An SEO education brand founded by Brian Dean and now part of Semrush, known for large-scale studies of search behaviour, click-through rates, and ranking factors.

How should I use Backlinko's CTR studies?

As directional references for modelling clicks, discounted for SERP features and AI Overviews and corrected against your own Search Console data.

Growth Marketing Glossary

Backlinko

proper noun

Brian Dean's SEO blog turned data lab — the large-sample CTR studies everyone links back to.

Source mark — Backlinko

Type: SEO education / research
Founder: Brian Dean
Now part of: Semrush
Primary site: backlinko.com

Forms & parts of speech

Backlinko · proper noun (a source)

A named publisher of marketing benchmark data.

"Backlinko's large-sample CTR and ranking studies are frequently cited."

What it is

Backlinko is an SEO education brand founded by Brian Dean and later acquired by Semrush. It built its reputation on in-depth guides and large-scale data studies analysing millions of search results and pages.

What it measures

Its benchmark contribution is search data — organic click-through rate by position, ranking-factor correlations, and content-performance patterns — drawn from large samples of Google results.

Cadence and how to use it

Backlinko publishes major data studies periodically and maintains evergreen guides. Use its organic-CTR-by-position findings as a directional reference, remembering that SERP features and AI Overviews are eroding classic CTR curves.

RGM cites Backlinko's search studies among its organic-CTR inputs in the benchmarks compendium.

Worked example. An SEO estimating traffic from a target ranking uses Backlinko's CTR-by-position study to model expected clicks.

Aware that AI Overviews and ads now sit above many results, the SEO discounts the classic curve rather than trusting it outright — using the benchmark as a starting point and the brand's own Search Console CTR as the correction. The study informs the model without dictating it.

Failure modes to watch. Applying older CTR-by-position curves as if SERPs were unchanged; treating ranking-factor correlations as causation; and generalising large-sample averages to a narrow niche.

Usage trends

Search interest for this term over the last five years:

View interest-over-time on Google Trends →

Common questions

What is Backlinko?: An SEO education brand founded by Brian Dean and now part of Semrush, known for large-scale studies of search behaviour, click-through rates, and ranking factors.
What does Backlinko measure?: Search data such as organic CTR by position, ranking-factor correlations, and content-performance patterns, drawn from large samples of Google results.
How should I use Backlinko's CTR studies?: As directional references for modelling clicks, discounted for SERP features and AI Overviews and corrected against your own Search Console data.

Related tools & calculators

toolRGM benchmarks compendium

Resources & people to follow

referenceBacklinko — search behaviour studies
referenceRGM benchmarks compendium — organic CTR

Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term.

Sources

referenceBacklinko — primary site
referenceCited by the RGM benchmarks compendium
trendsGoogle Trends — "backlinko"