What is Click-Through Rate (CTR)?
Click-through rate measures the percentage of people who click on a link, ad, or call-to-action after seeing it. It is the primary measure of ad creative effectiveness and a key quality signal used by ad platforms. Higher CTR means your messaging resonates with your audience and typically leads to lower costs per click through quality score improvements.
The Formula
CTR = (Total Clicks ÷ Total Impressions) × 100
Track CTR by ad creative, audience segment, and placement to identify what resonates with whom.
Worked Example
A Google Ads campaign generates 50,000 impressions and 1,750 clicks across 3 ad variations.
- Overall CTR = (1,750 ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 3.5%
- Ad A: 800 clicks / 20,000 impressions = 4.0% CTR
- Ad B: 600 clicks / 15,000 impressions = 4.0% CTR
- Ad C: 350 clicks / 15,000 impressions = 2.3% CTR
📌 Ads A and B perform equally well at 4.0% CTR. Ad C underperforms at 2.3% and should be paused or replaced. Reallocating Ad C's budget to A and B would improve overall campaign efficiency.
Why This Matters
Quality Score impact
Google Ads uses expected CTR as a major Quality Score factor. Higher CTR → higher Quality Score → lower cost per click → more efficient ad spend. A 1% CTR improvement can reduce CPC by 10-15%.
Creative effectiveness
CTR is the most direct measure of whether your ad copy, visuals, and offer resonate with the target audience. Low CTR means the message isn't compelling enough to act on.
Budget efficiency
High CTR means more people visit your landing page per dollar spent on impressions. This amplifies the value of every dollar in your ad budget.
Common Mistakes
❌ Optimizing CTR without tracking conversions
A 10% CTR ad that converts at 0.5% is worse than a 3% CTR ad that converts at 5%. CTR gets people to your page; conversion rate determines if they buy. Optimize for the full funnel.
❌ Comparing CTR across different platforms
Search ads naturally have higher CTR (3-5%) than display ads (0.3-0.5%) because users have higher intent. Compare CTR within the same platform and ad type.
❌ Using clickbait to inflate CTR
Misleading ad copy generates clicks but not conversions. This wastes budget, damages brand reputation, and trains algorithms on the wrong audience signals.
Industry Benchmarks
| Category | Good | Average | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Ads | 5-10% | 3-5% | Below 2% |
| Google Display Ads | 0.8-1.5% | 0.3-0.8% | Below 0.2% |
| Email CTR | 3-5% | 1.5-3% | Below 1% |
Source: WordStream 2025 Click-Through Rate Benchmarks Report
Benchmark data sourced from WordStream 2025 Click-Through Rate Benchmarks Report.