When it comes to organic online searches, business owners have the same goal – to rank their website at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). This is for natural search (not paid).
Although an uphill task, it’s worth pursuing because a top position in the search results supports higher organic click-through rates (CTR). The distribution of clicks on average are:
Average Click-Through Rates (CTR) for Top Google Results
- Position 1 – 39.8% average CTR
- Position 2 – 18.7% average CTR
- Position 3 -10.20% average CTR
Source: 2025 study by Backlinko.
Read the link to see how powerful this top spot is.
- The number 1 result in the organic SERPs receives an average of 27.6% of the traffic clicks.
- The top spot is ten times MORE likely to get a click than the tenth spot.
- Below the top spots, the organic click-rates for positions 8 through 10 are almost the same.
Key factors that can change your ranking
Remember averages disguise a range – within this are higher and lower results.
- Search intent is the most important factor – what people want to find affects where they click. For example, geography [near me], named destination [YouTube], how to advice [boil an egg], and comparison [best running shoes 2025]
- Search has many components in the displayed results – featured snippets, Google ads, People also ask PAA boxes, Local Packs for geography, Image and Video Carousels. PLUS the now-ubiquitous AI search results.
- Branded compared to non-branded search results – if you name a brand [McDonalds – aka the “Scottish Restaurant”] will get you something very different best burgers in Queenstown [That slot belongs to Ferg Burger if you’re interested].
Overall the more competitive keywords, the more crowded that top spot becomes as traffic gets siphoned off into paid and other SERP features which Google displays above the organic results.
Longevity brings advantages
Some websites have existed for decades and if you’re competing with them you are up against heavyweights who have have unmatched domain authority and a ton of backlinks. They are churning top-quality content and receiving numerous backlinks in turn which reinforces their position.
Is SERP worth the price you end up paying?
We know exactly how much time, effort and money a top spot will probably take. Ask us.
Tips to Improve Your Search Rankings
If you are starting out just now, you can’t hope to rank on the first page except for ultra-niche searches like your brand name, founder’s name or unique product attributes. But here are some strategies you can consider to improve your rankings in Google.
- Optimise Your Website Google penalises any page that fails its extracting usability and quality standards. So before you begin to build backlinks or add new content to your website, it’s important to optimise your website for usability.
- Are there any broken links? Moved images? 404 errors? Fix and update those errors to make your website offers a consistent user experience.
- Go Mobile-Friendly Look up your website on a mobile device. Do you have to squint or zoom-pinch to be able to read the text? Are the links so small that they don’t recognise your clicks?
- Build Backlinks these are at the core of improving a website’s search rankings. Search engines look at the anchor text (the text third party websites use when linking back to your website) in a piece of content to assess its relevance to the URL it’s pointing to. If most links use the same anchor text, it can raise suspicion and Google may even penalise you.
- Google will also consider the quality of the pages that you’re linking to. They must be relevant to your content, whether they lead to another website or a page on your own site.
- Focus on Gaining Authority Google does not want to compromise the user experience it offers to its searchers. So it won’t rank any website that is not relevant or lacks authority. Your priority should be to establish your authority as a reliable source of information that your users trust. When Google recognises that, you can expect an improvement in your search rankings.
And remember – all these tactics ALSO work for AI searches and GEO.
Parting Thoughts
Your website is the core of your digital presence. To improve your online presence, you must work on search rankings so more people can find you. A numero®, we have years of experience in SEO and can help your site get better search engine rankings in Google.
Get started today! If you are ready to improve your online visibility, contact us today!
