CTR (Click-through rate): what it means in advertising

Definition

CTR (click-through rate) is clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. An ad shown 10,000 times and clicked 150 times has a CTR of 1.5%. CTR is the clearest signal of whether your creative and offer match the audience seeing them.

How it is calculated

CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100

What to know

CTR feeds directly into cost. On most platforms, ads that earn clicks are rewarded with cheaper impressions, so improving CTR lowers CPC without touching a bid.

Be careful comparing CTR across placements. A Stories placement, a feed placement and a Search ad have different baseline behaviours, so a single blended CTR across all of them hides more than it shows.

Related terms

CPCCPC (cost per click) is ad spend divided by clicks. It measures what you pay for attention, not for results. C...CPMCPM (cost per mille) is the cost of one thousand impressions, calculated as ad spend divided by impressions, m...Conversion rateConversion rate (CVR) is conversions divided by clicks or sessions, expressed as a percentage. If 1,600 clicks...Ad fatigueAd fatigue is the decline in performance that happens when an audience has seen the same creative too many tim...

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