click-through rate

Click-Through Rate

The percentage of people who see an ad, link, or email and click on it. Formula: clicks ÷ impressions × 100. The acronym CTR also exists as a stub entry; this entry provides full context.

When you'd see it: Ad performance reports in Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, and LinkedIn Campaign Manager. Email marketing platforms (where it's called 'click rate'). Any channel where you're paying per impression or measuring engagement on content. A campaign debrief will always include CTR alongside impressions and conversions.

Why it matters: CTR tells you whether your message and targeting are working together. A low CTR means your creative isn't compelling enough for the audience you're reaching — either the message is off, the visual isn't stopping the scroll, or the audience doesn't care. High CTR with low conversion rates means the ad works but the landing page doesn't. These are different problems with different fixes.

Common mistakes: Optimizing for CTR as an end goal. A high CTR on a poorly targeted audience means you're clicking through faster to nowhere — and paying for every click. CTR is a proxy metric; ROAS, CAC, and conversion rate are the real outcomes. Also: comparing CTRs across different channels without context — a 5% CTR is excellent on display but unremarkable on email.

Related CPM, CPC, ROAS, conversion rate, impression