Rand Fishkin in Sparktoro have performed an analysis of the click rate (CTR) on search results using the company Jumpshot search data. The numbers are from the United States, but I can't see any good reason why the numbers will be quite equal here to the country as well, and if we're still a little bit away, we're definitely on our way there.
Click rate in 2015 against 2018 on desktop
Here we see the development of click rate (CTR) for desktop searches. In November 2015, 71% of all clicks in search results went to an organic match, while in February 2018, we are down to 65%. Nevertheless, it appears that the click rate for organic matches has remained relatively stable since 2016.
Click on Google Ads ads have also gone up and down a little, but in particular in the last year have had a strong growth.
The percentage of search results that generate no clicks has also remained relatively stable since May 2016.
Here there are really no big surprises, but so long it seems that you can expect about the same distribution in some time to come.
It's only when we look at the mobile phone that the numbers start to be worriedSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.
Click rate in 2015 versus 2018 on mobile
In November 2015, 66% of all searches lead to an organic location click, 2.5 years later the number down to 38%(!)So let's say that this is the same thing as that. Something that is a considerable decline and about half of the click rate we see organic hits get on desktop. The numbers are constantly downwards, so it doesn't seem to have stabilised.
The click rate on Google Ads ads is, however, up, from 2.52% in 2015 to 3.12% in 2018. A solid growth there.
Let's think about the numbers for those who don't click on a search result.
First of all, this graph tells us that Google has become incredibly much better at responding to our search results, so we don't have to click on it further.
The second is that it is very clear that this is happening especially on the mobile phone. The increase is drastic from 2015 and it seems to be still on the way up.
We saw earlier that the click rate of ads is on the way up, so here Google succeeds either to get paid for the clicks on the site or to keep users on its platform. The only loser right now is organic positions.
The desktop seems to have stabilised at 34-35% – perhaps because Google does not focus as much on improving desktop performance? It may also be because applicants are in more "research mode".
What is the reason why fewer people click on organic matches?
There is probably not just one reason why fewer clicks on organic matches, but one of the biggest ones is that more and more searches contain rich results that respond to search events without having to click on a website to get the answer.
10% of all search results now have a "Answer now" box with an answer to what they are wondering about. Here is an example from an applicant who is looking for the ingredients of tomato soup. Is there really any reason to click on any of the other search results here?
The numbers from Jumpshot also show that Google Ads eats a proportion of the clicks that may have previously gone to organic matches.
What does this mean to you?
- It is much harder to get traffic from organic searches on the mobile than on desktop.
- You have to start thinking about how to use rich results to achieve your company's goals.
- Rich results take a lot of space and even if you have a high organic location, it may be too far down to browse. Therefore, you should work on getting high organic locations or paying you up using Google Ads ads.
If you want to get more traffic into your website, it may be a good idea to cooperate with a SEO Agency that can help you rank your website and keep it up to date to fight against changes like this!
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