2021 seoClarity CTR Study
By Mitul Gandhi, Chief Architect & Co-Founder at seoClarity

Overview
Click-through rate (CTR) studies have been compiled by various researchers andcompanies since the advent of search marketing. They provide a very important
foundation for marketers in:-

Forecasting results-

Projecting SEO returns on investment and-Building models for estimating the market size and potential.

What makes seoClarity’s study remarkably different from all other studies is the sheer
volume of actual data analyzed - 750+ billion impressions, 30+ billion clicks across
17+ billion unique keywords. This makes it the largest CTR study ever!

The end result is a robust CTR model broken down by device, keyword type, country,
seasonality and industry. This provides more actionable data for search marketers who
are looking for the most reliable figures unique to them and their industry.

The study was compiled by the seoClarity team, in partnership with Darren Kingman,
the Founder of SEO and Digital PR Agency Root Digital, analyzing seoClarity’s
proprietary clickstream data set of Google activity over a 12-month period.

Why another CTR study?
When we looked at the landscape of available studies, we realized that:© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

1

● Most existing studies were already outdated due to the constantly evolving PPC
landscape (which has the effect of significantly changing organic results visibility
and thereby associated CTRs)● There has never been a bigger data set available to conduct such a study. All
previous data sets suffered from a selection bias - relying on a limited number of
Google search console accounts, providing a skewed view of CTR based on
industries and companies represented. We have a far more significant data set
than anyone has ever been able to leverage. The hypothesis was that a larger
data set would provide more statistical confidence and ability to drill down andsegment in different ways (keyword types, industry, device types, etc.) that were
hitherto impossible.

● No other CTR study offered data broken down by seasonality, geography or byindustry.
As with ANY CTR study, there are a few caveats which we’ve listed at the end of thisreport. We advise all readers to pay special heed to these before using the data.

Methodology
The methodology was quite simple. Since seoClarity already collects Google
Clickstream Data daily, we had access to all the data in our Clarity Grid infrastructure
going back over 2 years - over 200 TERABYTES of data. What made it even more
exciting was the fact that it was available for both Desktop and Mobile.
For the data analyzed in the ‘Desktop vs Mobile CTR’ and ‘CTR by Industry’ portions of
this study, we limited our date range to a 30-day period, recorded through May 2021.
The reasons were:© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

21. To make sure it reflected the most current SERP landscape, including SERP
features and PPC ads and that any recent changes that may have occurred inthat space were reflected in organic CTRs.
2. To avoid any seasonal impact on the CTR model. Click-through rates can shift
dramatically during the busy 4th quarter and during shopping periods such as
Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day (U.S.).
For both the ‘CTR by Seasonality’ and ‘CTR by Country’ sections of this study, thedataset was analyzed over a 12-month period - spanning July 2020 to June 2021.

Additionally, the Top 10 and Top 20 CTRs were calculated by summing the average
CTR in each position across the 17 billion keywords in our dataset.

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Report Contents
Desktop CTR vs Mobile CTR (Overall) ........................................................................ 5
Desktop Model Data ................................................................................................ 5
Mobile Model Data................................................................................................... 7
CTR by Country (All devices) .................................................................................... 10
US ......................................................................................................................... 13
UK ......................................................................................................................... 15
Canada .................................................................................................................. 16
India....................................................................................................................... 18
Japan..................................................................................................................... 19
Seasonality Impact on CTR ....................................................................................... 20
Seasonality by device ............................................................................................ 23
Industry CTR ............................................................................................................. 24
Apparel & Fashion CTR ......................................................................................... 25
Beauty & Personal Care CTR ................................................................................ 26
Business & Industrial CTR ..................................................................................... 29
Consumer Electronics CTR ................................................................................... 31
Finance CTR ......................................................................................................... 33
Health CTR ............................................................................................................ 35
Home & Garden CTR ............................................................................................ 37
Jobs & Education CTR .......................................................................................... 39
Real Estate CTR.................................................................................................... 41
Retail & eCommerce CTR ..................................................................................... 43
Sports & Fitness CTR ............................................................................................ 45
Travel & Tourism CTR ........................................................................................... 47
Vehicles & Automotive CTR .................................................................................. 49
Key Takeaways ......................................................................................................... 50
The Data.................................................................................................................... 51
Next Steps ................................................................................................................. 51
Caveats ..................................................................................................................... 51© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

