Master your advertising performance metrics. Calculate, track, and improve your Click-Through Rate (CTR) across all your marketing campaigns.
Learn the fundamentals of Click-Through Rate and improve your marketing performance
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is a key performance metric that measures the percentage of people who click on your ad or link after seeing it. It helps evaluate the effectiveness of your ads, emails, or any clickable content.
(Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
The basic CTR formula shows what percentage of people who see your ad click on it. A CTR of 2% means 2 out of 100 people who see your ad click it.
Example:
100 clicks ÷ 1,000 impressions × 100 = 10% CTR
Click-Through Rates vary significantly across different advertising channels and industries. Understanding these benchmarks helps you set realistic goals and identify improvement opportunities:
Create compelling ad copy that drives clicks:
Optimize visual components for maximum impact:
Refine your audience targeting:
While CTR is important, it shouldn't be your only metric. High CTR with low conversion rates might indicate misleading ads or wrong audience targeting.
Common targeting mistakes include:
Avoid these common ad copy mistakes:
Avoid these testing mistakes:
Understanding CTR's influence on Quality Score:
Optimize CTR for different platforms:
Search Ads
Display Ads
Sophisticated approaches to CTR optimization:
While the basic CTR formula is essential, these advanced calculations provide deeper insights into your ad performance:
Ad Spend ÷ Number of Clicks
Cost Per Click (CPC) shows how much you're paying for each click on your ad.
Example:
$500 ad spend ÷ 100 clicks = $5 per click
(Your CTR ÷ Average CTR) × 100
Relative CTR compares your performance to industry or platform averages.
Example:
2.5% CTR ÷ 2.0% avg CTR × 100 = 125% of average
(Mobile Clicks ÷ Mobile Impressions) × 100
Device-Specific CTR helps you understand performance across different devices.
Example:
50 mobile clicks ÷ 800 mobile views × 100 = 6.25% mobile CTR
(CTR × Conversion Rate) × 100
Click-to-Conversion Rate shows how many ad viewers ultimately convert.
Example:
(10% CTR × 20% conv rate) × 100 = 2% total conversion