September 22, 2022

Why the #1 Search Position Captures 27.6% of Google Traffic

Whether you’re new to digital marketing or simply looking to boost your business’s online presence, chances are you understand the value of ranking higher than your competitors in Google Search. After all, higher search rankings equate to more Google traffic, and more traffic means more chances for conversions and sales.

If that weren’t enough, Google remains the world’s most popular search engine by a wide margin, holding roughly 84% of the global search engine market share. As a result, businesses with a solid Google marketing strategy stand to earn far more traffic and potential revenue opportunities, especially if they can manage to capture the #1 spot in Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

For instance, let’s imagine that you were to do a search for the top hair products. While you’d be greeted with loads of ads and related content, there’s a much higher chance you’d click the #1 search result. It’s also less likely you’d make it to page two before you found what you were looking for. That’s because the #1 result on SERPs dominates when it comes to click-through rates and traffic. However, even if your business isn’t in the #1 spot, there’s still hope. In this article, we’ll cover exactly how much traffic share the top Google Search rankings get and what you need to do if you find yourself stuck on page two or beyond.

Average Google Traffic Share and Search Rankings

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that capturing the top spot in Google Search isn’t easy. There’s a lot of work that goes into crafting an SEO strategy capable of propelling your business up the search rankings, and this is especially true if you’re a new business or brand trying to make a name for yourself among bigger players.

There’s in-depth keyword research to consider, as the right mix of branded, non-branded, and long-tail keywords can help create SEO content that’s engaging and relevant to your business and target audience.

Additionally, your SEO strategy will need to include research into how best to fit other SEO elements like title tags, images, and internal links into your website’s design and navigational structure.

While the above concepts might seem complicated or time-consuming, you can better understand why those efforts are worth it once you start looking at the numbers for search rankings and average Google traffic share. A quick glance at the Google organic CTR breakdown by position highlights that the #1 position in Google SERPs captures 27.6% of all clicks.

If that weren’t enough, further research from Backlink.io shows that the #2 position in Google Search captures just 15.8% of clicks, while the #3 position only captures 11%. As you move further down the ranks, the traffic disparity between positions grows even larger, culminating with the #1 position capturing 10x more clicks than the #10 spot.

Things are very different for page 2 of Google, with only .63% of searchers clicking on something from that second page. That being said, there’s no reason to be discouraged if you find yourself on that second page or even beyond. As long as you’re continuously optimizing your website and its content, you can steadily climb up the ranks towards a more conversion-friendly position.

Organic CTR Vs. Paid CTR

Businesses hoping to quickly climb the ranks of Google SERPs should also consider looking into paid advertising, as paid ads appear above organic results.

To add to this, statistics say that 75% of searchers never scroll past the first page, making it vital to really dive into the CTR metrics for paid advertising if you hope to make the most of your digital marketing efforts and drive more valuable traffic to your website.

Just like with organic SEO content, ensure ads are relevant to the audience you’re trying to reach, with ad copy focused on satisfying search intent. This means fashioning content to meet their needs at every stage of the buyer journey. Likewise, it means not being afraid to think outside the box a little, putting yourself into the shoes of your site visitors and customers. Ask yourself, what kind of content would you value most if you were in their position? What kind of information would you need to convert?

To give an example, our agency specializes in a number of competitive industries ranging from health and fitness to beauty, fashion, and more. A core part of our search marketing strategy is focused on paid advertising, whether it’s for our own campaigns or a client’s.

If we were to dive into the average CTR for search ads by industry, we’d find that the average clickthrough rate for most industries (including those we specialize in) is hovering at 6-8%, with some outliers like Travel and Arts & Entertainment sitting at roughly 9% and 12% respectively. From there, we can use those insights to devise a pay-per-click (PPC) strategy that works for our own budget or our clients’, accounting for cost-per-click (CPC) and conversion rates along the way.

Desktop Results Vs. Mobile Results

Narrowing down actionable marketing data also means looking at differences in how Google displays search results for desktop and mobile users. In fact, recent statistics show that more than half of all global traffic currently comes from mobile devices, with the results page for a desktop search versus a mobile search looking like this:

Desktop Search Results Order

Google Ads
Google Maps Rankings
Organic Search Rankings (First Group)
Related Questions
Organic Search Rankings (Second Group)
Google Ads (2nd Group – if applicable)
Related Searches

Mobile Search Results Order

Google Ads
Results Near (Location)
Google Maps Results
Organic Results (First Group)
People Also Ask
Organic Results (2nd Group)
Refine This Search
Organic Results (Continuous Scrolling)
Related Searches
Google Ads

The key takeaway here is that mobile has become increasingly more important, and there’s quantifiable advantages to being in the top positions when more results are returned in a mobile search, and when more people are searching for their favorite products or services on-the-go. Additionally, with Google now prioritizing mobile page speed as a key web ranking factor, you’ll want to do everything you can to ensure your website is taking a mobile-first approach.

Other SEO Success Metrics to Consider

While an increase in Google traffic is a key indicator that your SEO efforts are working, there are other metrics to consider. These include:

Bounce Rate

One of the more important metrics used to measure SEO success and a web page’s overall effectiveness is its overall bounce rate, otherwise known as the rate at which people land on a page and do nothing else on your site before leaving. Reducing bounce rate should be a key part of your SEO strategy, as this improves user experience.

Pages Per Session

Users visiting your website want to feel engaged throughout their visit. With content being such a core part of SEO, it’s vital that your business takes the time to dive into your metrics for pages per session (PPS).

As PPS is related to bounce rate, a higher PPS number indicates that someone found your content engaging enough to want to learn more about your company and what you’re offering. In other words, there’s a much higher chance that person might convert into a client or customer.

Climb the Ranks to Get More Google Traffic with Help from the Digital Marketing Experts at VELOX Media

While reaching the #1 spot in Google SERPs is an important part of growing your business, it’s not always the easiest thing to do, especially if you’re a newer or smaller business trying to make a name for yourself. The best way to capture more Google traffic is to partner with the award-winning digital marketing experts at VELOX Media.

As a Google Premier Partner with over 13 years of experience in SEO, PPC, web development, and more, we can provide your business with an ROI-focused strategy tailored to your KPIs. Reach out to VELOX to learn how we can help you drive more traffic and locate more revenue opportunities for your business today.