In short
Across published studies, the top organic result receives roughly 25–35% of clicks, position two around 15%, position three around 10%, and positions six to ten between 2% and 5% each. A 'good' CTR is therefore one that matches or beats the expected rate for the position, which is the only fair comparison. Branded queries, SERP features, and AI Overviews all shift the curve, so the practical method is to compare each page's CTR against others at the same position in your own Search Console data.
The curve
Every large study of organic click-through rate finds the same shape, with the numbers moving a little between studies and years:
| Position | Typical organic CTR |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25–35% |
| 2 | 13–17% |
| 3 | 9–11% |
| 4 | 6–8% |
| 5 | 4–6% |
| 6–10 | 2–5% each |
| Page 2 and beyond | Under 1% each |
The figures are averages across all query types, all industries and all SERP layouts. That is exactly why they mislead when applied to a single page.
What moves a page off the curve
Branded queries. A search for your company name clicks through to you at 50–80%, regardless of position. If a page's queries are mostly branded, its CTR will look magnificent and mean nothing. Filter them out before judging anything.
SERP features. A featured snippet above the results takes clicks from position one, and gives many more to whoever holds it. Ads, shopping units, video carousels, People Also Ask boxes and map packs each push the organic results down and take a share. A position-one result under four ads and a map pack behaves like a position-five result on a clean page.
AI Overviews. Since 2024, queries that trigger an AI Overview have seen organic CTR fall substantially; studies through 2025 reported declines of a third to a half for the top positions on affected informational queries. The click that would have gone to a result now often does not happen at all. Sites cited inside the Overview recover some of it; sites not cited lose it. This is the zero-click shift, and it means position-based benchmarks from before 2024 overstate what an informational ranking is worth.
Query intent. Navigational and transactional queries click through more decisively; informational queries increasingly resolve on the results page.
The snippet itself. The title and description are the only part of this you control directly. A specific, benefit-led title and a description that answers the query can double a page's CTR at the same position. A truncated or generic one halves it.
Device. Mobile CTR is lower at every position, because the screen shows fewer results and more features.
The only benchmark that is fair
Compare a page against your own site's pages at the same position, for the same kind of query. Search Console makes this straightforward:
- Open Performance, set the date range to the last three months, and enable Impressions, CTR and Position.
- Filter out branded queries using a query filter that excludes your name.
- Sort by impressions. Look at pages with high impressions and an average position between three and ten.
- For each, compare CTR with other pages at a similar position. A page at position four with a 1.5% CTR while its siblings at position four get 6% has a snippet problem, and fixing it is the cheapest traffic gain available.
This is where "good CTR" becomes an actionable number: good is what your own comparable pages achieve, and the outliers below it are the work list.
What to do about a low CTR page
Rewrite the title. Lead with the specific thing the searcher wants, keep it under 60 characters so it is not cut off, and make it read differently from the nine other results. Look at what those results say; if they are all "Complete Guide to X", yours should not be.
Rewrite the description. Answer the query in a sentence and say what the page adds. Google rewrites descriptions often, but a well-matched one is used more often than not.
Add structured data where it earns a richer result. FAQ, how-to and product markup can expand the listing, which lifts CTR by making it larger, not by ranking it higher.
Check the intent. If the page ranks for a query it does not really answer, the CTR is low because searchers can tell from the snippet. That is a content problem, and the fix is either a better page or accepting that the impressions are not yours to win.
Then wait. Changes show in Search Console within a week or two. Compare CTR at the same position before and after; if position also moved, the comparison is invalid.
What CTR cannot tell you
A high CTR on a query nobody searches is worth nothing, and a low CTR on a query with a million impressions may still be your largest traffic source. CTR is a diagnostic for individual snippets, not a site-wide score, and it should always be read alongside impressions and, ultimately, what the visitors did after clicking.
If you would like help turning your Search Console data into a prioritised list of snippets to rewrite, book a call; it is a two-hour job that regularly produces the best traffic-per-hour return on a site.
Common questions
What is the average CTR for position 1 on Google?
Studies consistently place it around 25–35% of clicks for non-branded queries on a results page without heavy SERP features. With a featured snippet, several ads or an AI Overview above it, the effective rate is markedly lower. Branded queries, where the searcher is looking for you by name, click through at 50% or more.
Is a 5% organic CTR good?
It depends on the position. At position one it is poor and suggests a weak snippet or a results page crowded with features; at position five it is typical; at position eight it is excellent. Judge CTR against the expected rate for the position, and against your own site's pages at the same position.
How have AI Overviews affected organic CTR?
On informational queries that trigger an AI Overview, organic CTR for the top positions fell substantially through 2024 and 2025, with published estimates of a third to a half. Many searchers now get their answer in the Overview and do not click. Sites cited inside the Overview recover part of the loss; uncited sites bear all of it.
How do I improve my click-through rate in Google?
Rewrite the title tag to lead with the specific thing the searcher wants and to read differently from the other results; write a description that answers the query; add structured data that earns a richer listing; and make sure the page genuinely matches the query's intent. Use Search Console to find pages whose CTR is well below your other pages at the same position.
Why is my CTR low even though I rank on page one?
Usually one of four things: the page ranks for queries it does not really answer, the title is generic or truncated, the results page is crowded with ads, snippets, video or an AI Overview that take the clicks, or the queries are informational ones that now resolve without a click. Search Console's query list for the page will show which.
