As SEO specialists, we often find ourselves talking to clients who understand the importance of SEO, but ask what the difference is between simply appearing on page one of search results and grabbing the lucrative top search spots? In this article, we explore the importance of appearing at the top of the SERP (search engine results page), as well as some tips on improving your click-through rate (CTR).
Does position really matter?
In a word, yes! Multiple studies have shown on the SERP the number one organic spot gets around 32% of click-throughs and that the first five organic results tend to gain 75% of all click-throughs from the result page. The last five search results (spots six to 10) only tend to gain between 1.5-4% of total SERP click-throughs.
This shows the big difference between simply being on page one, and appearing in one of the top spots. The higher your website appears, the more click-throughs and traffic you will gain.
The link between CTR and SEO
CTR and SEO work together in (almost) perfect harmony. The stronger your CTR, the more traffic you gain, which increases your domain authority (DA). Your DA and traffic volumes will help improve your ranking, leading to more click-throughs and more traffic – which is an ongoing cycle, although we do suggest checking in every once in a while to ensure that your competition hasn’t overtaken you!
User behaviour in search engine rankings
Using eye-tracking technology, marketing firm Mediative found that user behaviour on SERPs is evolving. While users would previously focus on the top left of the search results, the increasing global use of mobile and Google re-designs now mean that people often scan the SERP vertically, rather than horizontally, depending on what they’re looking for.
Another key insight to the SERP is that more often than not users tend to ignore paid results (often marked with an ‘Ad’ badge) and scan straight to the first few organic results. This is an important consideration and, again, shows the value of using a combined approach to appearing on Google, rather than a strictly organic or paid focus.
Improving CTR for SERPs
Luckily, there is a best-practice approach to SEO that can be adopted. Here are some of our best tips to improve your CTR using the example article title – The best ways to cook eggs at home.
Tip #1: Use numbers in your title and title tag to boost your CTR by up to 36%
4 of the best ways to cook eggs at home
Tip #2: Use power words that create an emotion
Try some of these: amazing, huge, secret, mind-blowing, powerful, discover, explore.
4 mind-blowing ways to cook eggs at home
Tip #3: Use this content-marketing approved template:
- Format
- Emotional Hook
- Content-Type
- Your Subject
4 mind-blowing methods for cooking eggs at home.
Tip #4: Create a descriptive URL
Use https://mywebsite.com/4-mindblowing-methods-for-eggs-at-home
Instead of https://mywebsite.com/342342974284729
Tip #5: Test on social media
If you can generate engagement and clicks on social media, chances are your article will translate well to the search engine results page too. So be sure to use social media for SEO as your sounding board.
At Verkeer, we live, eat and breathe SEO. With SEO becoming unavoidable, be sure to arrange a chat with our team to get you started on the right path.