Organic CTR.

Organic CTR (click-through rate) is the percentage of users who see a page in Google's organic search results and click through to it. It is calculated as clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. Google Search Console provides organic CTR data by query, page, country, and device. The average organic CTR for position 1 is roughly 25–35%; position 3 drops to 10–15%; position 10 is typically below 3%.

What Influences Organic CTR

Position is the dominant factor: higher rankings generate higher CTR. Beyond position, CTR is influenced by: the presence of rich results (review stars, FAQ accordions, sitelinks) which expand the visual footprint; meta title relevance and emotional resonance; meta description quality (though Google often rewrites it); brand recognition (branded searches have higher CTR); and the competitive landscape of the SERP (more featured snippets and ads reduce organic CTR).

CTR Optimisation as an SEO Tactic

Improving CTR without improving rankings is underrated. A page moving from 3% to 6% CTR at the same position doubles its traffic. A/B testing title tags (using GSC data as a before/after baseline, or tools like SearchPilot) is an advanced tactic. Common improvements include: using the exact target keyword in the title, adding a compelling benefit or number, including the current year for freshness signals, and writing descriptions that include the searcher's goal.