Advertising

What Is Click-Through Rate?

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of measured impressions that produced a click: clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. It indicates response to an ad, not whether the resulting visit was valuable.

Start with the diagnosis

A useful advert makes a clear, supportable promise to the right audience. The landing experience must continue the same conversation.

Before changing the page or campaign, separate what you know from what you are assuming. Check the source, the promise, the destination and the desired action in that order. This prevents a visible symptom from being mistaken for the cause.

What to do next

  1. Confirm how the platform counts impressions and clicks.
  2. Compare ads shown in similar placements.
  3. Judge CTR alongside conversions and cost.

How to judge the result

Measure impressions, clicks, cost and the next meaningful action separately. Compare like with like and give the test enough time to reveal a useful pattern. Keep the original version as a reference rather than changing everything at once.

Watch out: A high CTR can be unprofitable if the ad attracts the wrong people.

A simple working checklist