The New Underperformer Report: Identify Organic Underperforming Keywords Easily

If keywords are ranking highly in Google’s SERPs but have a low CTR, there is a high risk of them dropping in the rankings, especially during a major Google update. Our new Underperformer Report in Ryte Search Success shows you your underperforming keywords, so you can focus on improving your search performance without having to spend hours analyzing your keywords. The Underperformer report is made up of two elements:

• CTR curve
• List of underperforming keywords

CTR curve

The CTR curve shows the ratio between ranking position and click through rate. It is a useful overview of click through rates in organic search results, and proves the high value of ranking in top positions. Keywords ranking in the first position have a significantly higher CTR, and this decreases as the position decreases. Figure 1 shows the general CTR curve in organic search according to a survey conducted by Slingshot.

Figure 1: CTR study by Slingshot (Source)

In the Underperformer Report, we show you your individual CTR curve for the keywords in your project. If you’ve ever tried to calculate this yourself, you’ll know how much work it can be! Save yourself the time and let Ryte Search Success do the work for you. Your underperforming keywords are those that fall under the CTR curve. Red bubbles show keywords with a high underperformance, yellow with medium underperformance, and blue with low underperformance. If too many keywords are clustered in the same place, these are grouped together in one bubble.

Figure 2: CTR curve in the Underperformer Report

Keywords with underperforming CTR

Using the CTR curve, the expected CTR of any keyword is calculated based on their ranking position. The calculations are made based on keyword data from the previous 30 days. If the average CTR over the past thirty days is less than the expected CTR, this keyword is classed as underperforming. The percentage showing how much the keyword is underperforming by is shown to you in the list.

Figure 3: List showing underperforming keywords

Clicking on a keyword in the list opens the keyword inspector, and clicking on the arrow to the right of the keyword opens up the SERPs. You can sort the list by clicking on a list heading. Tip: You can apply advanced filters to the list to make it easier to see the data you need. For example, you can filter according to country or device, and you can filter out brand keywords. The CTR curve show you all keywords in your project, and does not take the filters into account.

Benefits

With the Underperformer Report, you will no longer have to invest hours analyzing your search performance to find optimization potentials. The Underperformer report does it all for you, so you can start optimizing straightaway. In the clear overview, you will be able to quickly see the keywords that are at highest risk of a drop in rankings, and this risk is especially high during or after a Google Update. For agencies, this will also give you a good overview of a new project, especially as you’ll be able to compare the CTR curve across your customers. The Underperformer Report is currently available for all Ryte Business Suite customers (business suite customers who have joined Ryte since August 2018), and can be found in the navigation under "Search Success" - "Optimize" - "Underperformer Report".

Conclusion

The Underperformer report shows you your keywords that are not performing as well as they should be. These are also the keywords that are at biggest risk for losing rankings, which could have a disastrous effect on your search performance, leading to a loss in traffic and ultimately loss in revenue. The CTR of these keywords can be improved by adjusting meta descriptions and titles to entice users to click on your snippet.