Google Search Click-Through-Rate Statistics 2023

It’s a well-known fact that 91% of searchers do not venture beyond the first page of Google’s search results. As a business in 2023, it is often stressed to you that your entire digital marketing efforts need to get you to position 1 for every possible [industry/service][location] search query. 

In this article, we break down the current metrics and statistics for Google Search and how you can apply this information to your digital marketing.

What Is CTR?

Click-through-rate (CTR) refers to the percentage of people who click on a website link after seeing it on a search engine results page (SERP). CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks a website link receives by the number of impressions it gets (i.e., the number of times it is displayed in the search results). 

CTR is a metric used in the digital marketing space to assess the effectiveness of a website’s search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) strategies. The higher the CTR, the more effective the digital marketing efforts.

What Does CTR Normally Look Like In A Google Search?

Studies conducted have used tools to benchmark what CTR looks like for an average search query. For example, Advanced Web Tracking pull CTR data on a monthly basis from millions of search queries to observe the behaviour of users in order to make informed decisions on digital marketing efforts. 

For a general Google search, there are 10 available positions for a normal organic (non-paid) listing. Depending on the search, there are a number of paid listings, “People Also Ask”, Google Business Profiles, rich results and more that also appear on the SERP.

Backlinko identified that: 

The #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 27.6%.

The top 3 Google search results get 54.4% of all clicks.

Organic CTR for positions 8-10 is virtually the same.

Note that different studies show slightly different results, but these samples provide a great estimation on CTR for standard organic listings.

First Page SEO also conducted a CTR study and tabulated standard organic and paid results on a Google Search page:

What Factors Can Affect CTR?

Although recorded data indicates that your ranking position is the biggest factor affecting CTR, there are numerous other factors to improve CTR.

1. Title tag: The title tag is the blue text that appears as the link to the website in the search results. A well-crafted and descriptive title tag can entice searchers to click on the link. For example, titles with a positive sentiment improved CTR by approximately 4%.
2. Meta description: The meta description is the brief summary that appears below the website’s link in the search results. By providing a clear and concise description of what your page is about, users are more trusting that you will quickly resolve their query.
3. Rich snippets: Rich snippets are additional pieces of information that appear alongside the website link in the search results. These can include star ratings, reviews, and other relevant details. Websites with rich snippets tend to have a higher CTR.
4. Featured snippets: With quality content, your webpage content may appear on the SERP as a feature at the top. 42.9% of users click on a featured snippet – more than the first organic result of a normal search.
5. Google Business Profile Listing: the ‘local pack’ takes up some valuable space at the top of some search queries and receives a generous CTR for each of its three listings.
6. Advertising: pay-per-click (PPC) is an additional opportunity to lead users to your website. Despite paying for each click, the return on investment (ROI) is generally quite good.

Other factors such as your competitors, your brand awareness, what device the user is searching with, website speed, and targeting the right searchers all contribute to a well-optimised CTR.

What Can My Business Do With This Information?

Without a well-researched and implemented strategy for your digital marketing, you may be missing customers simply by not optimising your existing CTR.

What to do:

1. Ensure you’ve identified your target audience and your website reflects this.
2. Optimise all your webpage title tags and meta descriptions.
3. Regularly update and upload content to your website that answers questions your customers may have (this improves the chance of featured snippets).
4. Regularly update your Google Business Profile and encourage reviews.
5. Ensure your website is up-to-date, fast and easy to navigate.
6. Hire a professional digital marketing specialist.

At 5 Twelve, our search engine optimisation (SEO) service works to both improve your rankings as well as boost CTR on your organic listings through other factors. If you’re curious to see why an investment in SEO will help your CTR and overall profits, get in touchtoday. 

We’ll happily chat with you about what you can improve in your digital marketing during a free initial consultation.