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Desktop CTR vs Mobile CTR (Overall)
Desktop Model Data

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5Position

CTR

1

8.17%

2

3.82%

3

2.43%

4

1.63%

5

1.11%

6

0.84%

7

0.67%

8

0.54%

9

0.52%

10

0.44%

Unlike previous studies, our data showcases the steady click-through rate regression as
users move down the SERPs, from position 1 at 8.17% down to position 10 at a much
lower 0.44%.

Previous studies, including our previous CTR study with a smaller data sample, had
shown that click-through rates had actually increased in position 10. However, across a
now 5x dataset, this appears to not be the case.

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Mobile Model Data

Position

CTR

1

6.74%

2

3.41%

3

2.50%

4

1.71%

5

1.18%

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6

0.89%

7

0.75%

8

0.64%

9

0.55%

10

0.48%

Position 1 CTR for desktop is just over 8%; where does that put mobile?

The mobile model demonstrates that users are less likely to click listings at the very topof the SERPs compared to when browsing on desktops. In fact, the click-through rate
for position 1 decreases from 8.17% on desktop to 6.74% on mobile devices.

However, the models quickly flip roles. For every position from 3 through to position 10,
the click-through rates from mobile devices are all higher than on desktop.

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Although the pattern of regression is the same on both devices, it shows that (across alarge dataset) ranking in the lower positions on page 1 is actually better for your organic
traffic on mobile than it is on desktop!! Presumably, the familiarity of scrolling on mobile
devices plays a part in organic CTRs.

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CTR by Country (All devices)
Not only will the device a user is browsing impact their click-through rates, but there arealso remarkable differences based on the source country too.
Here, we’ve analyzed our data by splitting it into 5 countries (where we have the mostdata) and the respective click-through rates based on the top 10 (chart) and top 20
positions (table) (spoiler: page 2 data is very interesting here!).

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10Position

US CTRUK CTR

Canada CTR

India CTR

Japan CTR

1

9.13%

10.48%

11.30%

14.88%

13.94%

2

5.07%

6.05%

5.93%

8.22%

7.52%

3

3.60%

4.49%

4.29%

4.79%

4.68%

4

2.61%

3.15%

3.31%

3.10%

3.91%

5

1.95%

2.54%

2.64%

2.09%

2.98%

6

1.46%

1.96%

1.95%

1.52%

2.42%

7

1.10%

1.55%

1.50%

1.10%

2.06%

8

0.93%

1.32%

1.27%

0.95%

1.78%

9

0.75%

1.10%

1.03%

0.77%

1.46%

10

0.66%

0.98%

0.95%

0.70%

1.32%

11

0.63%

0.91%

0.89%

0.57%

1.03%

12

0.58%

0.74%

0.86%

0.50%

1.00%

13

0.43%

0.59%

0.61%

0.36%

1.07%

14

0.44%

0.64%

0.64%

0.41%

1.34%

15

0.45%

0.73%

0.77%

0.45%

1.65%

16

0.53%

0.90%

0.92%

0.63%

2.19%

17

0.60%

1.07%

1.10%

0.83%

2.54%

18

0.75%

1.29%

1.25%

1.14%

2.83%

19

0.88%

1.36%

1.34%

1.27%

2.91%

20

0.93%

1.47%

1.39%

1.34%

2.85%

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Straight away, we can see the difference in click-through rates at the top of the SERPs
and how your expected traffic may change based on the country or countries you’remarketing to.

