CTR (Click-Through Rate)

The percentage of search impressions that result in a click to your website — (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100.

CTR measures how compelling your SERP listing is to searchers who see it. A high CTR means your title and description are convincing people to click. A low CTR for a high-ranking page is a signal that your title/description should be improved. Google Search Console reports CTR by query, page, country, and device.

CTR varies significantly by position: position 1 earns roughly 25–35% CTR for informational queries, position 2 around 15%, position 3 around 10%, falling off sharply below that. SERP features (ads, featured snippets, AI Overviews, PAA) above your result reduce your CTR even at position 1.

Improving CTR: test different title tag formulations (include power words, numbers, current year for freshness), write compelling meta descriptions with clear value propositions, earn rich results (star ratings, images visible in SERP), and target featured snippets to claim position zero. A CTR increase without an impression change is a direct traffic gain from the same rankings.