Google: If CTR Drove Search Rankings, The Results Would All Be Clickbait

Nov 5, 2021 - 7:41 am 8 by

Google Ctr Rankings

Google is constantly, for years and years, saying it does not use click through rate (CTR) for search ranking purposes. John Mueller of Google was asked this again and he said "if CTR were what drove search rankings, the results would be all click-bait." He said he does not see Google using CTR as a ranking signal, he said "I don't see that happening."

John said on Twitter the other day "If CTR were what drove search rankings, the results would be all click-bait. I don't see that happening."

Here are those tweets:

Yes, Google wants the title links in the search results to be representative of what the content is about but it does not want the titles to be used in a way where people would drive clicks above and beyond so that it influences rankings.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 15, 2025

Sep 15, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Reporting Change Since 100 Results Broke

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:51 am
Bing Search

Bing Places Update Coming Soon: Navigation, Experience & More

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

PSA: Most Third Party Google Search Tracking Tools Are Broken

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:31 am
Search Engine Optimization

Structured Data Does Not Help With Visibility In AI Search

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google News

FTC Investigating Google Over Ad Pricing & Terms On Websites

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: Google Hiring A Spam Fighter For Search