How to increase your CTR

Gaining visibility in Google's search results is one thing, but getting your target audience to click on your rank is another.

How do you improve the clickability of your SERP results? Improve your meta tags. The relationship between the two is closely linked.

You've got great rankings on @Google, but it doesn't really matter if searchers don't click on your sitelinks, @madmanick via @CMIContent said. #SEO Click to Tweet Here's a closer look at that connection and some tips for getting more searchers to click on your content.

What is organic click-through rate?

Organic click-through rate is the percentage of searchers who click on an advertised link on a search engine results page ( SERP ) :

CTR = # searchers click your link in the SERPs
How many searchers found the SERP with your link

To create a simpler SERP: CTR = clicks / impressions. Image source

Search CTR = Clicks / Impressions. The higher the CTR, the more people will find your page relevant, said @madmanick via @CMIContent. #SEO. Click to post A higher CTR means more people find your site relevant to what they're looking for. Any SEO strategy How solid? must include an effort to raise organic CTR.

Which meta tags affect CTR?

Meta tags is what searchers see to determine what content they will click on.

Meta tags are basically Google's language. The shorter and more engaging they are, the stronger CTR you'll find. Four main tags influence CTR:

Title tag : The title tag (or page title) briefly describes the content on the page and appears as a clickable, blue hyperlink on the SERP.

Meta description: The meta description appears below the page title and gives searchers more context about what to include.

URL path : While not as impactful as the title tag or meta description, the URL path to your site appears with the results and can affect click-through rates.

Schema markup: Schema markup can help your page appear in rich Google results such as featured snippet knowledge panels, etc., get the main SERP real estate and generally attract more clicks.

The @madmanick header via @CMIContent indicates how tags, meta descriptions, URL paths, and schema markup affect organic search CTR. #SEO Click to Tweet TIP: Google recently announced it rewrite page title or meta descriptions when not thinking that the existing descriptions are sufficient. However, Google says it still shows the original title tag 80% of the time, so it's important to take time to optimize your meta tags and improve their clickability for searchers. .

What is the relationship between CTR and ranking position?

There is an exponential relationship between CTR and ranking position . Simply put, the higher the page rank, the more organic clicks will be received.

Naturally, the first organic search result gets the most clicks. As you drop in rankings, clicks and conversions get exponentially lower.

Search volume can also affect the total number of clicks. If your content ranks in the top for a key phrase with higher search volume, it will naturally earn more clicks than keyword phrases with lower search volume.

TIP: Various studies show searchers who prefer organic results to the pay-per-click ads that appear at the top of the SERP. That's another reason to focus on higher organic rankings to generate stronger CTR.

How to understand your CTR performance

Google Search Console is a free platform that helps website owners track SEO data and iterate their strategy. When it comes to click-through rates, the platform shows you:

Average CTR across all keywords and sites

Average CTR across all keywords for individual pages

CTR for specific keyword queries

For example, the chart below illustrates the performance of rank #1 for a query above Moz Bulk Skin Checker . Its 34.9% CTR better than usual 28. 5% CTR expected for #1 ranking position based on Google data.

Given the performance of the page, its meta tags can be optimized, clearly explaining what searchers will find and motivating them to click on the page.

In this next example, the page ranks 4th on the results page but has an average CTR of 0.4%. Looking at Google data, this ranker would expect a CTR close to 8%:

This underperforming page can be identified as one that could benefit from meta tag optimization.

My stuff, GSC Insights , can help you understand your click-through rates with data nuances and images. The graph for traffic by keyword position illustrates CTR in relation to its ranking position, making it easy to identify underperforming pages.

Improve CTR through meta tags

Now that you understand the close relationship between CTR, ranking position, and metadata, it's time to improve meta tags to increase your organic CTR on underperforming pages. Here are five tips:

1. Follow best practices for page titles and meta descriptions

It is certain that:

Respect the maximum number of characters – no more than 60 for the page title and about 160 for the meta description.

Include your target keyword – in the page title and meta description to indicate relevancy to Google and searchers.

Include required attributes in schema markup. To check, enter your site link into Google's rich results tool and see how content is displayed.

2. Add questions and CTA

Audiences are more engaged with content that captures their interest. Includes questions and call to action in page title and meta description.

Ask a compelling, relevant question so they want to click the link to find the answer. Yes, Google can rewrite your meta description, but that only happens 20% of the time. The more relevant your meta description, the less likely Google is to rewrite it.

3. Make your SERPs more engaging with schema.org

Schema.org gives website owners great opportunities to rank above the competition and stand out in the SERPs.

4. Focus on pages where improved CTR means exponential traffic

Optimize meta tags for pages that rank on the first page and rank for keywords with higher search volume. Because CTR and position rank are exponential, those improvements can mean massive amounts of traffic to your site.

5. Screen Performance

To see how your meta tag optimization impacts CTR and organic traffic, track the changes you make to your meta tags. Note the changes made and the date they happened so you can use Google Search Console or other ranking tools to gauge the impact.

Ultimately, your goal with any SEO practice is to achieve real traffic to your website. Once your content is ranking on Google, more granular optimizations like these will be all the difference in driving more clicks and bringing in more audience to your site.

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All tools mentioned in the article are identified by the author. If you have a tool to recommend, feel free to add it in the comments.

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Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski / Content Marketing Institute