New benchmark data shows desktop click-through rates climbing while mobile declines, holding for both branded and unbranded queries. Mobile SERPs look more exposed to AI Overviews.
A blended click-through rate is now hiding two different stories. One is improving. One is bleeding out.
Search click-through rates are splitting by device, and the gap is wide enough to change how you read your own numbers.
New benchmark data across 22 industries shows desktop click-through rates climbing over two quarters while mobile declines. At the top spot, the mobile number-one position dropped by 2.20 percentage points. The split holds for both branded and unbranded queries, with branded desktop gains the largest of all.
The data covers one quarter and points to no single cause, so treat it as a signal rather than a settled trend. The likely read is that mobile results pages are more heavily loaded with AI Overviews and other features that swallow the click, while desktop is recovering some ground.
Why it matters
Most businesses look at a single, blended organic click-through rate. That number is now an average of two channels moving in opposite directions. If your traffic skews mobile, and for most Australian consumer businesses it does, a blended figure makes the picture look healthier than it is.
This sits inside the bigger shift. Across all of Google, less than one third of searches still send a click. The device split tells you where that loss is concentrated, and on mobile it is concentrated hard.
How far the mobile number-one click-through rate fell while desktop climbed, across 22 industries (SEJ benchmark data)
What to do about it
Split your Search Console reporting by device. Look at desktop and mobile click-through rates separately before you draw any conclusion about performance.
Check your traffic mix. If you are mobile-heavy, weight the mobile decline accordingly and stop being reassured by the blended number.
Look at which queries trigger an AI Overview on mobile. Those are the ones losing the click. Prioritise the queries that still send traffic.
Protect branded search. Branded desktop gains were the strongest part of the data. A brand people search for by name is the part of search you actually influence.
Stop chasing rank in isolation. Position one means less when the click evaporates above your listing. Track the click, not just the ranking.
The businesses that read this clearly will stop trusting a single average and start watching where the traffic is actually going.