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My webpage is positioned for some phrases, but does not generate much visits. Eg. the most searched phrase had average 5.6 position in google, but the CTR is about 2%.

What should I do to improve CTR? I myself, when I look for something, usually open all pages in first page of results automatically, and then read what's in these pages. Do other people do that? Would rich snippets improve situation? Any other means to improve situation?

(I don't know if I should provide here my key phrases and webpage, it's in Polish...)

EDIT: This is for organic search results, the page is positioned to be in first 10 results of search, and I'm interested in getting revenue from organic search only. No Adwords.

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  • Is this for an SEM / Adwords campaign?
    – neofetter
    Mar 1, 2013 at 19:26
  • @ewakened No, not adwords. Organic results only. I edited the question to clarify it.
    – Al W
    Mar 1, 2013 at 19:43

1 Answer 1

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Keep in mind that click through rate is dependent on your ranking. Most of the clicks go to the first site, and the second site gets about half of what's left. Any site that is in position 5 or 6 with have a low CTR similar to what you are seeing.

I looked through several pages of data in Webmaster Tools for my site. All the queries for which my site had a position of 5-9 have a CTR of 0%, 1%, or 2%. I'd say your CTR for your position is on the good side of typical.

The easiest way to increase your CTR is usually through copy writing of the text that Google shows with your listing in the SERPs.

  • Use the keyword in your title tag. It gets bolded in the SERPs which increases CTR.
  • Keep your title tag short, if it is getting truncated or rewritten by Google in the SERPs, chances are that it is too long. Keep it under 80 characters.
  • Use your brand name in your title tag. Users that are familiar with your brand are more likely to click through
  • Keep your meta description under 165 characters for the same reason that you keep your title short.
  • Use your keywords in your meta description, they get bolded there too.
  • Include a call to action in your meta description. Describe what you want your users to do. Action phrases such as "register now", "find deals", "read all about", "become a member" may entice users to click through, or to interact with your site better once they have click through.
  • Use actual numbers in your meta description. Users react better to "130 sofas in stock" than "more stock than the competition". Keep the numbers simple. "70%" is more compelling than "73.34%".
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  • Stephen, thank you for a very good instructions! I will implement them for sure. (I'd vote+ you if I had enough reputation).
    – Al W
    Mar 1, 2013 at 21:46
  • Additional question: I noticed that google not always uses my meta description as a description in organic results. Am I thinking right, that if the text on the page fits better for the given search phrase, it will be taken instead of the meta description?
    – Al W
    Mar 1, 2013 at 21:50
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    That is correct, google uses text on the page, especially when the search terms aren't in the meta description.
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Mar 1, 2013 at 23:28

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