Why position 1 dominates but position 2 is not 10 is not 10
Search result position follows a power-law distribution, not a linear one. Position 1 captures roughly 30% of clicks, position 2 gets 15%, position 3 gets 10%. By position 10, you're under 3%. This curve is steeper than many marketers assume, especially on mobile where below-the-fold results see minimal clicks. The implication: ranking position 2 generates half the traffic of position 1 for the same query, but ranking position 5 generates only 30% of the position 2 traffic.
The curve flattens for branded searches (users finding a specific company tend to click regardless of position) and steepens for commercial queries (users in a buying frame skip weak results quickly).
The compounding effect of CTR and ranking
Higher CTR signals to Google that your result is more relevant than the one above it, which can eventually lift your ranking. This feedback loop means the gap between position 1 and position 2 often grows over time if position 1 consistently gets more clicks. A page that starts in position 3 with 5% CTR may move to position 2 (15% CTR) over weeks, then to position 1 (30% CTR) over months, amplifying the traffic gain beyond the position change itself.