A Detailed Case Study On: Googles CTR by Ranking Position

Posted by Vishal Parmar

July 09, 2019

Google 30 min read

In the optimization space, the debate and common question of click-through rate affecting SEO rankings are often raised. CTR or Click-through-rate, a metric perpetually used in variable marketing tactics, from content development to smooth user experience, SEO is constantly taken into consideration. The question that usually arises is, “How to improve the CTR of your website?” “How a volume of organic CTR can help SEO ranking?”, “How does it matter in the long run?”, “What are the things one can do to improve click-through rate”?

Usually, people often get hung up on the minuscule of details and semantic on Google patent rules and competing theories based on something they have heard, read or discussed. Usually, the company’s unrealistic expectations of “being on the top-ranking” off of their targeted keywords at least lead them to realize that the proportion of clicks driven by top positions in the organic search listings is at a higher stake.

A study portrays different ways to increase click-through rates from Google SERPs, i.e., via Google’s search result pages; these are impactful, making SEO investments worth estimating an elevation of improved ranking. A detailed study was presented through a gap analysis for which keywords are researched and inserted to improve SEO ranking using (by the way, SEOlium is a professional Google rank tracker we use to monitor keyword ranks) the search query data from Google Search Console. Through advanced web ranking organic CTR research, one can deeply analyze different CTR and their positioning on various searcher schemes.

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Ranking on the top slot helps in understanding the first-positioned websites to understand the competitor’s list peripherally. It is evident that the website on slot one grabs an approximation of 33% of organic traffic from Google, where the one on the ninth slot sleeks under 2% of it, the question arises- “What does it mean?” and “What difference does it make?

Let’s calculate:

If the top website received 1000 clicks, then #9 receives merely 57 free and organic visitors. This makes a massive difference in analyzing the ranking and calculation behind it.

To improve your ranking from number nine to one, one needs to understand the basic calculation of 32.58/1.86 * 100 = +1752% (for one keyword placement).

A well strategic SEO implementation can boost the website’s traffic for a significant run. With this planning, publishing four new articles (every month) with a minimum of 1000 words and insertion of 20 strategic well placed keywords (within each article and overall of 100 new keywords, every month) can lead up to 10% of overall growth in the topmost ranking of Google.

To palpate the burning question of “how to improve the ctr of your website?” an average of a single keyword generates around 150 visitors per month (an approximation of 1500 new visitors every month). With the average CPC rate of $2 per click (in Adwords), the total value leads up to $2000-$3000 per month, with the success dependency on the quality of the placement of the backlinks.

SEO and CTR Goes Hand in Hand

Considering the ways to increase click-through rates from Google SERPs results, if very few people click-through ratio, then it is not optimized. Conversion of traffic is what counts and not impressions. In the basic sense, click-through-rate optimization is a part of search engine optimization (SEO).

Does a page with a high CTR rate tend to rank higher? As per the study, this picture shows the percentage of CTR rate and how it corresponds with the positioning and ranking of a page.

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Time and time again quantitatively, with the visuals, users’ attention drops off pretty significantly towards the bottom and flipping through the next page. With this, questions that usually pop up are, “Does click-through-rate actually remarked as a ranking factor?“, means, if something ranking low on the results page gets a stunningly high CTR, would Google analytics elevates its positioning?

To answer this question, Larry Kim performed a study at Wordstream and stated, CTR and rankings are clearly co-dependent variables.

Observing the graph, the difference is noted between an observed organic search CTR (minus) the expected CTR to figure out, the page performance (is beating or being beaten by the expected average CTR for a given organic position).

On average, beating the expected CTR can lend you in more prominent positions. Failing to beat the expected can more likely put you in a position below 5.

In conclusion to the above test: CTR matters mainly for organic rankings; if you can bear the expected CTR, you’re in a good place. If not, then expected rankings are meant to fall.

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Factors that Influence the Website Position in SERP Google 2019.

#1 Website Traffic:

Your website visits or your actual traffic is the most crucial ranking factor of your website. As per some researches, websites with higher authority subsequently leap more traffic, and as a result, have a better chance of getting on Google’s top ranking.

  • Considering the Behavioral Sector: With time on site, pages per session and bounce rate, they stand among the most important ranking factors. With this, the latest Google updates are significantly user-oriented. So one should keep tracking various metrics describing the success of user experience on the website to stay relevant.
  • Content Development: One cannot ignore the usefulness of content posting; it usually forms user’s opinions about your website. With that being said, the length of your articles also matters. Readers should understand that the content developer has conducted a thorough analysis to provide a detailed long-read.
  • Strategic Placement of Backlink: The more referring domains your website has, the better its ranking. The quality, placement, and the number of backlinks also matter; with that, a natural and trustworthy backlink profile doesn’t happen overnight. In a highly competitive niche, it is crucial to building a strong backlink profile. So be steady, and follow a thorough elaborated link-building strategy for clean results.
  • Page Optimization: On-page SEO is considered an essential aspect for better rankings and successful marketing campaigns. It is important to properly optimize your website’s page not only for Google crawlers but for people, for their ease and comfort.

Average CTR Against Competitors

Adwords Performance Grader analyzes an individual’s account against the variable of factors, offering insight for improvements across major KPIs, including quality score, account activity, wasted amount expenditure, and average CTR’s. Analyzing the performance in these areas compared to other advertisers of the niche. This gives the most accurate view of your performance into a competitive edge. Within seconds, the top 200 keywords perform against the designated benchmarks gleaned of over $3million in Adwords expenditure. Consider drilling down into key-specific keywords for the niche campaigns for significant impressions and average CTR by implementing the personalized strategies.

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Improving the ROI with Adwords CTR

Watching over on average CTR can help in subsiding the wasted expenditure, especially when the CTR’s are acceptable or even higher than expected, yet with lower conversions. The analysis will highlight the opportunities to improve targeting, raise or lower the average CTR and hike the conversions using an ad copy, negative keywords, and other working strategies.

Maintaining the Balance Between the Right Cost

High CTR does not always mean a good thing. If you have a high click-through rate and low conversion rate, it is clear; something is wrong with the methodology and implementation of the ideas. This mistake is not only costly but can result, totally the opposite of expectation. However, this can be rectified with some simple methods and the right tools. Negative keywords are those that block your ad from appearing when related search terms are used. This tactic keeps the cost down while refining the demographic of your customer interactions to the most relevant.

Improvisation of Organic CTR 

  • Taking up SERP as real as possible: The bigger the result appears, the more eye-catching it is, giving one a more significant opportunity to entice the click, with the bonus of squeezing the competitors off the screen.
  • Ensuring results reflect both the search query and the page: Clickbait never works! Nothing encourages a searcher to click more than seeing a result that perfectly matches what they’re looking for, and most importantly, follows through on that track.

Getting Started with Optimized CTR for Search 

Concluding this, organic click-through-rate optimization is the most important but often overlooked aspect of SEO and search success. There are numerous ways to have control over how your search results appear and influence CTR.

  • Outstanding page titles
  • Easy and readable URLs
  • Enhancing the search with structured data
  • Powerful meta descriptions
  • Featured snippets
  • Iteration and experimentation

It is crucial to have a landing website that is aesthetically built with helpful content. There’s no point in having a great CTR if your bounce rate is equally high. Additionally, considering to improve other SEO and UX factors such as load speed, page design, navigation can ensure your doubts on improving the CTR of your website.

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