For position 1, the lowest click-through rates are seen in the US, at 9.13%, and at theother end of the spectrum is India, where position 1 attracts a click-through rate of
14.88%. Therefore, domains ranking in position 1 in India can expect a traffic increaseof 63% compared to their position 1 rankings on Google.com.

Another interesting observation is the CTR in positions 17 through 20. In all 5 countries
analyzed, those positions demonstrated a higher average CTR than positions 11 to 16.
We posit that this is reflective of browsing and scrolling behaviors.

Immediately, you can see how important it is for SEOs to have the correct location CTR
data to work with and how it’ll impact projection modelling.
Now let’s look a little deeper in the countries in particular.

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US

Searchers in the US click on fewer search results than any
country analyzed.

Out of the 5 countries analyzed, the US has the lowest click-through rates both for theTop 10 search results and the Top 20.

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Across all keywords analyzed, a totaled average of 27.26% searchers click on a resultin the Top 10, and a total of 33.48% have found a result by the end of page 2*. Thismeans 64.52% of searches result in a user scrolling further or finding an alternative,
potentially non-organic, solution to their query.
While some may indeed be leaving Google search without clicking, it could also be thecase that many conduct a follow-up search before clicking any results.

The positions with the lowest click-through rates are between positions 13 to 15, which
are all below 0.5%.

What is most surprising is the increase in CTR around position 20. Users are just as
likely to click position 20 (0.93%) as they are for the listing in position 8 (also 0.93%).

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UK

Only 43% of UK searchers find a page to visit by the end of
page 2 of Google search results.

In the UK, searchers are more likely to click-through on every position at a higher rate
than in the US - stretching through from position 1 to position 20.

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This means that searchers in the UK are more likely to find a result in the Top 10 results
worth exploring with 33.63% clicking through to an organic listing. By the end of page 2of the Google search results, a further 9.69% have found a result to explore, totaling
43.31% of users.

Like searchers in the US, positions 13, 14 and 15 of the search results are the worst
positions to be in (0.59%, 0.64% and 0.73% respectively). However, both positions 19(1.36%) and 20 (1.47%) are more favorable when compared to positions 8 (1.32%), 9(1.1%) and 10 (0.98%) on the first page of the search results.
Canada© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

16For people searching in Canada, position 1 is king. Nearly
double traffic of position 2.
At 11.30% position 1 captures not only the majority of search traffic but 90.6% morethan position 2 - the biggest gap out of all countries analyzed.
Although the Top 10 search results capture 34.17% of users, more than the UK’s
33.63%, it’s only position 1, 4 and 5 where Canadian search results have a higher clickthrough rate.

Page 2 of the search results is also quite fruitful for users, in Canada, the second pageof the search results lead to 57% more people finding a page to browse when comparedto the US.

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IndiaThe top 3 search results dominate in India.

Of all countries, India has the highest CTR for position 1 in the SERPs - generating
14.88% of the clicks. Positions 2 and 3 also generate more traffic than all othercountries analyzed, accounting for 8.22% and 4.79% respectively.

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The regression in click-through rates is faster in India than all other countries too, withclick-through rates decreasing to the same levels as the US (which has the lowest Top
10 CTRs of all countries) by position 7 - both standing at 1.1%.

Overall, 38.13% of users find a result to click on within the Top 10 positions. The
second page of the SERPs then accounts for a further 7.49% of traffic in total.
Japan

Nearly half of all searches in Japan result in a page 1 click more than any country analyzed.

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Just behind India in click-through rates, position 1 in Japan attracts 13.94% of traffic the 2nd highest of all countries analyzed.

However, unlike India, click-through rates in Japan decrease at a slower rate, withhigher CTRs in 17 of the top 20 positions than the US, UK, Canada and India.

