There are many factors that can tell you your search engine optimisation (SEO) campaign is running successfully. Two of the most important SEO performance indicators are where you rank and your click-through rate — i.e. how many people are clicking on your search engine listings.
Of course, everyone’s goal with SEO is to rank number one organically, especially since 28.5% of Google users will click the first organic results when searching on a mobile phone. Just think of the conversions this can generate if your website is properly optimised.
However, a number one organic position ranking isn’t always the first thing that’s seen on the page. There are several other factors on a Google search engine results page that can influence where a customer will click, so it pays to be aware of them when working out your online strategy.
What does click-through rate mean?
Click-through rate is the percentage of online users who click through to your website having seen your web page in a list of results. It’s used as a method of tracking the effectiveness of organic search engine optimisation, as well as paid ads and local SEO campaigns.
CTR, or click-through rate, is a great measurement of success for any campaign, and can even tell you a lot about your actual web page and its content. For example, if you are ranking well on Google and receiving a high click-through rate, but you aren’t receiving enquiries or sales, it’s likely there’s something on your web pages that is turning potential customers away. You can then use other metrics, like heat maps, to optimise your on-page conversions. But back to how to improve your click-through rate on Google (and other places).
What can influence organic click-through rates?
Paid ads.
64.6% of people will click on Google Ads when looking for an item online. 55% of people don’t even know which links are paid ads and which are organic, so paid ads can have a big impact on your organic click-through rate. This is why it’s often recommended business utilise a paid ads and organic search campaign in tandem to claim digital space in as many places as possible on Google search engine results.
Featured snippets.
Featured snippets come in many forms, but will typically appear as a preview of an answer to your search query in a box at the top of a Google search engine results page or in the ‘people also ask’ section. It typically appears if you have asked a question on Google. Each snippet will link through to the web page it has been sourced from. Due to this, snippets tend to claim more clicks, which is why good SEO strategists aim to claim snippets as part of an ongoing strategy.
Meta data.
Your meta title and description are the pieces of information Google shows on search engine results pages to tell users what your page is called and what it may be about. However, they can also have a big impact on your click-through rate if your title and description don’t align with the intent of the searcher or stand out from others in the search results. For example, someone may be more likely to click on a title that includes ‘free’ than one that doesn’t.
How do I improve my overall click-through rate to my website?
Be in multiple places on Google search engine results.
The more digital space you can claim on Google search engine results, the higher your chance of getting the click over your competitors. You have a number of places you can work to claim on Google, including:
- Paid ad positions.
- Featured snippets.
- Google Business Profile listings.
- Ranking your web pages.
- Additional page rankings through YouTube, directories and more.
Diversifying your digital marketing strategy will help you claim more digital space, increasing your likelihood of getting the click. It’s like going fishing with five rods over one — who is more likely to catch the fish?
Invest in a click-through rate specialist
Monitoring your click-through rate, understanding its possible impacts and then optimising your website to suit takes a lot of on-going and knowledge. You’re good at what you do, but this may not be your forté and that’s okay. It’s search engine optimisation and search engine optimisation experts, like Digital Surfer, exist.
As a multi-award winning digital marketing agency, our goal is to create campaigns that bring you clicks from people most likely to convert into a customer. If you want to not only increase the quantity but also the quality of your leads, then we’d love to chat about how we can customise a campaign to suit your goals.
