Click Potential: How to Get 10 Times More Google Traffic

Click Potential:

The Click Potential metric predicts how likely users are to click on your website link if it appears as the top result for a given keyword on Google. This metric is important because it allows you to gauge the potential traffic your website could generate for a keyword that ranks on Google. In this blog post, we will explain how the Click Potential metric works and how you can use it to improve your website’s traffic.

I use SEMrush as my top SEO tool and will use it to demonstrate click potential in this guide.

What is Click Potential?

The Click Potential metric predicts how likely users are to click on your website link if it appears as the top result for a given keyword on Google. 

Understanding how likely users are to click on your website can help you optimize your website and improve your chances of appearing in the top result for a given keyword.

How is Click Potential Calculated?

The Click Potential metric is calculated by looking at the click-through rate (CTR) of the top result on Google for that keyword and then multiplying it by the number of searches for that keyword.

For example, if the top result on Google for the keyword “dog training” has a CTR of 20%, and there are 100,000 monthly searches for that keyword, then the Click Potential for that keyword would be 20,000.

Why is Click Potential Important?

The Click Potential metric allows you to gauge the potential traffic that your website could generate for a given keyword that ranks on Google. 

If you are trying to rank for a particular keyword, understanding the Click Potential can help determine how much traffic you could generate from that keyword.

You might also pass on creating content for a keyword with low click potential because you know that the traffic wouldn’t be worth your time even if you ranked first.

How Can I Use Click Potential to Improve My Website’s Traffic?

There are a few ways that you can use the Click Potential metric to improve your website’s traffic.

First, you can use the Click Potential to determine which keywords you should be targeting. If you find a keyword with high click potential, it might be worth creating content for that keyword to rank higher on Google and generate more traffic.

You can also use the Click Potential to determine your website’s performance for a particular keyword. For example, if you are ranking in the top result for a keyword with high click potential but are not getting much traffic from that keyword, it might indicate that your website is not optimized for that keyword. In this case, you might consider optimizing your website for that keyword to improve your CTR and generate more traffic.

Finally, you can use the Click Potential to determine how much traffic you could potentially generate from a given keyword. This information can be helpful when setting goals for your SEO campaigns. For example, if you are trying to generate 100,000 visitors from organic traffic, and you know that the top result for your target keyword has a click potential of 20,000, you would need to rank in the top 5 results to achieve your goal.

SERP Features That Can Impact A Keyword’s Click Potential 

Different SERP Features will have other impacts on Click Potential. Here are some examples: 

News Blocks: A keyword with a News block on the results page will have a higher Click Potential than a keyword without a News block. With the News block, you have more than one potential opportunity for a click. 

Instant Answers: A keyword with an Instant Answer will have a lower Click Potential than a keyword without an Instant Answer. Google provides you with information directly on the SERP, and the rest of the results will suffer a less-than-average click-through rate. 

Featured Snippets: A keyword with a Featured Snippet will have a higher Click Potential than a keyword without a Featured Snippet. Featured Snippets make it easier for users to find the information they’re looking for without clicking through to another website. 

Local PackListings: A keyword with Local Pack Listings will have a higher Click Potential than a keyword without Local Pack Listings. Local Pack Listings provide users with information about local businesses, making it more likely to find what they’re looking for without clicking through to another website. 

As you can see, many factors can impact a keyword’s Click Potential. Different SERP features can make it either easier or harder for users to find what they’re looking for, affecting the amount of traffic your website receives. Keep these factors in mind when optimizing your website for search engines!

Using SEMrush to Measure Click Potential

To get started, open the Keyword overview tool and find a keyword you are interested in exploring. Once you have entered the keyword and can view the report, scroll down to keyword variations, and view all.

This link will open the Keyword magic tool with detailed information about related keywords, questions, and so forth. Next to each keyword on the list, you’ll find a plus sign (+). Clicking the plus sign will allow you to add that keyword to a list in your keyword manager.

To see the click potential for a keyword, you’ll need to add it to a list. You can have 1000 words in a list. After you have added your keyword to a list, open the Keyword manager.

Next to the keyword, you will see a column that provides click potential metrics. Here you can see the click potential for each keyword in your list and the average click potential for the list as a whole.

So while measuring the estimated clicks in numbers isn’t provided, the higher the click potential percentage, the greater the estimated clicks are for that keyword.

In closing,

While the search volume for a keyword is a reasonable estimate of the traffic a website could receive, Click Potential is a better metric to use when determining how much traffic a website could receive. Click potential considers SERP features that can impact a user’s ability to find what they’re looking for and how likely they are to click through to a website.

SEMrush’s Keyword Manager tool makes it easy to measure click potential for a keyword and can help you determine which keywords are worth targeting on your website.