{"id":23764,"date":"2021-02-02T12:29:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T10:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reliablesoft.net\/?p=23764"},"modified":"2021-06-28T18:13:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T15:13:44","slug":"organic-ctr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reliablesoft.net\/organic-ctr\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Organic Click Through Rate (CTR) & 7 Ways to Improve it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Organic click through rate refers to the percentage of people that come across your search engine listing and actually click through to your site.<\/p>\n

It seems simple, but optimizing for CTR is something a lot of website owners overlook. Although you can\u2019t directly control how high you rank or how much traffic you get, you can move the needle in the right direction by optimizing your search engine appearance.<\/p>\n

In this post, you\u2019ll learn what organic CTR is, why it matters, and seven different tips you can implement to improve your organic click-through rate <\/strong><\/a>on all of your important pages.<\/p>\n

What is Organic CTR?<\/h2>\n

Organic CTR (click-through-rate) is the percentage of searchers that click through to your website from the search results.<\/p>\n

The higher your CTR the greater percentage of traffic you\u2019re going to be getting from organic search<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just having high rankings in Google isn\u2019t enough, you actually need people to click through from the search results to your website.<\/p>\n

Your click-through rate ties directly to user engagement, which is what Google cares the most about. They want to rank websites that searchers are clicking on in order to deliver them a better and more relevant experience.<\/p>\n

For example, if Google is testing two pages to see which one is more relevant for a chosen keyword, the page that gets more clicks is going to rank higher.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of factors that will influence your CTR, but a lot of these factors are completely under your control.<\/p>\n

What is a Good Click Through Rate for Organic Search?<\/h2>\n

Click through rates vary for a number of reasons. It\u2019s a no brainer that the #1 search result will get the majority of the clicks. The #1 result has an average CTR of 34%. With the #1 result receiving about 10 times as many clicks as the #10 result.<\/p>\n

The top three results get more than 60% of all clicks.<\/p>\n

\"CTR
CTR Per SEO Ranking Position.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sharpest drop-off in CTR occurs on the second page of the search results, which gets virtually zero clicks.<\/p>\n

This information shows that ranking on the first page might not be enough, instead, you should aim at ranking in the top three spots. If you are ranking on the first page of the results, then you can improve your CTR which should move you up in the rankings.<\/p>\n

Why Is Organic Click Through Rate Important?<\/h2>\n

Your organic click-through rate is the percentage of traffic you get from the search engines. Knowing and improving this conversion rate is incredibly important for two reasons.<\/p>\n

1. More Traffic<\/h3>\n

By improving your organic CTR you can get more traffic from the search engines without doing any additional work. Even if your site stays at the same spot in the rankings, you can improve your CTR and get more organic traffic<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, if you improve your CTR from 5% to 10%, you essentially double your search engine traffic without any additional SEO work.<\/p>\n

2. Improve Your Overall Rankings<\/h3>\n

Your organic CTR is more likely<\/em> a ranking signal. This means that Google might look at this to determine where your website should rank in the search engines.<\/p>\n

This means that if you have a high CTR your site will rank higher in the search engines. The same goes for a low CTR pushing you down further in the rankings.<\/p>\n

Luckily, your CTR is something that\u2019s entirely in your control and that you can optimize for.<\/p>\n

How to Improve Your Organic Click Through Rate?<\/h2>\n

Best practices to increase your organic ctr.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Make Your Page Titles Interesting<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Add Power Words to Your Descriptions<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Use Short and Meaningful URLs<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Optimize Your Content For Google Rich Snippets<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Optimize Your Content for Sitelinks<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Use GSC Performance Report to Identify Pages with a Low CTR<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Use Retargeting To Boost Brand Awareness<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    1. Make Your Page Titles Interesting<\/h3>\n

    Nothing will make searchers scroll past your listing faster than a boring title.<\/p>\n

    Your page title will be the main deciding factor in whether or not people will click on your search result.<\/p>\n

    Just like how the goal of the page title is to capture your reader\u2019s attention so they read the first paragraph. The goal of your search engine title is to get searchers to click over to your page from the search results.<\/p>\n

    Here are some tips for making your title more interesting:<\/p>\n

    Tip 1: Use Brackets<\/h4>\n

    Using brackets in your post title helps to draw the searcher’s eye to your search result. Plus, it can make lengthy titles seem less long and more engaging.<\/p>\n

    \"Increase
    Increase your CTR with brackets in your titles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    HubSpot found that brackets can increase headline clicks by 40%<\/strong><\/a>. There\u2019s a reason that listicle-heavy sites like Buzzfeed have been able to get so popular, a lot of it is based on the strength of their curiosity-inducing headlines.<\/p>\n

    Tip 2: Use a Numbered List<\/h4>\n

    If it\u2019s possible you should transform your existing content into a list post<\/strong><\/a>. Readers find list posts more engaging and easier to consume. Even if your post isn\u2019t a list post, you should try to use numbers in your title if at all possible.<\/p>\n

    \"Example
    Example of a Listicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The best way to determine if a list post is applicable is to see if list posts are currently ranking for your chosen search term. If they are, then your post should be rewritten or re-formatted to align with what\u2019s currently ranking.<\/p>\n

    Tip 3: Use Recent Dates<\/h4>\n

    If you\u2019ve recently published or updated content, you should include the date in your title. When people are searching for something they usually add the year following the keyword to find the most recent results. For example, \u201cbest running shoes 2021\u201d.<\/p>\n

    By including the date in your title you show both your readers and the search engines that your content is relevant.<\/p>\n

    Note that if you are using date-based titles make sure to update your post every year to reflect the latest information and year.<\/p>\n

    Tip 4: Choose a Target Keyword<\/h4>\n

    Your title should target a single keyword. Ideally, you\u2019ll already know what keyword the page is targeting from doing proper keyword research<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

    But, you can also use a variation of your target keyword, so your post is targeting both the main keyword and long-tail variations<\/strong><\/a> of that keyword.<\/p>\n

    For example, if your page is targeting the main keyword \u201ccheap blender\u201d your title tag could be \u201cBest Cheap Blenders for 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Make sure to add your target keyword as close to the font of your title as possible.<\/p>\n

    Tip 5: Use Emotional Words<\/h4>\n

    Your title should include power words that tap into the emotions of your readers. These are words like amazing, incredible, secret, extraordinary, and more.<\/p>\n

    \"Powers
    List of Power Words to Use in Headlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Using these words in your title will raise your CTR by activating curiosity and intrigue in the searchers.<\/p>\n

    However, you shouldn\u2019t choose these words at random, instead, they should relate to the content in your post.<\/p>\n

    Spend time going through the content and ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n