CTR optimization — titles and meta descriptions rewritten from real GSC data

CTR in GSC is the ratio of impressions to clicks on a specific page in search. Google has the statistical CTR expected at each position — position 1 around 28%, position 5 around 8%, position 10 around 2.5%. A page sitting at position 5 with 1.8% CTR means the title or description is not convincing the searcher to click. Position is fine; the front line is broken.

The usual culprits: a title too long that gets cut mid-sentence, no number, year, or clear promise, an empty meta description that forces Google to grab a random snippet, or a query-title mismatch where the page title talks about X and the searcher typed Y. The fix is rephrasing in every case. No new content, just the entry door.

The standard is 10 pages per cycle. Ten is the count that fits a clean A/B test inside 30 days without distortion. Page selection runs by formula: impressions × (expected CTR minus current CTR) equals lost-clicks potential. The 10 pages with the largest gap go first. The first cycle teaches us which style works for your audience, and every cycle after that compounds on what worked.