Data
Search benchmarks 2026
The published numbers behind every RankSEOGrow report, with sources. Checked 1 October 2026. Free to cite with a link.
Google organic CTR by position
Position 1 earns 22.6% of clicks when no AI answer is shown and 3.6% when one is, an 84% difference.
| Position | No AI answer | AI answer | Blended |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 22.6% | 3.6% | 7.1% |
| #2 | 10.2% | 1.4% | 3% |
| #3 | 5.8% | 0.8% | 1.7% |
| #4 | 3.7% | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| #5 | 2.5% | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| #6 | 1.8% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| #7 | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| #8 | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| #9 | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| #10 | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Featured snippet | 11.4% (on 6.8% of queries) | ||
| Local pack #1 | 14.8% | ||
First Page Sage, Google Click-Through Rates (CTRs) by Ranking Position in 2026 (2026-09-22). Search Console data, 1,184 domains, 3.67B impressions, 1 Mar to 31 Aug 2026.
Other measurements of the AI effect
- AI Overview presence correlated with 34.5% lower CTR for the top-ranking page (Mar 2024 vs Mar 2025). Ahrefs, AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5% (2025-04-17)
- Position 1 desktop CTR fell from 7.6% (Dec 2023) to 3.9% (Dec 2025), a 58% drop; on AI Overview keywords it fell from 7.3% to 1.6%. Ahrefs via MediaNama, Google AI Overviews reduce clicks by 58% (Ahrefs re-run, reported by MediaNama) (2026-02)
- Ranking #1 earns 3.6% CTR when an AI answer is shown versus 22.6% when it is not. First Page Sage, Google Click-Through Rates (CTRs) by Ranking Position in 2026 (2026-09-22)
Google Ads benchmarks by industry (2026)
| Industry | Avg CPC (USD) | CTR | Conversion rate | Cost per lead (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorneys & Legal Services | $9.87 | 5.87% | 5.55% | $131.63 |
| Home & Home Improvement | $8.33 | 6.47% | 8.05% | $90.92 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | $8.00 | 5.66% | 10.67% | $72.97 |
| Personal Services | $7.17 | 7.16% | 12.34% | $54.60 |
| Health & Fitness | $6.17 | 5.81% | 6.94% | $67.36 |
| Business Services | $5.87 | 6.1% | 4.85% | $93.69 |
| Industrial & Commercial | $5.87 | 6.57% | 8.2% | $75.19 |
| Career & Employment | $5.81 | 5.88% | 3.05% | $67.36 |
| Education & Instruction | $4.81 | 7.56% | 13.14% | $77.48 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | $4.76 | 6.61% | 12.43% | $40.04 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | $4.62 | 6.75% | 10.35% | $39.25 |
| Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry | $4.44 | 6.64% | 4.5% | $97.51 |
| Automotive: Repair, Service & Parts | $4.35 | 5.56% | 15.51% | $29.96 |
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | $4.14 | 8.28% | 4.01% | $49.40 |
| Animals & Pets | $4.06 | 7.49% | 16.22% | $31.50 |
| Furniture | $3.97 | 6.57% | 2.99% | $106.70 |
| Finance & Insurance | $3.39 | 9.83% | 2.64% | $74.44 |
| Real Estate | $3.22 | 7.61% | 3.7% | $102.51 |
| Sports & Recreation | $2.77 | 8.75% | 7.69% | $44.26 |
| Automotive: For Sale | $2.27 | 8.28% | 6.01% | $44.26 |
| Travel | $2.14 | 9.32% | 5.83% | $44.70 |
| Restaurants & Food | $2.05 | 6.83% | 8.05% | $30.57 |
| Arts & Entertainment | $1.63 | 12.75% | 5.91% | $26.84 |
| All industries | $5.42 | 6.64% | 8.18% | $66.69 |
LocalIQ / WordStream, Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry (2026 data) (2026)
Search engine market share, August 2026
Platform audiences
Internet and AI adoption
DataReportal (Kepios, We Are Social, Meltwater), Digital 2026 Mid-Year Global Update Report (2026-04); Dataconomy (reporting Google I/O 2026), Google says AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion monthly users (2026-06-12); Google, Alphabet Q2 2026 earnings call, CEO remarks (2026-07); Wikipedia, ChatGPT (usage section) (2026-02)
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