When we talk to clients, they usually are aware of just how important it is to be at the top of the search results. They get it. When someone is searching for a product or service, they’re pre-qualifying themselves as a customer. In effect, they’re plunging from the top of the sales funnel down to, usually, quite near the bottom.
Best case scenario? They have a credit card out and they’re ready to buy.
So, how important is it to be at the top of the search results of search terms related to your business? It’s really important.
Number One Search Result Metrics
A lot of clients think that being on the first page of search results is good. And it is! But not all results on the first SERP are equal. In fact, being at the top is crucial.
According to a recent study of 80 million keywords and billions of search results by Sistrix, the average click-through-rate for the first position 28.5%. The average CTR for the second result? Pretty much half, at 15.7%.
Yikes.
Further down the results, CTR drops precipitously. If you’re on the first page in tenth position, your CTR is only likely to be a measly 2.5%
But Why? Why is it So Bad?
Think about how you use search engines. You want information quickly with little effort. You’re likely to pick the first search result, so it doesn’t make sense for your audience to do anything different.
It’s crucial to consider how your business will appear in search results for relevant terms. If you’re likely to show up in a B2C scenario, competing with Google Shopping results or Google Ads will reduce your CTR even further.
This doesn’t mean you should give up on working on organic search. But it does mean you should temper your expectations for organic search traffic.
There’s a Silver Bullet to Being on Top of Search Results
The wonderful thing about search results is that we live in America. There are few problems that exist for business owners that cannot be remedied by the retrieval of one’s wallet.
*Big inhale, loud exhale* smells like freedom.
You may think paid search is expensive, but the metrics above should make you think otherwise; how much business are you missing out on by not being at the top of relevant search results? It’s a question to seriously consider.
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