Advanced Web Ranking says Google desktop CTR fell and mobile rose at top positions in Q2, in data that spans the end of a Search Console logging error: Reveneau

Why it mattersA marketing team comparing Q1 to Q2 device performance in Search Console will see the same reversal, but most of it is a measurement break rather than a change in how people click.

Google's Q1 to Q2 CTR figures show desktop rates dropping at the top and mobile rates climbing, in data that spans a Search Console logging error the report itself does not mention. Search Engine Journal reported on 29 September that this reversal comes from Advanced Web Ranking's CTR report for Q2 2026, and that AWR's free CTR tool credits Search Console as its source.

Across all searches, AWR says desktop CTRs at positions one and two saw a combined drop of 5.27 percentage points from Q1 to Q2, while mobile CTRs at those same positions grew by a combined 6.59 points. The figures add across positions and do not reflect any single site.

The split by query type and industry

For single-word queries, desktop CTR at position one fell 4.15 points and mobile at position one rose 7.42 points, AWR reports. All top 20 desktop branded query CTRs dropped between 1.47 and 3.08 points, while mobile position one on branded queries rose 1.40 points. Desktop CTRs fell across informational, commercial and location queries too, and mobile CTRs rose in the same categories.

Industry results tracked the split, with two exceptions. Arts & Entertainment gained 2.40 points at desktop position one. Law, Government & Politics gained on desktop positions two and three and saw the largest single-position climb of the report, mobile position one up 17.31 points. The largest single-position drop was 13.31 points at desktop position one in Style & Fashion.

The Search Console measurement break

Search Engine Journal points out the caveat that gives most of these movements a second reading. Google's own help page, cited in the article, explains that a Search Console logging error ran from 13 May 2025 to 27 April 2026, and that this error affected impressions and CTR but not click counts. AWR credits Search Console as the source for its CTR tool. So the Q1 report sat entirely inside the error range, and most of the Q2 data came after the fix. CTR is clicks divided by impressions, and the impression count is what Google says was misreported. AWR's Q2 report does not say whether Google updated the earlier figures after fixing the error.

Search Engine Journal writes that readers may see the same break in their own Search Console comparisons, and to hold 27 April in mind as a measurement break rather than a change in how people click.

What AI Overviews are still doing to CTR

AWR ran the AI Overview analysis on U.S. data only. Desktop positions one and two combined for 29.05 percent CTR on results pages without an AI Overview and 10.04 percent on pages with one, according to Search Engine Journal, a gap of 19.01 points that widened by 6.03 points from Q1. Mobile position one showed 35.95 percent without an AI Overview and 8.51 percent with one. AWR's monthly figures put U.S. desktop position one at a 1.96 percent CTR on AI Overview pages in April and 10.23 percent in June, a spread the quarterly figures do not show.

AWR says its Q3 report will decide whether the device split is, in its own words, a permanent trend or a temporary seasonal spike. Since Q3 covers July to September, that report will be the first quarter with no impression error in the data at all.

Source

Search Engine Journal report: Google Desktop CTR Fell In Q2 While Mobile Rose, Data Shows, by Matt G. Southern, 29 September 2026.
Primary source: Google Organic CTR History for Q2 2026, Advanced Web Ranking.

This item was written by an AI system from the linked source. Reveneau is responsible for what it publishes.