Click through rates (CTR) for the top Google organic search results moved in opposite directions during the second quarter. According to Advanced Web Ranking’s CTR report for Q2 2026, which Search Engine Journal published, desktop CTR decreased at the top positions, whereas mobile CTR increased.
The report’s findings contradict those identified in the same publication’s Q1 2026 issue, which stated that desktop CTR improved while the CTR for mobile results declined at the top positions. However, there is an explanation, as the change occurred between Q1 and Q2, which fell on the end of a Search Console logging error, and the report does not mention the issue. Thus, the change appears hard to interpret at first glance, but it has little correlation with the overall CTR trends.
What the Report Found
The Q2 report shows average international click through rates by position for April to June compared to January to March. Looking at all searches, a drop of 5.27 percentage points combined CTR for desktop computers in the top two positions, while a rise of 6.59 points combined for mobile devices.
There is a caveat to keep in mind when reviewing those numbers – they are combined figures which means the changes represent averages across several positions, rather than reflecting the impact on any particular website. A page which ranked first for a certain query is unlikely to have dropped by that much in the first position, or gained that much on the first spot on mobile.
The trends were similar across different query categories – informational, commercial and location queries saw declines in desktop CTR and increases for mobile queries.
Single Word and Branded Queries
Two query groups show the split especially clearly.
Single word queries
- Desktop CTR at position one dipped by 4.15 points
- Mobile CTR at position one increased by 7.42 points
Branded queries
- Every one of the top 20 desktop positions dropped, by between 1.47 and 3.08 points each
- Mobile position one rose by 1.40 points
The single-word numbers stand out as the mobile gain is almost double the desktop loss. Branded queries are a quieter story. The desktop dropped across the board, but the top of the mobile still gained a little. The report gives no reason, and there’s no way to know from these numbers whether it’s a change in clicking habits or a measurement change in the query counting.
Which Industries Bucked the Trend
Industry results were overall similar in split, as desktop decreased while mobile increased. However, several stood out.
Arts and Entertainment was an exception, gaining 2.40 points at desktop position one. Law, Government and Politics gained at desktop positions two and three. It also had the largest single position increase of any industries, with mobile position one up 17.31 points.
The other side, the largest single position drop was 13.31 points, at desktop position one in Style and Fashion.
How AI Overview Pages Compared
The Q2 report also evaluates the impact of CTR differences based on whether a results page included an AI Overview. This is U.S.-specific data only.
For desktop, the combined CTR for the positions one and two was 29.05% on results pages that did not have an AI Overview and 10.04% for those that had one. Between the two, there is a difference of 19.01%, which equals 6.03% more than the gap recorded in Q1. Therefore, working backwards, the gap in Q1 must have been around 13%.
The mobile results follow the same pattern at position one. Here, the CTR was 35.95% on results pages with no AI Overview and 8.51% for those that had one.
The differences are substantial with the CTR on desktop showing even bigger variance between the two quarters. The numbers themselves do not explain the cause of the variance. A results page with an AI Overview is also likely to have a query more inclined towards being informational, and the CTR for such queries is generally lower than for commercial intent queries. As per the explanation given, the evaluation is made between the results pages that have the AI overview and the ones that do not.
The Monthly Numbers Tell a Different Story
Besides the quarterly reports, Advanced Web Ranking regularly shares monthly statistics, which demonstrate changes more accurately than the yearly figures. According to these statistics, the CTR for the U.S. desktop position one on AI Overview pages hit 1.96% in April and surged to 10.23% in June.
This means that there was a great variance of CTR within one quarter, so relying only on the quarterly average may be misleading. This data also conflicts with the Search Console statistic mentioned above since, according to Southern’s article, the logging bug ceased to occur in April – the first month of the quarter.
However, both facts might be unrelated as neither Southern nor anyone else cited above proves the link between the two.
The Comparison Crosses the End of a Search Console Error
Google’s Search Console Help page announces that a logging error caused inaccurate impressions during May 13, 2025, to April 27, 2026. The error affected the clicks through rate (CTR) and average position, but not the number of clicks.