This means that the Top 10 organic listings in Japan overall generate the most traffic of
all countries, with 42.06% of users clicking on a result. By the end of page 2 of thesearch result, 61.47% of users have found a search result to explore. This means the
top 20 listings in the Japanese search results generate 83.6% more traffic than they doin the US.

Seasonality Impact on CTR
Search marketers will be only too aware how industry seasonality can impact
projections and a company’s bottom line. Most companies do the majority of theirbusiness around Christmas time, especially those in eCommerce. However, we wanted
to confirm how this seasonality impacts click-through rates and your ability to forecast
correctly.

Our dataset was taken over a 12-month period - stretching from July 20 to June 21.
Across the top 20 positions in the SERPs, here’s how the average monthly CTR
fluctuates:© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

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May and December are the months with the lowest clickthrough rates, and July through to September are thehighest.

Month

CTR

Jan

2.20%

Feb

2.19%

Mar

2.17%

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Apr

2.17%

May

2.12%

Jun

2.19%

Jul

2.29%

Aug

2.27%

Sep

2.27%

Oct

2.25%

Nov

2.23%

Dec

2.16%

Across all industries, July to September is when you want to rank to achieve thehighest CTRs.

Although keyword volumes will vary, May is the time of the year you should expect thelowest click-through rates. This quickly accelerates into the Summer months, with thehighest click-through rates and overall traffic to the top 20 positions, sustaining from
July through to September. These are also the only months in the year where the top 20
positions exceed 45% clicks to impressions.
December and Christmas traffic, including the January sales, are very much ‘average’months when compared to the rest of the year. This may be because users are
migrating more towards the ‘shopping’ listings rather than clicking through the organic
listings or increased competition among pay-per-click listings.

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The June, July and August surge could be explained by increased activity aroundholidays, vacations and informational queries. The dip in CTR around the holiday
season is partially also due to a surge in search activity during these periods where
there is a lot of “searching”.

Seasonality by device
On average, mobile CTRs across the top 20 positions are 2.47% throughout the year,
whilst desktop sees a smaller 1.95% monthly average. However, throughout the year,
CTR seasonality remains consistent with one another:© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

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Summer months are consistently the peak months for both desktop and mobile CTRs,
but mobile CTRs do rise faster between May and July, and also sustain longer into thesummer peaking in September whereas desktop CTR tops out during July.

Industry CTR
For many search marketers, being able to apply CTR data at a geographic level, adevice level and through the seasons will be a game changer. However, the industry© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

24you operate in can also have a significant impact on users search behaviors, which canhave a dramatic effect on your expected traffic through each organic position.
In this section, we’ll break down and offer statistically relevant data showcasing how
CTR varies by industry both on mobile and desktop.
Apparel & Fashion CTR

In ‘fashion’, you achieve a higher CTR on desktop than you
do on mobile.
For those searching keywords relating to fashion and clothes shopping, the data showsthat a higher proportion of those searching land on a top 10 listing on desktop (15.12%)
than those browsing on a mobile device (13.47%).

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However, most of the desktop traffic is dominated by the listing in position 1 (P1), which
soaks up 43.5% of all organic traffic. Mobile listings are more widely spread and ranking
in positions 4 and 5 are more fruitful for traffic there when compared to a desktop
searcher.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

4.71%

6.58%

2

2.31%

1.62%

3

1.63%

1.70%

4

1.15%

1.00%

5

0.91%

0.86%

6

0.71%

0.72%

7

0.56%

0.74%

8

0.56%

0.63%

9

0.49%

0.64%

10

0.45%

0.64%

*Data based on 695m impressions, 18m clicks and 11m keywords.

Beauty & Personal Care CTR
In the ‘beauty’ industry, P1 on desktop gains 181% more clicks than P2. Lower CTRs on
mobile.

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Although mobile search volume leads to a 183% impression increase for the top 10
organic listings on mobile devices compared to desktop (331m vs 118m), the clickthrough rates are higher on desktop than they are on mobile.

