New Digitad Study Reveals SEO Positions 4–10 Lost 70% of Click Share in Quebec (Post-AI Overviews)

Digitad analyzed 10.4 million clicks across 419 websites to measure the real-world impact of AI Overviews on SMEs’ organic traffic in Quebec.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, May 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New Digitad Study Reveals Positions 4–10 Lost 70% of Click Share in Quebec (Post-AI Overviews)

Digitad, a Montreal-based digital marketing agency focused on performance, has released a new proprietary study on the impact of AI Overviews on organic search visibility in Quebec. Based on 10.4 million clicks, 54 million impressions and 419 websites belonging to Quebec SMEs, the report shows that organic clicks on Google’s first page are now heavily concentrated in the top three results.

According to Digitad’s 2026 State of AI Overviews Impact on SEO in Quebec, 89.2% of page-one organic clicks now go to the Top 3 results, while the #1 position alone captures 63.6% of all page-one clicks. Positions 4 to 10, meanwhile, account for only 10.8% of clicks, a sharp decline from pre-AI Overview benchmarks that typically placed their click share between 30% and 45%.
The study was designed to answer a question many businesses and marketing teams are now asking: in a search environment increasingly shaped by AI-generated summaries, ads, local packs and other SERP features, are users still clicking on organic results?

Digitad’s analysis suggests that organic clicks have not disappeared. They have concentrated.

For businesses, the lesson is clear: being on page one is no longer enough. The real performance threshold is increasingly moving toward the Top 3.

Digitad’s analysis found that:
- 89.2% of page 1 organic clicks go to the top three results
- 63.6% of organic clicks go to position #1 alone
- Position #1 CTR is only 8% lower in Digitad’s Quebec dataset (since AI Overviews arrived), compared with drops of up to 58% reported internationally (by Ahrefs and Semrush)
- Digitad’s findings also align with Search Engine Journal’s report showing that zero-click searches rise from 54% to 72% when an AI Overview appears
- Positions 4–10 have lost around 70% of their click share and now capture only 10.8% of clicks
- Position #7 has an average CTR of only 2.6%

The report shows that this concentration is not a short-term post-launch fluctuation. Over the 16-month analysis period, from October 2024 to January 2026, the CTR of the Top 3 remained relatively stable, ranging from 26.77% to 33.51% depending on the month.
The Top 3 click share also remained high throughout the period, generally staying between 87% and 90%, with some monthly variation.

Page one is no longer an even playing field

For years, ranking anywhere on the first page of Google was often treated as a meaningful SEO win. Digitad’s study suggests that this assumption no longer reflects how clicks are distributed in today’s search results.
The #1 position now captures almost six times more clicks than positions 4 to 10 combined. In practical terms, two out of every three users who click an organic result on page one choose the first link.
This changes how SEO performance should be evaluated. A move from position 12 to position 8 may still look positive in a ranking report, but if that position generates very few clicks, its business value remains limited.
According to Digitad, marketing teams should increasingly evaluate SEO progress based on traffic potential, not rankings alone.

What this means for businesses

Digitad’s report points to several practical implications for companies investing in SEO and organic growth.
First, businesses should prioritize keywords where reaching the Top 3 is realistic. Highly competitive generic keywords may still be valuable, but ranking in a middle page-one position may no longer generate enough traffic to justify the investment in every case.

Second, long-tail SEO becomes more strategic. Ranking first for multiple specific queries can often create more meaningful visibility than ranking sixth or seventh for a broad, highly competitive term.

Third, content needs to be structured for both humans and AI-driven discovery. In this new search environment, useful content should answer questions clearly, include verifiable information, demonstrate expertise and be easy to understand, summarize and cite.

Finally, brand visibility is becoming an increasingly important part of organic performance. The more users search directly for a brand, the less that brand depends only on generic queries where every competitor is fighting for the same top three organic positions.

Methodology

Digitad analyzed Search Console data centralized in BRAIN, its internal data warehouse. The study focused on organic page-one results, meaning positions 1 to 10, across 419 websites belonging to Quebec SMEs.
The dataset includes:
- 10.4 million clicks
- 54 million impressions
- 419 Quebec SME websites
- French and English websites
- 16 months of data, from October 2024 to January 2026

The data was grouped by organic position and analyzed through two main metrics: average CTR by position and click share captured by each position or position group.
The study does not isolate queries with AI Overviews from queries without AI Overviews, since Google Search Console does not provide that distinction. The findings should therefore be read as an analysis of CTR evolution in a post-AI Overviews context, not as a query-by-query measurement of every AI Overview display.
The study also does not segment branded and non-branded queries, as this flag is not yet reliable enough in the data warehouse used. The results reflect the observed behavior of Quebec SME websites and should not be interpreted as a universal average across all markets, industries or types of websites.

About Digitad

Digitad is a digital performance agency based in Montreal. Its experts specialize in 360° strategies, including SEO, SEM, social media advertising & content, website creation and data analytics. Acting as an externalized web marketing department, the agency's mission is to make high-level digital marketing accessible and transparent for SMEs. Digitad's team combines technical expertise with a human-centric approach, focusing on data-driven results and AI implementation for productivity. With over 800 clients, its key role in the Intégral collective is defined by its commitment towards generating sustainable growth and measurable pride for its business partners.

Alexandre Corbasson
Digitad
+1 438-601-4716
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