CTR Curve Report - What is it, and how do you use it?
The CTR Curve Report in SEOTesting will help you to analyze the relationship between your rankings on the first page of the SERP and your click-through rates for those positions.
In this article, we will take you through:
What the CTR Curve Report is
What data is included within the report
What additional metrics are used
What filters & configurations are available
Frequently asked questions
Calculating your site’s organic click-through rate curve requires getting all the queries your site ranks for over a given period and then putting those queries into ranking buckets from 1 – 10. You can then determine the click-through rate for each bucket based on the total clicks/impressions.
The CTR Report within SEOTesting does this for you. Enter your brand keywords into the box at the top of the report, and the report will automatically filter out your brand queries to give you a more accurate CTR curve:
Note: Filtering out brand queries will allow you to obtain a more accurate CTR curve for your site’s informational-based keywords because brand keywords often have a much higher click-through rate. Including your brand keywords in a CTR curve chart can skew your results.
The report will plot your CTR on the Y-axis of your chart, with positions 1 to 10 displayed on the X-axis. This allows you to quickly and easily see what you should aim for with each page one ranking you have.
Scroll below this chart, and you will see information displayed at query level:
The CTR Curve Report includes several metrics to help you track and optimize your click-through rate performance. These metrics include:
Impressions: The number of times a URL appeared in search results for a given query.
Clicks: The total number of clicks the search result received.
CTR: The percentage of clicks compared to the number of impressions, showing how often users click on a URL after seeing it.
Average Position: The average ranking position of a URL for each query, helping you see how well your content is ranking.
In addition to these core metrics, the report offers further context with additional insights, such as the target CTR, a benchmark for expected CTR based on specific ranking positions. Comparing your actual CTR to the target CTR helps you determine if your content is performing as expected or if there’s room for improvement. If your actual CTR falls below the target, it could suggest a need for optimization.
The report also includes a potential increase metric, estimating the additional traffic you could gain by improving your CTR to match or exceed the target. This highlights opportunities to increase clicks through tactics such as optimizing metadata, improving content relevance, or aligning with user intent.
Finally, the CTR Summary provides an overview of your average CTR across all ranking positions, giving you a quick snapshot of how well your pages convert impressions into clicks. You can use this summary to benchmark your performance against industry standards, with the report distinguishing between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ CTR values.
The CTR Curve Report offers several filters and configurations to help refine your analysis.
The brand keywords box allows you to insert all your brand name configurations to ensure they are excluded from SEOTesting's calculations to compile your CTR Curve Report. Failing to include all of your brand keywords may skew your results.
The custom date range lets you view your CTR Curve Report for different periods. By default, you can view the report for:
Last 7 Days
Last 30 Days
Last 3 Months
Last 6 Months
Last 12 Months
Last 16 Months
This Month
Last Month
You can also select a custom date range to suit your needs.
You can also tell the report your minimum impression limit. The report will not include queries with impressions lower than this number.
Go to the ‘Reports’ tab:
Click on the CTR Curve’ report.
A low CTR in top-ranking positions could signal that your search result isn't compelling enough to users. This might be due to unengaging meta descriptions, poor relevance to search queries, or misaligned user expectations. The report helps pinpoint these issues for optimization.
The CTR data is regularly updated based on information from Google Search Console. You can select different date ranges to review performance over specific periods.
The Target CTR and CTR Summary metrics give you a benchmark for typical performance. By comparing your site's CTR to industry norms, you can identify whether your pages are underperforming and where improvements can be made.
In this article, we will take you through:
What the CTR Curve Report is
What data is included within the report
What additional metrics are used
What filters & configurations are available
Frequently asked questions
What is the CTR Curve Report?
Calculating your site’s organic click-through rate curve requires getting all the queries your site ranks for over a given period and then putting those queries into ranking buckets from 1 – 10. You can then determine the click-through rate for each bucket based on the total clicks/impressions.
The CTR Report within SEOTesting does this for you. Enter your brand keywords into the box at the top of the report, and the report will automatically filter out your brand queries to give you a more accurate CTR curve:
Note: Filtering out brand queries will allow you to obtain a more accurate CTR curve for your site’s informational-based keywords because brand keywords often have a much higher click-through rate. Including your brand keywords in a CTR curve chart can skew your results.
The report will plot your CTR on the Y-axis of your chart, with positions 1 to 10 displayed on the X-axis. This allows you to quickly and easily see what you should aim for with each page one ranking you have.
Scroll below this chart, and you will see information displayed at query level:
Data Included
The CTR Curve Report includes several metrics to help you track and optimize your click-through rate performance. These metrics include:
Impressions: The number of times a URL appeared in search results for a given query.
Clicks: The total number of clicks the search result received.
CTR: The percentage of clicks compared to the number of impressions, showing how often users click on a URL after seeing it.
Average Position: The average ranking position of a URL for each query, helping you see how well your content is ranking.
In addition to these core metrics, the report offers further context with additional insights, such as the target CTR, a benchmark for expected CTR based on specific ranking positions. Comparing your actual CTR to the target CTR helps you determine if your content is performing as expected or if there’s room for improvement. If your actual CTR falls below the target, it could suggest a need for optimization.
The report also includes a potential increase metric, estimating the additional traffic you could gain by improving your CTR to match or exceed the target. This highlights opportunities to increase clicks through tactics such as optimizing metadata, improving content relevance, or aligning with user intent.
Finally, the CTR Summary provides an overview of your average CTR across all ranking positions, giving you a quick snapshot of how well your pages convert impressions into clicks. You can use this summary to benchmark your performance against industry standards, with the report distinguishing between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ CTR values.
Filters & Configurations
The CTR Curve Report offers several filters and configurations to help refine your analysis.
Brand Keywords
The brand keywords box allows you to insert all your brand name configurations to ensure they are excluded from SEOTesting's calculations to compile your CTR Curve Report. Failing to include all of your brand keywords may skew your results.
Custom Date Range
The custom date range lets you view your CTR Curve Report for different periods. By default, you can view the report for:
Last 7 Days
Last 30 Days
Last 3 Months
Last 6 Months
Last 12 Months
Last 16 Months
This Month
Last Month
You can also select a custom date range to suit your needs.
Minimum Impressions Limit
You can also tell the report your minimum impression limit. The report will not include queries with impressions lower than this number.
How to Access the CTR Curve Report
Go to the ‘Reports’ tab:
Click on the CTR Curve’ report.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a low CTR in high-ranking positions indicate?
A low CTR in top-ranking positions could signal that your search result isn't compelling enough to users. This might be due to unengaging meta descriptions, poor relevance to search queries, or misaligned user expectations. The report helps pinpoint these issues for optimization.
How often is the CTR data updated?
The CTR data is regularly updated based on information from Google Search Console. You can select different date ranges to review performance over specific periods.
How can I use this report to benchmark my performance?
The Target CTR and CTR Summary metrics give you a benchmark for typical performance. By comparing your site's CTR to industry norms, you can identify whether your pages are underperforming and where improvements can be made.
Updated on: 23/10/2024
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