CTR measures how compelling a search result is once it has been seen. It varies dramatically by position, SERP feature presence, brand recognition, and query intent.
Typical curve
On informational queries without AI Overviews, position one commonly draws 25% to 35% of clicks, position two 10% to 15%, and everything below position five typically sits under 5%. When an AI Overview is present, the entire curve shifts downward.
Example
A branded query might return a CTR of 60% at position one because the searcher is already committed. A generic informational query at the same position might return 20%.
How SEM Optimiser reports it
CTR is pulled from Search Console per keyword-URL pair. SEM Optimiser highlights pages where CTR is materially below the expected curve for their position, which usually points to a weak title tag or meta description.
Related terms
- Impressions
An impression is recorded every time a link to your website appears in a user's search results, regardless of whether the user scrolls to see it.
- Average Position
Average position is the mean SERP position a URL held for a query across all impressions in a given date range.
- Title Tag
A title tag is the HTML element that specifies the title of a web page, displayed in browser tabs and used as the clickable headline in most search results.
- Meta Description
A meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a short summary of a page, often used as the snippet displayed beneath the title in search results.