Organic Click-Through Rate
Quick definition
Organic click-through rate is the percentage of impressions in Google Search results that led to a click, calculated as clicks divided by impressions in Search Console's performance report.
Formula
Organic CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
Formula variables
- Clicks
- Clicks on your results in search, as counted by the search engine's report.
- Impressions
- Times your result appeared in search results, as counted by the same report.
Worked example
- Clicks
- 420
- Impressions
- 12,000
420 ÷ 12,000 × 100
Result: 3.5%
3.5% of impressions led to a click. The figures are illustrative.
How definitions differ
- Definitions belong to the report
- Which appearances count as impressions and which interactions count as clicks follow Search Console's own rules. Numbers from Search Console will not match web analytics sessions.
- Property or page aggregation
- Search Console aggregates the same data by property and by page, and the figure you see applies to the aggregation in view. The same site can therefore show a different value in each view, and filtering changes it again.
- Not the advertising CTR
- The formula is the same as for the general click-through rate, but the data come from organic results, not ads.
How to interpret it
Organic CTR shows how often people choose your result when they see it, which depends on position, the title and description, and the other results on the page.
Trends for a query or page are more useful than a single number, and it should be read next to average position.
When it is useful
- Finding pages with many impressions but few clicks, which may need better titles and descriptions.
- Measuring the effect of title and description changes.
- Comparing queries or pages that rank in similar positions.
Limitations
- Depends on position, search features and query type.
- Aggregated figures blend very different queries, and differ between property and page views.
- Reported only for the search engine whose report you use.
Common mistakes
- Comparing CTR across different positions as if it were the same situation.
- Using generic CTR curves as a target.
- Mixing Search Console figures with analytics sessions.