The Clicks That Count: Improve Your Ranking Position for Better CTR
If you are a website owner, then you want more visitors to your website. In the SEO world, the click-through rate (CTR) is a key performance metric you should familiarise yourself with. CTR quantifies the number of clicks on your website when it comes up in a Google search result. Your position in SERP (Search Engine Results Page) has a direct influence on your CTR rates. If you notice, for example, that you dropped from fourth rank to eighth rank, the CTR will reflect the drop, and your website traffic will decrease.
First, Know Your Position
So, it is crucial you know where your website ranks on Google to be able to utilise this useful element. Once you have a clear picture of your position and the rate of traffic your website receives, you can implement realistic marketing strategies to increase the number of visitors.
Having a top ranking can drive up your click-through results tremendously. Essentially, the more times your website comes up in a search, the more clicks it will receive. And vice-versa, the more clicks your website receives the higher the chances your rank will improve.
Google’s former Search Quality Chief, Udi Manber said search engine “ranking itself is affected by the click data. If we discover that, for a particular query, hypothetically, 80 per cent of people click on Result No. 2 and only 10 per cent click on Result No. 1, after a while we figure probably Result 2 is the one people want. So we’ll switch it.”
The Main Factors Impacting Your Position
Once you have the full picture- question what is hindering your rates from being higher. How can you receive a higher rank in Google’s search results?
Branded Keywords
Search engines look for a specific brand, and this is where branded keywords come into play. If you are using non-branded keywords, simply put, you are not going to achieve the results you are looking for. Non-branded keywords have a lot more competition as they have to battle against paid ads, which will show up first since they are, well, paid. For gaining a top position in a search engines like Google, branded keywords have a direct correlation with higher CTR. With branded keywords, you are increasing accuracy in the search results. Now, if you are using nonbranded keywords exclusively, this does not mean your website will not show up in a search engine. It will be distributed evenly among searches, but it is unlikely you will achieve a top position (unless you are in a very niche industry)
Buying Clicks
There are companies and brands buying clicks to get noticed by search engines in the short term. Think of it as getting a leg up. SEO industries provide this service to artificially boost CTR. Basically, how this works is that real people are clicking on your website on a search result, again and again, in hopes that this will land your website on Google’s radar. However, while this is effective, Google strives for true CTR scores rather than encouraging shortcuts. Nevertheless, with the amount of competition out there on the great wide web, businesses are getting noticed through purchasing clicks.
Online Presence
Your social media presence- or lack thereof will also play a part in these results, as there are more places on Google telling them who you are and what it is that you do. As a result, the more likely you are to show up in their search results as you have become well acquainted with Google. Also, the more advertisements and online campaigns that you have up and running, the more Google is aware of your presence and will think you are the best fit to show their users. Keep in mind that established brands or websites will rank higher as they have gained recognition and trust.
If you are looking at curating your marketing plan for 2024, Contact us at the Digital Age for a 30-minute free consultation where we can discuss getting your click-through rate up and ensure more eyeballs land on your website.