We use the website’s click-through rate (CTR) to estimate the number of visits a site will receive when people search for a keyword phrase.   The website page ranking results referred to relate to Google’s organic searches.  The higher your web page ranking means a higher CTR and an increase in potential business (there are exceptions to this rule).   Reaching the number 1 position can mean triple the new business leads versus the number 2 position on Google.

Google Click Through Rate (CTR)

CRT means the number of clicks your site receives when it appears on a Google search results page.   In 2012 search rank is in a very different state than it was even two years ago. There are many factors that can obscure your page rank position (personalised search, local search results and so on).  However, generally speaking, the higher your website’s Google search rank, the more clicks your site will receive.

Web Traffic Generated from High CTR

You will see from the graph below the amount of traffic generated from the top 10 Google page rank positions.

The data in this graph is from a recent organic CTR study conducted by SEO Software Company Optify. The full CTR report is available for download.

Volatile Search Results

Recent changes in Google’s search criteria have made search engine results page (SERP) somewhat volatile therefore your site may not always show in the same page position for every search.   For example, your business may be ranking at 2nd spot in organic searches however readers have to scroll down the page to reach organic results because of the volume of local search results.

New Clicks, New Business

Although the number 1 position may not produce a high click-through rate than used to (46%) it is still important to aim for the top position and maintain your SEO strategy.  It’s always important to remember when your potential customer has clicked through to your site, it’s up to you to keep them there and turn a valuable lead into new business.