CTR / Click-Through Rate.

CTR stands for click-through rate. It answers a simple question: Out of all the times your listing was displayed, how often did someone click on it? This applies to ads on Google or Meta just as much as it does to your regular search results. For a business, it’s an early indicator of whether the headline, image, and offer are appealing.

How the Click-Through Rate Is Measured

The basic formula is the same everywhere: clicks divided by impressions. According to Google Ads, 5 clicks out of 100 impressions result in a click-through rate of 5 percent. According to Google, Google Search Console calculates it the same way, but using only the impressions and clicks from your organic search results.

What counts as an impression varies. According to Google, Search Console generally counts an impression as soon as your link appears on the currently displayed results page, even if no one scrolls down to it. According to Meta, an impression is only counted when the ad appears on the screen. Meta also reports the CTR (click-through rate), which counts only clicks on links, as well as metrics that track all clicks.

What Your Business Should Keep in Mind

Never compare the click-through rate of ads to that of organic search results. An ad usually appears near the top of the page and is targeted specifically. An organic search result generates an impression even if it appears far down on the first page. According to Google, a good click-through rate for ads also depends on what you’re advertising and which networks you’re using.

Always analyze your organic click-through rate in conjunction with your ranking position. If you appear in lower positions for many new search terms, your click-through rate may drop even though the number of clicks is increasing. To learn how to filter this data effectively in Search Console, see “How to Use Google Search Console Correctly.”

Take the click-through rate in Google Ads seriously as a quality signal. According to Google, it is factored into the expected click-through rate, which is part of the ad rank. According to Google, the expected click-through rate is one of three components of the Quality Score, along with ad relevance and the user experience on the landing page.

High click-through rate, but no inquiries: Then the problem lies with the landing page. In projects, we often see that ads get a lot of clicks, but visitors can’t find what the ad promised on the landing page. In that case, it helps to focus on improving the conversion rate rather than the ad itself.

Frequently Asked Questions About Click-Through Rate

What is a good click-through rate? According to Google, it depends on your products or services and the networks where you advertise. What really matters is how your own metrics are trending.

Why is my click-through rate so low in Search Console? Because every time a result appears on the search results page, it counts—even if it’s further down the page. According to Google, however, results on page 3 don’t generate an impression if someone only looks at page 1.

What's the difference between this and the conversion rate? The click-through rate measures whether someone clicks on your ad. The conversion rate measures whether they make an inquiry or a purchase afterward. Only when you look at both together can you tell if advertising is worth it—just as you would with CPM, which is the cost per thousand impressions.

If you want to know which ad actually generates inquiries—and not just clicks—we'll handle the tracking and analysis in Ad Management.