Organic CTR by Position Benchmark 2026: Full Data
Position 1 on Google gets an average organic click-through rate of about 27.6%. By position 10, that number falls to roughly 2.5%. Everything in between follows a steep, predictable curve, and that curve is the benchmark you should be checking your own Google Search Console numbers against in 2026.
- Organic CTR by position benchmark for 2026: position 1 averages 27.6%, position 10 averages 2.5%, based on aggregated click-through studies of Google search results.
- The drop from position 1 to position 2 (27.6% to 15.8%) is steeper than the entire drop from position 5 to position 10 combined.
- Page-two results (positions 11-20) fall under 1% CTR on average, so ranking on page 1 at any spot beats ranking anywhere on page 2.
- Branded queries and SERP features (ads, shopping results, featured snippets) push real CTR above or below these averages, so treat them as a starting yardstick, not a guarantee.
Why this matters
If you're comparing your own Goumikids product or blog pages against a rank tracker, the position number alone tells you almost nothing. A page sitting at position 4 should pull roughly 8% of impressions into clicks. If it's pulling 2%, the title tag, meta description, or a SERP feature above it is the problem, not the ranking.
The same logic applies whether you're auditing a homepage, a product page, or a blog post. Every marketer tracking keyword and CPC data on the Goumikids journal should be checking organic CTR by position alongside it, because CPC tells you what a click costs and CTR tells you how many clicks you're actually leaving on the table at your current rank.
Organic CTR by search position: the benchmark table
Organic CTR is the percentage of people who see a result at a given position and click it, measured across large samples of real Google search results rather than any single site. The overall average across positions 1 through 10 is about 8.7% — that's the yardstick for "page 1, no better, no worse."
| Position | Average organic CTR |
|---|---|
| 1 | 27.6% |
| 2 | 15.8% |
| 3 | 11.0% |
| 4 | 8.1% |
| 5 | 7.2% |
| 6 | 5.1% |
| 7 | 4.0% |
| 8 | 3.2% |
| 9 | 2.8% |
| 10 | 2.5% |
| 11-20 (page 2) | Under 1% |
| All positions 1-10 (average) | 8.7% |
Position 1 leads at 27.6% CTR; position 10 trails at 2.5% — an 11x difference between the top and bottom of page 1. The single biggest jump in the whole table sits between position 1 and position 2, an 11.8-point drop. Compare that to the gap between position 5 and position 10, which only spans 4.7 points. The first spot on Google is worth more than the next four spots combined.
“The drop from position 1 to position 2 is steeper than the entire drop from position 5 to position 10 combined.”
Methodology and limits: these figures come from aggregated click-through analyses of large samples of Google search results (Backlinko's widely cited study of roughly 5 million search results, first published in 2023 and still the reference point most SEOs use heading into 2026). The numbers are averages across many industries and query types — they don't isolate branded searches, don't account for ads or shopping carousels sitting above the organic results, and don't separate mobile from desktop behavior. Your actual CTR at any position can run well above or below the table depending on how crowded the SERP is.
How to use these organic CTR benchmarks
- Check impressions before you panic about rank. A page ranking #3 with a CTR under 5% has a title or snippet problem, not necessarily a ranking problem — the benchmark for #3 is 11%.
- Don't assume #1 means 27.6%. If a featured snippet, a "People also ask" box, or shopping ads sit above your #1 result, your real CTR will land below the benchmark. Look at the actual SERP, not just the position number.
- Prioritize the jump into the top 3, not incremental gains lower down. Moving from position 8 to position 6 barely moves CTR (3.2% to 5.1%). Moving from position 5 to position 2 more than doubles it.
- Compare against your own historical CTR, not just the table. Branded product and homepage queries — the kind Goumikids sees for its own name — run above these aggregated averages because intent is already decided. Use the benchmark table for non-branded, informational queries where intent is still open.
FAQ
What is a good organic CTR for position 1 in 2026?
A good organic CTR for position 1 is around 27.6%, based on aggregated click-through studies. Anything meaningfully below that, with no ads or featured snippet crowding the result, points to a weak title tag or meta description.
What organic CTR should I expect at position 5?
Position 5 averages about 7.2% CTR. If your page ranks there and pulls under 3-4%, check whether a featured snippet, image pack, or ad block is sitting above it and absorbing clicks.
Is organic CTR different for branded searches?
Yes. Branded queries where the searcher already intends to click a specific site tend to run well above these aggregated benchmarks, because intent is already decided before the click. The position-by-position table is most useful for non-branded, informational searches.
Why is my actual CTR lower than the position benchmark?
The most common causes are SERP features above your result (ads, shopping carousels, featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes), a weak or truncated meta description, or a title tag that doesn't match search intent. Check the live SERP for your keyword, not just your rank tracker.
Does organic CTR drop the same way on page 2 of Google?
Positions 11-20, which make up page 2, average under 1% organic CTR combined. Almost no one clicks past page 1, which is why moving from position 15 to position 9 matters far more than moving from position 9 to position 5.
How much does a featured snippet change organic CTR?
A featured snippet sits above position 1 and can pull clicks away from every organic result below it, including the page technically ranking #1. Winning the snippet usually means a meaningful CTR gain over holding #1 without it.
Are these organic CTR benchmarks the same for mobile and desktop?
No. Mobile SERPs typically carry more ads, shopping units, and snippet-style features stacked above the fold, which compresses organic CTR at every position compared with desktop. The table above reflects an aggregated average across both.
How often do organic CTR benchmarks change?
They shift as Google adds more SERP features like AI overviews, shopping carousels, and expanded People Also Ask boxes. The relative curve — steep drop from position 1 to 3, flatter after that — has held up across multiple studies over several years.
One last thing
The steepest part of the whole curve isn't between page 1 and page 2 — it's between position 1 and position 2, an 11.8-point drop in a single step. If you're deciding where to spend effort in 2026, moving a page from #4 to #2 is worth more than moving five different pages from #9 to #6. Chase the top three spots first; everything past position 6 is fighting over CTR crumbs under 5%.