Study: Video Content in SERPs Increases CTR by 41 Percent for Informational Queries

A new study from SEO platform Semrush analyzing 10 million search results has found that pages featuring video content receive 41 percent higher click-through rates for informational queries compared to text-only pages in similar ranking positions.

Key Findings

The CTR advantage varies by query type and position. For informational queries the average CTR lift was 41 percent. For how-to queries video results showed a 53 percent CTR advantage. For product review queries the advantage was 34 percent. The video CTR advantage was strongest for positions 2 through 5 where thumbnails are most visible. Position 1 results showed less relative advantage as they already capture high CTR regardless of video presence.

Video Format Impact

The study also analyzed which video formats performed best in search results. Tutorial videos showed the highest CTR advantage at 67 percent above text-only results. Product review videos showed 42 percent CTR advantage. Explainer videos showed 38 percent advantage. Interview and discussion videos showed only 12 percent advantage suggesting that practical demonstration content benefits most from video format.

Thumbnail Quality Impact

Custom thumbnails significantly outperformed auto-generated thumbnails. Pages with custom video thumbnails in search results showed 28 percent higher CTR than those with auto-generated thumbnails. Thumbnails featuring faces showed 15 percent higher CTR than those without. Bright high-contrast thumbnails outperformed darker images by 22 percent.

Implications for Content Strategy

The study reinforces the strategic importance of video content for SEO. Organizations should prioritize video creation for informational and how-to content where the CTR advantage is largest. Every video should have a custom thumbnail optimized for small display sizes. Videos should be embedded on dedicated pages with proper schema markup to maximize search visibility. The combination of video and comprehensive text content provides the best overall SERP performance.