It’s Mark’s favorite holiday and, quite frankly, his second nature…
As our resident Halloween enthusiast, Mark has brewed up a Halloween sale fit for Frankenstein!
Save 20% Storewide
with code “BOO
🔬 SEO Mad Scientist 🔬
How long do ranking gains from CTR last?
Hey, SEO testers!
We all get curious…
And after our final test update on our CTR tests, we were curious to see how the rankings fared after stopping the CTR work.
How long would ranking gains hold without additional CTR?
In our previous updates, we reviewed listings for an accountant and realtor in vastly different population sizes. One in a smaller town and one in a larger city.
Below, we walk through the local rankings at every step of the process.
“Realtor + city”
This CTR test began on April 3rd, starting with virtually 0 visibility.
Our last CTR run with this keyword finished on July 26th. At the time of the wrap-up, rankings were on the upswing…
It’s now been nearly 3 months since completing the CTR work and here is where the listing stands now:
We encountered a minor decline in maps rankings, but we think these rankings held pretty well! There was less negative movement than we initially expected.
Accountant + City
On May 8th we began testing CTR for this “accountant + city”. Here is what the grid looked like at that time.
We ran the last CTR test on August 1st, resulting in more growth than we expected…
After nearly 3 months, a minor decrease in rankings was observed, albeit less pronounced than in other scenarios.
“Payroll Services + city”
We began CTR for this term on May 22nd with weak grids…
After CTR work ended on August 8th, geogrids had expanded.
Unexpectedly, even after we completed all CTR work, we continued to see increased rankings. Even 3 months after any CTR work was completed, rankings were still on the rise!
The results from these tests suggest that CTR manipulation can push (and sustain) rankings in a variety of population sizes and niches.
However, those results aren’t guaranteed to last. You must continue to optimize and build your brand!
Based on our research, CTR is an effective tool to add to your SEO strategy. But, we don’t recommend relying on it too much…
While this CTR test is wrapped up, be sure to follow along with our other interesting tests like the ranking impact of relevance v. links.
Until next time,
SEO Mad Scientist
💰 Are SEO Tools Price Gouging? + Relevancy V Links SEO Test, AI Images & More 💰
The SEO Vault: Episode 211
If you use SEO tools or AI tools, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!
Ahrefs not renewing legacy accounts led to an interesting discussion on pricing models and how they impact agencies.
+ We discuss AI-powered image generation and how to better leverage tools in your agency!
Watch the episode to stay ahead in the digital landscape, and listen on your favorite podcasting platform.
This Week in the LCT Facebook Group…
