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Testing what people repeat about search

Most SEO numbers get copied from old overseas studies. We measure them on live Australian data instead. Client data is pooled and anonymised: no client is named and no single site's figures are shown. The full method for each study is on the Uppercut Digital blog.

How much traffic AI assistants really send

The median Australian site got 0.64% of its sessions from AI assistants, about 2 for every 100 from organic search. It's growing quickly from a very small base.

  • ChatGPT sent 97.2% of AI sessions, well above the 74.78% SE Ranking measured worldwide.
  • AI sessions rose 54.2% on the previous 90 days, but their share of all traffic only moved from 0.32% to 0.37%.
  • On the same site, AI and organic visitors converted about the same: 6.56 and 6.54 key events per 100 sessions.

Read the full study

Number of sites by AI share of all sessions

  1. Under 0.25%18 sites
  2. 0.25% to 0.5%14 sites
  3. 0.5% to 1%23 sites
  4. 1% to 2%15 sites
  5. 2% or more6 sites

How we measured it: 76 Australian websites with at least 1,000 sessions, GA4 data, 2 August to 30 October 2026. Paid search excluded. A floor, because visits with no referrer aren't counted.

What the number one spot really gets

The figure everyone quotes for position 1 is 27.6%, from a US study first published in 2019. For non-brand searches in Australia, we measured 7.17%.

  • Mobile got 9.13% at position 1, desktop 4.49%.
  • Page two earned 0.21% of its impressions as clicks.
  • On mobile at position 1, local-service businesses got 4.0% against 9.7% for national sites.

Read the full study

Non-brand click-through rate by position, all devices

  1. Position 17.17%
  2. Position 23.66%
  3. Position 32.18%
  4. Position 41.29%
  5. Position 50.96%

How we measured it: 99 Australian websites, Search Console data, Australian searches only, 17 July to 14 October 2026. 13.8 million non-brand impressions in the top 20.

How much traffic comes from your own name

The median site got 45.4% of its visible Google clicks from people searching its own name. They already knew the business.

  • 25 of the 55 sites got more than half their visible clicks from their own name.
  • The middle half of sites ranged from 17.5% to 77.4%.
  • Pooled, branded searches made up 66.7% of 342,325 clicks, because the largest sites are well-known brands.

Read the full study

Number of sites by branded share of visible clicks

  1. Under 25%16 sites
  2. 25% to 50%14 sites
  3. 50% to 75%10 sites
  4. 75% or more15 sites

How we measured it: 55 Australian websites with at least 100 organic clicks, Search Console data, 17 July to 14 October 2026. Business Profile links removed.

What actually moves the map pack

In Parramatta, two of the three listings in the map pack for "plumber" had 5 and 6 reviews. Review count alone doesn't decide who makes it.

  • The 18 positions were filled by 17 different businesses.
  • In Bondi Junction, a listing with 2,800 reviews sat third, behind 292 and 194.
  • 15 of the 18 listings were rated 4.9 or 5.0, so a high rating is the price of entry.

Read the full study

Most-reviewed listing in the pack at each search point

  1. Bondi Junction2,800
  2. Hurstville898
  3. Sydney CBD587
  4. Parramatta563
  5. Penrith462
  6. Chatswood373

How we measured it: One search, "plumber", on mobile from six points across Sydney with a 500 metre radius, 29 September 2026. Live Google results through DataForSEO.

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