The top 10 search results on desktop generate a CTR of
18.14% in total, compared to 16.52% on mobile.
This is mostly a result of the listing in P1 on desktop receiving 6.65% of all clicks from
impressions compared to a lower 4.74% on mobile.

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Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

4.74%

6.65%

2

2.89%

2.37%

3

2.47%

2.69%

4

1.85%

1.73%

5

1.23%

1.13%

6

0.85%

0.96%

7

0.80%

0.77%

8

0.66%

0.68%

9

0.53%

0.61%

10

0.50%

0.55%

*Data based on 428m impressions, 11m clicks and 9m keywords.

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Business & Industrial CTR

54% more searches for ‘business’ content on mobile compared to desktop

Somewhat surprisingly, most searches in the business and industrial sectors come frommobile devices (1b impressions), which is 54% higher than the volume on desktop(649m).

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However, desktop continues to be king when it comes to click-through rates for theindustry. In each of the top 3 positions, desktop listings receive more traffic per
impression than on mobile. Additionally, the top 10 listings convert 21.32% of traffic
into clicks on desktop, compared to a slightly smaller 19.03% on mobile.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

6.66%

8.60%

2

3.79%

4.44%

3

2.41%

2.55%

4

1.77%

1.60%

5

1.19%

1.17%

6

0.79%

0.87%

7

0.74%

0.66%

8

0.66%

0.48%

9

0.55%

0.52%

10

0.49%

0.44%

*Data based on 1.7b impressions, 45m clicks and 35m keywords.

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Consumer Electronics CTR

Despite more mobile searches for ‘consumer electronics’,desktop listings lead to 17% more traffic. One of the only
industries to do so.

For consumer electronics, the majority of searches are carried out by people on mobile
devices (559m), which is 16.5% higher than those on desktop (480m). However,© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

31because of superior click-through rates on desktop, the organic listings on desktop
actually drive more traffic overall.

The top 10 organic listings on desktop generate 17.4% more clicks than the top 10 on
mobile, despite inferior impressions overall.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

6.78%

9.07%

2

3.46%

4.68%

3

2.43%

2.79%

4

1.52%

1.80%

5

0.91%

1.01%

6

0.52%

0.62%

7

0.56%

0.45%

8

0.50%

0.46%

9

0.40%

0.43%

10

0.33%

0.30%

*Data based on 1b impressions, 29m clicks and 14m keywords.

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Finance CTR

Mobile is king for ‘finance’ - 45.9% more searches and 3.2%
higher CTR for top 10 listings compared to desktop.
For those operating in the Finance sector, mobile listings should absolutely be the corefocus.

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33

Search data on mobile devices is 45.9% higher than on desktop, and click-through rates
are also superior, with the top 10 search results converting 23.97% of that traffic into
clicks, compared to 20.77% on desktop.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

9.29%

9.24%

2

4.82%

3.25%

3

2.59%

2.67%

4

2.15%

1.76%

5

1.49%

1.08%

6

1.16%

0.84%

7

0.84%

0.67%

8

0.59%

0.53%

9

0.55%

0.43%

10

0.50%

0.30%

*Data based on 713m impressions, 23m clicks and 9m keywords.

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Health CTR

Despite healthy CTRs on desktop, mobile listings in the‘health’ industry can expect 119% more clicks.
Mobile devices are king when it comes to people searching health related queries. The
majority of searches are done on mobile (628M) compared to desktop (251m), which
also leads to a substantial shift in expected traffic from organic listings. Overall, the top
10 rankings across the Health section receive 95% more traffic on mobile compared tothose on desktop.

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35

However, click-through rates on desktop in this field are higher, with both positions 1
and 2 taking a higher percentage of traffic. Additionally, the top 10 listings on desktop
convert 23.18% of impressions to clicks, which decreases to a still healthy (punintended) 20.26% on mobiles.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

5.23%

7.71%

2

4.17%

6.04%

3

3.15%

2.83%

4

2.06%

1.94%

5

1.61%

1.32%

6

1.21%

0.96%

7

0.91%

0.75%

8

0.75%

0.62%

9

0.64%

0.54%

10

0.54%

0.48%

*Data based on 879m impressions, 23m clicks and 19m keywords.

