CTR (Click-Through Rate)

CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the share of clicks from impressions in search results. Formula: CTR = (Clicks / Impressions) × 100%.

Benchmark values by position (2026)

| Position | CTR (informational) | CTR (commercial) | |---|---|---| | 1 | 27.6% | 31.2% | | 2 | 15.8% | 18.4% | | 3 | 11.0% | 13.1% | | 4 | 8.4% | 9.5% | | 5 | 6.3% | 7.1% | | 6-10 | 2-5% | 3-5% |

(Backlinko data, Nov 2025 — median of 10M queries)

What affects CTR

1. Position — main factor (top-1 vs top-10 is 13× difference) 2. Title — wording, attractiveness, numbers 3. Description — specifics and USP 4. URL — short, clear, with keyword 5. Rich snippets — stars, FAQ, price, breadcrumbs (Schema.org) 6. Brand in SERP — recognizable domains get more clicks 7. AI Overview — reduces classical CTR by 15-30%

Effect on rankings

Google officially denies using CTR as a factor, but indirect experiments by Rand Fishkin (2014) and Mark Williams-Cook (2025) show: pages with above-benchmark CTR for their position get a boost.

How to improve CTR

• •A/B test Title via GSC: change Title → wait 4-6 weeks → compare
• •Schema.org markup — especially FAQPage, Review, BreadcrumbList
• •Emojis in Title — controversial, sometimes works (Google strips ~50% of cases)
• •Numbers and year in Title — "...in 24 hours", "...in 2026"
• •Power words — "free", "guaranteed", "exclusive"

Where to see

GSC → Performance → table filtered by page → CTR column. Compare with benchmark — if below, the page is losing potential traffic.