Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Also known as: Click-Through Rate
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of people who click a link, ad, or search result after seeing it — clicks divided by impressions.
CTR measures how compelling your message is to the people who see it. It applies everywhere an impression is counted: paid ads, organic search listings, email links, and social posts.
In paid search, CTR feeds directly into Quality Score, which lowers your cost per click — so a higher CTR makes ads both more effective and cheaper. In organic search, CTR from the results page is an indirect signal that your title and meta description are doing their job.
A high CTR isn't automatically good: clicks that don't convert just cost money. Read CTR alongside conversion rate to make sure you're attracting the right clicks, not just more of them.
Formula
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
Example
An ad shown 10,000 times that receives 250 clicks has a CTR of (250 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 2.5%.
Related terms
Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC (Cost Per Click) is the amount you pay each time someone clicks your ad. It's the core pricing model of search and many social ad platforms.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action — a purchase, sign-up, or enquiry — out of everyone who had the chance to.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
A SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page a search engine returns in response to a query, listing organic results, ads, and rich features.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is an advertising model where you pay a fee each time someone clicks your ad, buying visits rather than earning them organically.
Impressions
An impression is counted each time your content or ad is displayed, regardless of whether it's clicked. It measures how often you were seen, not how many people saw you.
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