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36

Home & Garden CTR

For ‘home & garden’ queries, the top 10 listings on mobile
drive 90% more traffic than the top 10 on desktop.
Because of superior search volume on mobile devices compared to desktop in the
Home & Garden industry, the top 10 organic listings on mobile drive 90% more traffic
than the top 10 on desktop. This is despite higher click-through rates on desktop(19.84%) than for the same listings on mobile (17.38%) for every position in the top 10.

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37

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

4.84%

5.88%

2

3.33%

3.51%

3

2.60%

2.84%

4

1.78%

1.86%

5

1.16%

1.34%

6

1.02%

1.22%

7

0.83%

0.98%

8

0.71%

0.83%

9

0.59%

0.74%

10

0.53%

0.65%

*Data based on 580m impressions, 14m clicks and 16m keywords.

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38

Jobs & Education CTR

Desktop is king in recruitment - both superior impressions
and CTRs lead to 11% more clicks for the top 10 listings.

The Jobs and Education industry is one of the rare industries where search volumes arehigher on desktops (240m) than they are on mobile (218m). Coupled with similar clickthrough rates across the top 10 positions, desktop traffic is able to drive 11.4% more
traffic based on its volume of impressions.

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39

Here, unlike other industries, is where search marketers want to be paying attention totheir desktop rankings as the priority.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

8.45%

9.53%

2

4.29%

4.97%

3

2.49%

2.05%

4

1.86%

1.56%

5

1.37%

1.21%

6

1.03%

0.87%

7

0.71%

0.64%

8

0.58%

0.32%

9

0.49%

0.38%

10

0.40%

0.39%

*Data based on 458m impressions, 15m clicks and 10m keywords.

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40

Real Estate CTR

For ‘real estate’ queries, the top 10 mobile listings receive
112% more traffic than desktop listings.
Across the top 10 organic listings for those in the Real Estate industry, mobile devices
lead to a massive 88% increase in impressions. Similarly, across 6.9m keywords being
tracked in the industry and a superior click-through rate (25.82% vs. 22.92%), this leads
to a 112% increase in organic clicks.

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41

It’s also one of the only industries where click-through rates on mobile are by-and-large
higher per position than on desktop.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

10.61%

9.28%

2

5.35%

4.29%

3

2.62%

1.83%

4

1.89%

1.76%

5

1.26%

1.57%

6

1.03%

1.14%

7

0.96%

0.96%

8

0.79%

0.75%

9

0.70%

0.69%

10

0.59%

0.65%

*Data based on 259m impressions, 9m clicks and 7m keywords.

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Retail & eCommerce CTR

For search marketers operating in the retail and eCommerce
space, mobile is by and away the most important device froman organic perspective.

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Mobile impressions are 180% higher for those rankings in the top 10 compared to thoseon desktop, and with superior click-through rates, that leads to 208% more clicks as aresult.

When it comes to click-through rates, mobile listings in all top 3 positions outperformtheir desktop counterparts. However, from position 4 down and for the rest of the top 10
results, desktop listings see higher click-through rates per impression they receive.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

8.68%

7.75%

2

3.14%

2.46%

3

2.16%

1.25%

4

1.08%

1.12%

5

0.65%

0.69%

6

0.58%

0.82%

7

0.53%

0.65%

8

0.50%

0.57%

9

0.51%

0.67%

10

0.44%

0.70%

*Data based on 780m impressions, 29m clicks and 5m keywords.

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Sports & Fitness CTR

Despite higher CTRs on desktop, the top 3 mobile listings
alone receive 2% more traffic than the entire desktop top 10
in ‘sports and fitness’.
Click-through rates in the Sports and Fitness industry are overall higher on desktop(19.96%) across the top 10 listings when compared to the top 10 on mobile (19.42%).

