This page gives the organic click-through rate (CTR) for each Google position 1 through 10, based on a published 2023 benchmark study, and shows how to apply it to OT software queries in 2026. Position 1 earns about 27.6% of clicks; position 10 earns about 2.4%.
TL;DR
Industrial software queries are low volume and high intent. A single click from an engineer searching for an OPC driver or a gateway configuration can matter more than hundreds of generic clicks. That makes position the main lever you control: the same impressions produce very different traffic depending on rank.
The benchmarks below let you estimate what a ranking improvement is worth before you spend on it.
The figures below come from Backlinko's 2023 analysis of roughly 4 million Google search results, the most widely cited public CTR curve entering 2026. They cover all query types, not OT software specifically.
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10
Position 1 leads at 27.6%; position 10 trails at 2.4%. The first result earns roughly 11 times the clicks of the tenth. The drop from position 1 to position 2 alone costs 11.8 percentage points, more than the entire combined CTR of positions 6 through 10 (17.2%).
The curve is built from Google Search Console data aggregated across many sites, averaged by ranking position. It reflects 2023 search result layouts.
One named limitation: the curve says nothing about OT software queries specifically. It also predates the growth of AI Overviews and other result features in 2025 and 2026, which pull clicks away from organic listings on informational queries. Treat these numbers as a ceiling for informational queries and a closer fit for commercial and product-name queries.
Engineers and system integrators search with specific terms: protocol names, driver names, error messages, configuration tasks. These queries tend to have clear intent, so the page that answers the exact task wins the click. For a vendor such as Software Toolbox, that means the title and snippet should name the protocol, the product and the task, because a precise match is what lifts CTR above the average for a given position.
Two practical checks for 2026:
What is the average organic CTR for position 1 in 2026?
The most widely cited benchmark puts position 1 at 27.6%. That figure comes from a 2023 analysis of about 4 million results and covers all query types.
What is the CTR for position 3 on Google?
Position 3 averages 11.0% in the same benchmark. That is 40% of the clicks position 1 receives.
Is there a CTR benchmark for OT or industrial software queries?
No public study isolates OT software queries. Use the all-query curve as a reference, then build your own curve from Search Console data.
How much more traffic does position 1 get than position 10?
Roughly 11 times more. Position 1 averages 27.6% and position 10 averages 2.4%.
Do AI Overviews change organic CTR benchmarks in 2026?
They lower CTR on queries where they appear, mostly informational ones. The 2023 curve predates that effect, so expect real CTR to fall below the table on those queries.
How do I find my own CTR by position?
Export queries from Google Search Console, group them by average position, and divide clicks by impressions for each group. Use at least 90 days of data.
The cheapest CTR gain is usually a rewritten title tag, not a rank improvement. A page at position 3 whose CTR matches position 5 (6.3% against 11.0%) is leaving almost half its clicks unclaimed. Check that gap first in 2026.
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