What is CTR (clickthrough rate)
Also known as: Click-Through Rate, clickthrough rate
CTR (clickthrough rate) is the percentage of people who clicked after seeing an ad, an email or a search result. You divide clicks by impressions. A 5% CTR means that for every 100 times the ad appeared, it received 5 clicks. It measures how much the message sparks interest in the people who see it.
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100
This is the same example Google Ads Help uses: 5 clicks from 100 impressions is a 5% CTR.
Two ads in the same campaign were shown 10,000 times each. The first, headlined "English course", got 150 clicks: a 1.5% CTR. The second, "Work-ready English in 6 months, evening classes", got 420 clicks: a 4.2% CTR.
The second was more specific about what the person gets and who it is for. With the same audience, it nearly tripled clicks. It remains to be seen whether those clicks become enrollments, which is what conversion rate will tell you.
Why CTR matters in Google Ads
In Google Ads, CTR is not just an interest indicator. Google Ads Help explains that it feeds the keyword's expected clickthrough rate, one of the components of Ad Rank, the ranking that decides an ad's position in the auction. A high CTR indicates that people find the ad helpful and relevant.
In practice, ads with a higher CTR tend to win better positions without needing higher bids. That is why writing a good ad is also a way to pay less.
A good CTR is relative
Google Ads Help itself warns: a good CTR depends on what you advertise and on which network. Search ads, where the person was looking for the product, usually have a much higher CTR than display or social ads, where they were doing something else.
The comparison that counts is against your own history: the same type of campaign, on the same channel, over time. Comparing a search campaign's CTR with a video campaign's tells you nothing.
CTR exists beyond ads
- In organic search, Search Console shows each page's CTR in Google results. A better title and description raise CTR without changing position.
- In email, CTR is the percentage of recipients who clicked a link in the message.
- On a website, any button or banner has a CTR: clicks divided by how many times it was seen.
How to raise CTR without attracting bad clicks
- Be specific. Numbers, timelines, audience and benefit in the headline beat generic phrases.
- Use the words the person searched for in the ad headline, when it makes sense.
- Add ad assets, such as sitelinks and callouts: they take up more space and give more reasons to click.
- Do not promise what the page does not deliver. High CTR with low conversion signals an ad attracting the wrong clicks, and a wrong click costs the same as a right one.
Frequently asked questions
What does CTR stand for?
CTR stands for clickthrough rate. It is the percentage of people who clicked after seeing an ad or result.
How do you calculate CTR?
Divide the number of clicks by the number of impressions and multiply by 100. 5 clicks from 100 impressions is a 5% CTR.
What is a good CTR?
It depends on the channel and on what you advertise. Search usually has a higher CTR than display and social. Your own account history for the same campaign type is the best benchmark.
Is a high CTR always good?
No. A high CTR with a low conversion rate means the ad attracts clicks from people who will not buy. The goal is a good CTR and good conversion together.
Does CTR affect the cost per click?
In Google Ads, yes, indirectly: it feeds expected clickthrough rate, which is part of Ad Rank. Ads with a better CTR tend to win better positions with lower bids.
Related terms
Rodrigo Fávaro
Founder of ROO3, a marketing and technology agency in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil. Builds AI products running in production (Tobia, gerar.app, Pense Mercado) and maintains the AI Benchmark, a public ranking of AI models.
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