Google Search CTR Data Reveals Changing Industry Trends

Google’s click-through rate (CTR) saw noticeable changes across industries and search categories in the third quarter, according to the Advanced Web Ranking report.

This report compares third quarter data with the previous quarter. It shows how CTRs can change and what this means for website traffic.

Key Findings:

Branded search on mobile resulted in a 1.07 percentage point increase in CTR for top-ranking sites.
Information queries (containing words such as “what,” “when,” “how”) gained 1.63 percentage points on mobile devices.
Commerce searches fell across all devices, with mobile falling 3.51 percentage points.
Short keyword searches (1-3 words) showed improved CTR on mobile devices.

Industry Winners and Losers

To assess the impact of traffic, the report looked at CTR changes along with search demand trends across various industries.

When both CTR and demand increase simultaneously, it signals a likely increase in traffic. However, if both indicators decrease, it may indicate potential losses.

Science the sector has bounced back after two quarters of falling CTR.

The best performers were growth of 2.48 percentage points (pp) on desktop and 4.16 pp. on mobile devices. Impressions have also grown 33.78%.

Law, government and politics The sector saw the biggest drop in CTR per position, with desktop websites taking second place, falling by 9.74 percentage points. However, overall demand increased by 32.74%.

After a year of stable CTRs Shopping the sector experienced a recovery in the third quarter. The top position increased by 2.30 p.p. on desktop computers and by 1.94 p.p. on mobile devices, while demand increased by 21.09%.

Other industries with noticeable increases in CTR include:

Automotive industry: +2.95 pp for desktop, +1.40 pp for mobile (#1)
Business: +1.52 per mobile device (#1)
Education: +2.53 on mobile (#1)
Family and raising children: +2.42 pp for desktop, +2.39 pp for mobile (#1)

On the losing end Arts and entertainment Desktop CTR fell 6.56 percentage points. and 1.42 p.p. for the first and second positions, and for mobile devices – by 4.12 percentage points. for first place. Impressions also dropped -1.54%.

Key Findings

Mobile is critical, especially in the personal finance space where mobile CTR is critical. 34%. Focus on mobile-friendly design and keep your content short.

Users prefer informational content over commercial pages, so prioritize educational content while keeping promotional pages clear.

Different industries require different strategies:

Science and automotive sectors are growing; add more content here.
Arts and entertainment needs better audience engagement.
“Personal Finance” has a good click-through rate but lower search volume; Be prepared for changes in traffic.

Branded queries work well on mobile devices, so focus on growing your brand. Monitor click-through rates according to industry standards and adjust them as trends change.

Looking to the future

The results suggest that websites should closely monitor click-through rates compared to industry benchmarks, as rankings alone do not tell the full story of traffic.

SERP layout variations for different keywords can also affect click-through rates.

The next report, covering the fourth quarter, will include year-end comparisons and trend analysis.

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