How important is a top listing in Google search results? Let’s take a look at the numbers. A recent study by a group of SEO experts analyzed millions of Google search results. Businesses on page 1 receive 70-90% percent of all traffic from the average search, while results for Page 2 account for only 5%. Yikes! At further glance, the top 3 organic results receive approximately 75% of the traffic. So while ranking on page one of Google is important, ranking in the top 3 spots is where the real “money” is. The #1 result has the highest CTR (by far) – getting over 30% of search traffic. Many people simply just click on the first result in Google, which is why ranking #1 is significantly more valuable than any other position. The #1 organic spot is 10 times more likely to get clicked than the in the #10 spot. While the #1 ranking in Google should be every company’s goal, ranking highly on the first page results can still generate significant traffic.

The #2 result captures about 25% of the clicks on the first page, while the 3rd spot receives about 20%. Positions 13 are key because they show up above the fold on most devices – so users don’t have to scroll to find them. These top 3 spots capture a combined 75% of the overall traffic from Google users. Ideally you want to position your business among the top 3 spots for your target keywords to attract the most relevant visitors as possible. However depending on the competitiveness of your industry and location of your business, achieving a top 3 spot may not always be realistic, especially for small businesses competing against enormous, established brands. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do everything you can to climb as high as possible. Moving up even just one position in Google can increase your relative CTR dramatically. The percentage of CTR your business gains by increasing its ranking in a Google search varies among the top 10 listings. For instance, moving from the 6th place ranking to 5th place provides a boost of over 50%, while moving from the 9th listing to the 8th listing boosts very little.

Indeed click-through rate is relatively flat between positions #6-#10 – the percentages are virtually the same. So climbing a few spots on the bottom of the first page doesn’t have the same effect as climbing among the top 5 results. Climbing up the rankings on the 2nd page and beyond increase CTR very little, since these listings comprise only 5% of CTR.

Key takeaway: While ranking on the first page is important to your business, the top 5 listings capture the vast majority of the traffic.

Search engine optimization is the cornerstone of achieving success in your business’ Google rank, but how do you improve your website SEO? You can either spend years learning to optimize for SEO, or you can hire a trusted team of SEO experts with a track record of success like Web Design Pros. Contact us today for a free website SEO audit and consultation to see if we’re the right fit to help you get ranked on Google.