Organic CTR by Google position in 2026
Consolidated 2026-07-06. Five named studies, each figure its own published number, plus an estimator.
Organic click-through rate falls sharply with position, but the exact numbers disagree by study. In 2026, position-1 CTR is reported anywhere from about 14.6% to 39.8% depending on method, device and sample. The table below shows five studies side by side with their own figures, so you can read a range rather than trust one blog's number.
| Position | AWR desktop | AWR mobile | FirstPageSage | Backlinko | Sistrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position 1 | 14.61% | 35.8% | 39.8% | 27.6% | 28.5% |
| Position 2 | 9.24% | 5.79% | 18.7% | n/p | 15.7% |
| Position 3 | 3.66% | 4.41% | 10.2% | n/p | 11% |
| Position 4 | 1.51% | 3.16% | 7.2% | n/p | n/p |
| Position 5 | 1.17% | 2.45% | 5.1% | n/p | n/p |
| Position 10 | 0.53% | 0.69% | 1.6% | n/p | 2.5% |
Estimate your clicks
CTR drops to 0%, about 0 clicks, a 0% reduction.
Ahrefs' decay, scoped to informational-intent, desktop results, Dec 2023 versus Dec 2025. Your query may differ; treat it as a directional estimate.
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How an AI Overview changes the math
When Google shows an AI Overview, it absorbs clicks that used to reach the top organic result. The best-scoped measurement is from Ahrefs: a 34.5% drop in its 2025 study, revised to 58% in February 2026, for position 1, informational-intent queries, desktop only. Amsive found a smaller 15.49% average drop, with branded queries actually rising. Sistrix found a roughly 59% relative drop at position 1 in Germany. The estimator applies Ahrefs' position-by-position decay when you toggle the AI Overview on.
Two figures to distrust
You will see a blanket -70% and -79% AI Overview CTR drop quoted widely. Neither has a traceable primary source. The -70% conflates a real Seer Interactive average-position statistic with an unrelated Authoritas citation-volatility figure, and the -79% could not be located on Authoritas' own site at all. We leave both out of the data and use the better-scoped Ahrefs and Amsive figures instead.
Read the sources, not just the numbers
- Advanced Web Ranking (desktop). US, desktop and tablet, May 2026. Extracted from AWR's own backend and verified arithmetically (position 1 = 24,480,647 clicks / 167,550,043 impressions = 14.61%). Its desktop, tablet and all-devices filters returned identical numbers, an observed tool quirk.
- Advanced Web Ranking (mobile). US, mobile, May 2026. The mobile slice of the same AWR dataset, the only filter that genuinely differed from desktop.
- FirstPageSage. Clean SERP, titled 2026 but data as of May 2025. The weakest method in the set: a meta-analysis that blends other studies with no disclosed sample size or period. Its claim that AI Overviews barely affect CTR contradicts every other source here.
- Backlinko / Semrush. 4 million results, updated April 2025. Only position 1 (27.6%) and the top-3 aggregate (54.4%) are confirmable as text. Positions 2 to 10 exist only in a chart image that was bot-blocked on every retrieval, so they are genuinely unverifiable, not omitted by choice.
- Sistrix. Mobile, blended, 2020 study modified July 2025. Over 80 million keywords, mobile-only. Older data kept current by modification date rather than a fresh collection.
Common questions
What is the average organic CTR for position 1 in 2026?
It depends heavily on the study. Position-1 CTR ranges from about 14.6% (Advanced Web Ranking, US desktop, May 2026) to 27.6% (Backlinko/Semrush, 2025) to 39.8% (FirstPageSage). There is no single true number; branded queries and intent move it a lot, so use a range.
Why do CTR-by-position studies disagree so much?
Different methods, samples, devices and dates. Advanced Web Ranking uses Search Console data across millions of keywords; FirstPageSage is a meta-analysis that blends other studies; Backlinko's newer positions past one are not publicly verifiable. Treat every curve as a range, not a fact.
How much does an AI Overview reduce click-through rate?
The best-scoped figure is Ahrefs: a 34.5% drop in 2025, revised to 58% in 2026, for position 1, informational intent, desktop only. Amsive found a 15.49% average drop. The 70% and 79% figures that circulate have no traceable primary source and should not be cited.
How do I estimate clicks from search volume and rank?
Multiply the monthly search volume by the CTR for your position. The estimator above does this using the 2026 Advanced Web Ranking curve, and can also apply the AI Overview reduction. Treat the result as directional, because real CTR varies by query and branding.