbers, or angles that make your content unique. Write descriptions that expand on the title's promise and give readers a reason to click your result.

Keep URLs clean and readable. Test title variations using Google Search Console data to see what resonates. Add structured data to potentially earn rich snippets that make your listing more prominent. Match search intent precisely - if the query is a question, answer it directly in your title and description.