Is Click-Through Rate (CTR) a Google search ranking factor? Do you want to optimize the Click-Through Rate strategy for Google search ranking? Can CTR influence rankings?
There are many beliefs and disbelief in this context. While many people believe that CTR directly influences search ranking, many others believe that Click-through rate is not a ranking signal.
But does Click-Through Rate (CTR) impact your Google search position? Let's find out.
Let's understand everything about ClickThrough Rate and its impact on search.
Click-Through Rate (CTR):
Click-Through Rate is the way to measure the performance of your content and marketing campaigns. It is easy to calculate CTR.
CTR = clicks/impressions.
As far as good CTR is concerned, it can be anything between 1.8% to 5%.
In the organic search results, your rank position influences the CTR. Your page title, keywords, and descriptions also influence the Click-Through Rate.
Good CTR is necessary for traffic, leads, sales, and influence.
But is CTR a Google organic ranking factor? Let's find out.
Claim: Click-Through Rate (CTR) is a Google Ranking Factor
From the beginning of SEO, marketers believed that CTR directly influenced search ranking.
The oldest document we found is from 2002, which says that CTR should be used in search ranking.
In 2014, Rand Fishkin did an experiment where he asked people to search a query and click his page from Google search. His blog post ranked number 1 and received hundreds of page views.
In 2016, Larry Kim from MOZ did another experiment where he compared thousands of keywords and query rankings in Google search to understand the influence of click-through rate. He said that Rankbrain is giving preference to pages that have higher CTR.
How to Improve Organic CTR?
- Optimize page title and description.
- Make the page user-friendly, responsive, and fast-loading.
- Avoid Keyword stuffing and cannibalization.
- Use LSI, related, and long tail keywords.
SEOs are using heading and title optimizer tools to write better meta titles and descriptions.
Evidence: Click-through rate (CTR) is not a Google Search Ranking Factor
WordStream and Perficient published articles against CTR as a ranking signal.
Experts found flaws in CTR as a ranking signal approach.
It was easy to influence CTR using paid opportunities.
These are the old experiments, and Google search has changed a lot in past years.
Google's Gary Illyes also said that CTR is not a ranking factor.
Conclusion: Click-Through Rate (CTR) is not a Google Search Ranking Factor
The Click-Through Rate is not a ranking factor. However, it also does not mean that you should ignore content optimization. You must use SEO tools to write headlines, titles, and descriptions.
Optimized titles and headings result in more clicks and traffic.
But, if your sole purpose is to rank higher in search results, then focus on other important ranking factors.
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