Organic Search benchmark data for 2026. Compare performance by channel, industry, and metric.
| Metric | Median | 25th percentile | 75th percentile | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTR (click-through rate) | 2.4% | 0.8% | 5.1% | 8%+ |
| Bounce rate | 51% | 38% | 65% | <28% |
| CVR (conversion rate) | 2.9% | 1.2% | 5.8% | 8%+ |
| Time On Page | 2:48 | 1:10 | 4:30 | 6:00+ |
| Position | Ctr | Note |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | 27.6% | Featured snippet can push to 42%+ or reduce to 19% |
| #2 | 15.8% | |
| #3 | 11.0% | |
| #4 | 8.4% | |
| #5 | 6.3% | Above-fold cutoff on most mobile devices |
| #6 | 4.9% | |
| #7 | 3.9% | |
| #8 | 3.3% | |
| #9 | 2.7% | |
| #10 | 2.4% | Bottom of page 1 |
| Page 2 avg | 0.6% | Severely diminishing returns |
| Type | Ctr | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Branded search | 42.8% | Queries containing your brand name |
| Transactional (non-brand) | 4.8% | Buy, hire, book, near me queries |
| Informational (non-brand) | 3.1% | How-to, what-is, guides |
| Featured snippet | 8.6% | Position 0 - varies heavily by query type |
| Local pack (3-pack) | 13.8% | Google Maps / Local results |
| Image pack | 6.2% | Google Images carousel |
The #1 ranking position achieves an average CTR of 27.6%. This drops sharply: position #2 is 15.8%, position #5 is 6.3%. By page 2, average CTR falls to 0.6%. Focus on ranking in positions 1–3 for transactional keywords - the CTR difference between #1 and #4 is roughly 3x.
Featured snippets (position 0) average 8.6% CTR - lower than a traditional #1 result (27.6%). This is because the snippet often answers the query without requiring a click. However, featured snippets dramatically increase brand visibility and often increase total clicks for informational queries.
The median organic search CVR is 2.9%. Organic traffic typically converts lower than paid search because it includes more informational intent. Branded organic traffic converts at 5–12%. Non-branded transactional queries convert at 3–6%. Blog/informational traffic converts at 0.5–2%.
The most impactful CTR improvements come from: (1) rewriting title tags to be more specific and benefit-focused, (2) adding numbers, dates, or power words to titles, (3) writing meta descriptions that create curiosity or state a clear benefit, (4) using schema markup to earn rich results (stars, FAQs, etc.).