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However, the superior search volume on mobile devices means the top 10 see 134%
more impressions and 128.8% more clicks as a result, despite the slightly lower CTRs
overall.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

6.98%

8.46%

2

3.36%

3.08%

3

2.36%

2.44%

4

1.67%

1.88%

5

1.16%

1.13%

6

1.34%

0.77%

7

0.86%

0.70%

8

0.66%

0.59%

9

0.55%

0.52%

10

0.47%

0.40%

*Data based on 537m impressions, 16m clicks and 10m keywords.

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Travel & Tourism CTR

9 out of 10 positions in the top 10 have higher CTRs on
mobile compared to desktop within ‘travel & tourism’

The Travel industry firmly leads on the side of mobile centered traffic, with all but one
position in the top 10 leading to higher click-through rates. Collectively, the top 10
positions on mobile lead to a total of 22.64% impressions to clicks, compared to 19.34%
on desktop.

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Separately, the number of impressions on mobile are also vastly higher, 78.8% in fact.
This also translates into 112.3% more clicks as a result of that search volume.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

10.63%

8.18%

2

2.83%

3.82%

3

2.60%

2.37%

4

1.80%

1.30%

5

1.36%

0.92%

6

1.01%

0.76%

7

0.79%

0.66%

8

0.63%

0.54%

9

0.56%

0.40%

10

0.44%

0.38%

*Data based on 552m impressions, 16m clicks and 12m keywords.

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Vehicles & Automotive CTR

Despite lower CTRs in 9 of 10 positions, mobile search drives
158% more traffic compared to desktop for ‘automotive’queries.

Despite click-through rates in the Vehicle & Automotive industry being lower in 9 of the
top 10 positions, those same positions drive 158% more clicks than those on desktop.

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This is because the top 10 listings on mobile receive 194% more impressions in Google
listings compared to those on desktop.

Position

Mobile CTR

Desktop CTR

1

6.93%

8.16%

2

2.71%

3.53%

3

2.52%

2.55%

4

1.57%

1.98%

5

1.33%

1.45%

6

1.11%

1.10%

7

0.80%

0.84%

8

0.70%

0.70%

9

0.66%

0.68%

10

0.53%

0.60%

*Data based on 547m impressions, 16m clicks and 10m keywords.

Key Takeaways
Click-through rates are near impossible to nail down. Every model that has beencreated in the past will inevitably become invalid because of industry-wide SERP
changes. The issue with most CTR models is the lack of a large enough data set tomake an actionable conclusion.

We believe this study provides the most reliable metrics to search marketers due its
sheer data volume.

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So, why do we still care? Because it’s still important for projecting potential marketing
opportunities and forecasting returns. The greater the data that is retrieved, the better
we can define a business case. In the end, it provides a data driven approach to organic
search efforts.

The Data
Since our original CTR Study was released in September 2017, we’ve expanded ournumbers to make this the largest CTR Study you’ll find absolutely anywhere.

We studied over 750 billion impressions (750,220,641,250[!] to be exact). This translates to a high level of statistical confidence for each andevery rank position. In fact, there was a minimum of 352 million impressions per ranking
position.

From that, there were over 30+ billion clicks (30,699,713,741) across 17+ billion uniquekeywords. This includes only first-clicks by users and doesn’t take into account multiple
clicks.

Next Steps
We intend to update the CTR study periodically using the same, exact data set andparameters (as far as possible) so we can share with the industry on how the numbers
evolve.

Caveats
It’s important to keep in mind that every company is different, as is every individual. The
conclusions we’ve drawn are likely not true for every business size, and brand recall© Copyright 2021 seoClarity. All rights reserved. Do not distribute.

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can also have a dramatic impact on particular industries. Do the research on your own
GWT data to understand your own CTR.

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