Click-through ratio of google rankings
A recent report by Chtika has measured the relative number of clicks for each google ranking, and it seems that the top space is no longer as important as it used to be. The table below shows the percentage of clicks for each ranking position:
| Google Result | Impressions | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,834,806 | 34.35% |
| 2 | 1,399,502 | 16.96% |
| 3 | 942,706 | 11.42% |
| 4 | 638,106 | 7.73% |
| 5 | 510,721 | 6.19% |
| 6 | 416,887 | 5.05% |
| 7 | 331,500 | 4.02% |
| 8 | 286,118 | 3.47% |
| 9 | 235,197 | 2.85% |
| 10 | 223,320 | 2.71% |
| 11 | 91,978 | 1.11% |
| 12 | 69,778 | 0.85% |
| 13 | 57,952 | 0.70% |
| 14 | 46,822 | 0.57% |
| 15 | 39,635 | 0.48% |
| 16 | 32,168 | 0.39% |
| 17 | 26,933 | 0.33% |
| 18 | 23,131 | 0.28% |
| 19 | 22,027 | 0.27% |
| 20 | 23,953 | 0.29% |
Previous reports have measured the top position as being nearer to 40% click through. The difference in the results could be because of the sample used (the Chtika marketing network) or it could reflect changing patterns of search engine usage. Some reports have shown that the average keyword count for searchers has risen Although contradictory evidence argues that this might not be the case - especially when the effect of keyword suggestions is taken into account (that is the list of suggestions that appear underneath the search box as you type).
If the click-through data is accurate, it means that getting to position 1 for a single keyword is less important as getting in positions 2-4 for 3 different keywords. Therefore, you should diversify your keyword stategey to getting good rankings in a range of keywords (including long tail and high frequency keywords)