Therefore, it influenced the calculation of CTR as the ratio of clicks to impressions. One should be careful about the Q2 Report’s interpretation of the changes from Q1 to Q2 and not jump to conclusions about an increased level of user interaction with the website
The reason is clear: Advanced Web Ranking’s free CTR tool uses Search Console data, and Q2 Report credits its figures to this tool. Southern points out that this indicates that all of Q1’s data were affected by the logging error, while only a part of Q2’s was included in the period of inaccuracies. The Report does not mention if the figures were updated after Google announced the end of the error on April 27, 2026.
This implies that the comparison of the two quarters relies on the data that were inaccurate for one of them. Therefore, changes in the average position and CTR for desktop and mobile should be regarded with caution and may be explained by the error rather than differences in user behavior.
How to Read the Numbers Carefully
Southern’s guidance is measured. While the reports show desktop and mobile CTRs split once again, this time in the opposite direction, a single quarterly data point is not enough to confidently predict CTR by device.
There are two consequences that flow from this.
Firstly, treat the reversal as a sign to watch out for, rather than a pattern to base a strategy on. Q1 suggested one outcome and Q2 suggests the opposite. Neither quarter guides what happens next.
Secondly, remember that the numbers are averages. A 5.27-point combined decline on desktop and a 6.59-point combined gain on mobile describe an average across all sites and keywords, not individual ones or any particular one.
What to Check in Your Own Data
Site owners might also see the same type of discrepancy in their own Search Console comparisons. Google’s impression error was active until April 27th, meaning a comparison spanning that date could show a shift in the CTR without any actual changes to user behavior
Southern recommends considering such a day a measurement break, not necessarily a shift in audience mentality. For anyone using such a metric in their organic performance reports, it would be helpful to note April 27th on the graphs and separate the data for the period before and after the issue.
The number of clicks was not impacted by the error, being a more consistent metric than CTR or average position for the period of time that experienced the issue.
What Q3 Could Show
Advanced Web Ranking states that its Q3 report will help demonstrate if the device split observed in the previous quarter is a permanent or temporary issue. It is, indeed, one of the main reasons why one quarter cannot be used to answer this question.
Q3 is linked to the period of July – September, which means the whole quarter has already gone past the Google correction period. However, it is not possible to make an exact comparison between Q3 and Q2 as most of the period covered by the latter is still within the “error envelope.”
This nuance should be considered by those who decide to evaluate the information given in the report or compare it to the results from the previous quarter. In the future, such assessments should only be made when multiple quarters’ data have been measured using the same baseline.
FAQs
Q1: What did the Q2 2026 CTR report find?
Advanced Web Ranking’s report discovered that Google’s desktop CTRs in the top organic positions fell in Q2 while mobile CTRs increased. This is the reverse of Q1 patterns when desktop CTRs improved but mobile CTRs went down at the top.
Q2: How big was the change?
Across all searches desktop CTRs for positions one and two dropped by a combined 5.27 percentage points, while mobile CTRs in these places climbed by 6.59 points.
Q3: Do those figures describe a single site?
Not necessarily – the figures combine changes across a range of positions and do not represent the performance of any particular site. Individual results can vary significantly.
Q4: How did AI Overviews affect CTR?
In the United States, for desktop, positions one and two had a combined CTR of 29.05% without an AI Overview and 10.04% with one, while for mobile, position one had a CTR of 35.95% without and 8.51% with an AI Overview.
Q5: What was the Search Console logging error?
According to Google, impressions were being wrongly recorded between May 13, 2025, and April 27, 2026. This affected CTR and average position but not the number of clicks.
Q6: Why does the error matter for this report?
The calculation of CTR relies on clicks and impressions, so errors in the latter impact the former. All the data for Q1 fell within the period of error, while most of the data for Q2 was after it.
Q7: Should site owners change their strategy because of this?
With only a quarter of the data, it is too soon to draw definite conclusions about CTR variation by device type, but it can be used as a useful pointer.
Q8: Which industry saw the biggest change?
Law, Government and Politics saw the biggest jump in a single position – 17.31 points for mobile position one – while the biggest drop was seen in Style and Fashion, falling by 13.31 points in desktop position one.
Q9: What will the Q3 report show?
According to Advanced Web Ranking, it will help establish if the shift in the device split between organic traffic is a permanent trend or only a seasonal phenomenon, as the third quarter (July to September) falls completely after Google’s correction period.
