Where can I find benchmarks for CTR in organic search?

• Do you know of any benchmarks for click-through rates (CTR) in organic search?

  I've found a lot of data on positioning, but I'd prefer industry if I can get it. What are your thoughts?

Answer:

It's certainly something to consider whenever reviewing SERPS, but we aren't aware of any specific standard.

In general it's best to take a measured approach with this and investigate whether the SERPS reflect the key phrase or perhaps a tweak could make the CTR higher. It often depends upon:

• How competitive is the term?
• Does it have a load of ads and other distractions trying to take clicks from that top placement?
• How well does the page <title> and description in the SERPS answer the user intent - i.e. does the phrase have a more generalized meaning or multiple meanings?

For instance, compare these terms which have been pretty stable at these placements over the last 16 months.

The green highlighted is a more exact term at position #1; CTR = 25.7%. The more generalized, but related term that can mean two things at position #1 has a 17.1% CTR

The yellow highlighted at position 1.6 has a 39.6% CTR for something that's a well answered question. The other, also at position 1.6, has a 19% CTR for a commercial term with lots of adverts and competition.

Another consideration is that brand name results will be much higher than more generic terms. Be aware that, if the CTR is not off the charts for a brand, that can be an indication that there's lots of advertising above the organic and you should investigate and consider PPC to push one of the adverts off and get those clicks back for the brand.