A question we are often asked by clients (at least once a week!) is how many clicks can you expect if a website reaches Page one on Google? It’s a good question. If you want conversions, you need traffic, and increased traffic is a by-product of increased rankings.
The answer to this question could quite easily be ‘it depends’, and it does depend to a point. Variables like sector and search type matter, but we can do better than such a vague answer. There are a few research studies available that can help to answer the question. So let’s focus on click-through rate (CTR) first, and we can then make a calculation to figure out the traffic.
As recently as October 2022, Backlinko, analysed over 4 million Google search results to shine a light on organic click-through rates. 1,312,881 pages and 12,166,560 search queries, to be precise! Backlinko’s findings were similar to an earlier study from Chitika in June 2013, and more recently from Advanced Web Rankings. The latter is an ongoing study, last updated in December 2022, details of which can be dived into here. Click here to see the details.
So, what do we know so far about Page 1 and CTR?
Here is a summary of the main findings:
The #1 result in Google’s organic search results can be business-changing. Position 1 receives an average CTR of 27.6%. Being in #1 might not be all or nothing, but it’s not far off.
The #1 organic result is 10x more likely to receive a click compared to a position in the #10 spot. Page one is the goal, but the listings on Page 1 are not equal. To set one of your KPIs as ‘reach Google’s first page’ is too vague and a bit of a vanity metric unless you can kick on from there. That being said, #10 for a lucrative keyword may still significantly increase traffic.
54.4% of all clicks go to the top 3 Google search results listings.
Less than 1% (0.63%) of Google organic searchers clicked on any listing from the second page. People do not search on Page 2. It’s conclusive.
Moving up a single position on Google’s Page 1 increases relative CTR by 32.3%. Making incremental gains in this way could make a difference.
It’s also worth noting that Jumping From #2 To #1 Will Double Your Organic Traffic.
What does this all mean?
The CTR rate findings here are interesting, but nothing new if you’re studied SEO for a long time.
The only way this data can be meaningful and specific to you is by giving it context. To determine what level of traffic you expect for your property website, we need to know which keywords you want to target. You can find the average monthly search volume on Google UK using Google’s Keyword Planner. It’s worth noting you won’t be, or shouldn’t be, targeting just one keyword. Those days are long gone! To crudely put a number on it for the sake of this exercise, you may be monitoring 10,20 or 50 keywords. When you add up the volume for all keywords, this is when the case for focusing on SEO becomes super compelling.
Use our calculator below to determine how much traffic you can expect from each keyword. Enter the keyword volume next to the position you are already in, or aiming for, and based on the CTR, we can give you a reasonably accurate idea of expected traffic. Your calculation is much more actionable than an ‘it depends’.
If you’re really on your game and know your conversion rate, you can work out leads and revenue based on position, also. If you would like to discuss how to do this, sign up for a 30-minute consultation and we’ll talk you through it.
