Glossary · Metrics
Click-through rate (CTR)
Definition. Click-through rate is the percentage of impressions that result in a click. In organic search it varies enormously by position, query type and what else occupies the results page, which is why published averages should be treated as rough guides.
A published meta-analysis puts position one at around 39.8% on a clean results page, falling steeply through the top ten. Ahrefs measured that presence of an AI Overview cuts position-one CTR by about 34.5%.
Your own Search Console CTR by query is a better input than any benchmark, and you already have it.
Low CTR at a good position usually means an intent mismatch in the title, or a SERP feature answering the question before anyone reaches you.
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Related terms
Impressions
An impression is recorded each time your page appears in search results for a query, whether or not…
SERP
SERP stands for search engine results page: everything a search engine shows for a query, including ads…
AI Overview
An AI Overview is the AI-generated summary Google displays above the organic results for some queries…
Zero-click search
A zero-click search is one that ends without the user clicking through to any website, because the…
More in Metrics: Impressions · Google Search Console · Rank tracking
Frequently asked questions
What does Click-through rate (CTR) mean?
Click-through rate is the percentage of impressions that result in a click. In organic search it varies enormously by position, query type and what else occupies the results page, which is why published averages should be treated as rough guides.
Why does Click-through rate (CTR) matter for AI SEO?
A published meta-analysis puts position one at around 39.8% on a clean results page, falling steeply through the top ten. Ahrefs measured that presence of an AI Overview cuts position-one CTR by about 34.5%.
What is the most common mistake with click-through rate (ctr)?
Low CTR at a good position usually means an intent mismatch in the title, or a SERP feature answering the question before anyone reaches you.
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