Is the top 5 in Google so important? Let me explain why it might not be. If there is a train at a platform with 10 carriages. Assuming all people arrive on time, do they all get into the first carriage they see - no. They evenly disperse throughout all carriages. Likewise, if you go to a park and there are 15 cafes by the lakeside, all beside each other. Do all the people in the park, looking for a coffee visit the first cafe - the answer is probably no. Again they seem to evenly choose. Do you think the same happens in Google to a certain extent?
This does not apply to google. Everyone clicks the first 5. So no use thinking of equal traffic for all ranked sites.
I'd be more than happy to double that FYI, 45% is the CTR's for the 1st ranked site/carriage in G's train.
If google was a train, you may have a point but the vast majority of people are too lazy to scroll down the page after a search and so if you're not in the top 5 then you're going to have a hard time.
Being in the first 10 results is definitely the goal and once in there, the Title and Definition play the most important role of getting the traffic.
Do a couple years work in SEO and your opinions will change. Like most people I always click on the first link and go in order. If I don't get what I want by the third then I'll check out all of the links/ descriptions to judge if I can find what I'm looking for. Then I'll select the one that I think will be most relevent. If I don't get it by then I'll try another query. I do this everytime it doesn't matter what the keywords are.
i would rather like to be in the first carriage.Like most people I always click on the first link and go in order.
It's a statistical fact that a #1 ranking will get approximately 42% of the clicks. #2 12% #3 9% #4 6% #5 5% #6 - 10 are about the same. If you aren't in the top ten, forget about getting any type of significant traffic.
Totally different scenario People spread out through the carriages because they want to find a seat. Online people don't really read much and just see that it is at the top and has the keyword in bold normally so they click it to get to what they want fast. That's why page headings are so important.
If you have any top rankings for highly competitive terms, and track the results, you would know that isn't the case.
in a concert, front seats always better, so if people come, the front seats always filled first. It's not like a train, every carriage brings you to same destination, it's Google SERP, first one get a better match, better result, like a concert, better performance