What does CTR optimisation mean for your SEO performance?

Are your primary keywords not ranking high enough on Google? Are your landing pages not generating enough traffic to your website? Then it may be time to start working on CTR optimisation.

CTR optimisation can help strengthen your SEO performance and push your search results to the top!

In this blog post, I will explain exactly what CTR is and how you can optimise it.

What does CTR mean?

CTR stands for Click Through Rate and refers to the percentage of people who click on your search results rather than those of your competitors. CTR is actually very simple to calculate. You can use this formula to quickly work out your pages’ CTR.

CTR = Number of clicks / Number of impressions x 100

So, let us say you have 5 clicks to your site out of 100 impressions – that means you have a CTR of 5%.

How do you see your CTR?

1) To view your CTR, you need to connect Google Search Console to your website. Then go to Performance -> Pages -> Average CTR.

2) Next, click on Average CTR.

3) Finally, select Pages.

How can CTR optimisation improve your rankings on Google?

If you want to achieve the best possible rankings on Google, it is important to focus on optimising both your title tags and meta descriptions. Title tags and meta descriptions play a key role in whether the user clicks on your result or one of your competitors’.

There are several different factors to consider when working on CTR optimisation.

Search intent

You need to ensure your search results match the intent of the user. In other words, your results should align with the user’s purpose when they search for your keywords. User intent is usually divided into 4 categories: informational keywords, navigational keywords, commercial keywords and transactional keywords. It is important to match your results according to the category the user falls under. I will explain each intent type further so you gain a better understanding of what each category involves.

Informational keywords

These keywords are used when, unsurprisingly, we are looking for information about a topic. Search results like blog posts and articles are typically found at the top of Google.

If terms such as “guide”, “review”, “blog” and similar appear alongside your focus keyword, there is a high probability that it is an informational keyword.

This type of keyword will usually not result in many sales, but will instead drive traffic to your website, helping you move a step closer to a conversion.

Navigational keywords

Navigational keywords indicate that the user knows what they are looking for, but is not sure where to find it. These usually include brand keywords.

You will also often find terms such as “about”, “contact” etc. in conjunction with the focus keyword.

Commercial keywords

When users search with commercial keywords, they are one step closer to making a transaction. They know what they need, but have not quite made a decision yet.

Here, you will typically find comparison sites and similar results. This can include anything from comparing travel prices to comparing prams. Users are looking for the best deal on the product or service they need.

Transactional keywords

This is where the money is made. Transactional keywords are typically used when the user is searching for something specific to buy, download, install, etc. They have usually been through the other intent stages and are now ready to convert.

Here, you will often see keywords for specific products, such as “iPhone”, “pizza”, “drain cleaner” and so on.

You will also frequently find terms such as “buy”, “cheap”, “online” combined with the focus keyword.

Search intent is a major part of CTR optimisation – after all, how can you optimise for something if you do not know what you are optimising for?

How do I optimise for search intent?

Now that you know what you are optimising for, let us go through how to do it. In short, it is about ensuring your search results are on point and stand out from your competitors.

• Always make sure your primary keyword is the first word in your title. Then focus on some USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) – that is, some unique benefits of using your site.
• In your meta description, you do not need to put your primary keyword first, but it is recommended to include it at least once. The reason is that your primary keyword will appear in bold, which helps your result stand out.
• Once you have created a CTR-optimised title and meta description, it is a good idea to test them. That way, you can ensure your title tags or meta descriptions are not too long or too short. You will also have the opportunity to preview how they will appear on Google.
  • The tool I use is https://seomofo.com/snippet-optimizer.html

What now?

Your work does not stop just because you have completed your optimisation. Ongoing follow-up and evaluation of how your search results are performing is also part of CTR optimisation, including whether adjustments are needed.

I usually check the results I have changed in Google Search Console after 2-3 weeks, as mentioned earlier – Google Search Console is the go-to tool for monitoring your CTR.

If you have never worked with CTR optimisation before, or only briefly touched on it, you should start to see your CTR rise and your organic rankings improve in a short time.

Summary

I hope this blog post has given you a better understanding of CTR optimisation and how you can use it to rank better on Google.

CTR optimisation is an excellent way to increase your CTR and, as a result, boost the organic traffic to your site. If more people start clicking on your search results, Google will think, “Ah, there must be something relevant and interesting on this page”, which will help you achieve higher rankings on Google.

If you have any questions or would like help with your CTR optimisation, you are always welcome to contact us!