CTR - what is it and what click-through rate is considered good?

CTR is one of those terms that regularly comes up in conversations among marketers, analysts and online campaign specialists. An indicator that is easy to measure, simple to calculate, and carries a lot of informational value - both about paid and organic actions. What exactly does CTR tell us? And is a "good CTR" always a reason to celebrate?

Table of Contents

• CTR what is it?
• Why is CTR important?
• What kind of CTR is a good one?
• CTR analysis - how to interpret the click-through rate?

CTR what is it?

CTR, or Click-Through Rate, is a click-through rate. It shows how many people clicked on a link (ad, search result, CTA button), compared to the number of all those who saw it.

The formula for CTR is simple:

CTR = (Number of clicks / Number of impressions) × 100%.

For example: if your ad was displayed 1,000 times and 50 people clicked on it, the CTR will then be 5%.

Why is CTR important?

CTR is one of the most commonly analyzed metrics in Google Ads campaigns, newsletters or when evaluating the effectiveness of organic results. It's a quick way to see if an action is getting any attention at all.

A high CTR can mean that:

• you have aptly chosen headlines, text and graphics,
• the message is well matched to the recipient's intentions,
• the campaign was directed to the right target group.

A low CTR is often a signal that:

• something is not working - for example, the title does not engage,
• the recipient does not understand what to do (poor CTA),
• the message doesn't hit his needs or is too general.

In addition, in paid campaigns on the Google Ads network (known as Search Ads), CTR affects the ad quality score, which can translate into lower click-through rates (CPC).

What kind of CTR is a good one?

There is no single value that is "universally good." Context matters a great deal here. A different result will be achieved by emailing campaigns and another by Google Ads. In well-run campaigns, i.e. those that have taken care of precise targeting, appropriate creative and optimization, the CTR often falls within the following ranges:

Results (%) are from industry surveys conducted by Wordstream, Mailchimp, Backlinko, HubSpot, among others.

It happens that a CTR of 1% in one industry is a success, while in another it is a below-average result. These values need to be evaluated not only because of the advertising channel, but also through the prism of the market situation and the target group.

CTR analysis - how to interpret the click-through rate

CTR optimization is a process that requires constant testing. A high CTR by itself is not a guarantee of success. If users click, but do not make a purchase, fill out a form or go deeper into the site - the campaign is not fulfilling its target task.

It is worth analyzing CTR in combination with:

• conversion rate (CVR),
• average time on page,
• bounce rate (rejection rate).

Sometimes it's better to have a lower CTR, but with a higher conversion rate, than the other way around. CTR is an indicator that tells you whether your content is getting attention, but attention alone is not yet success. If you want your campaigns to perform better, start with click-through - but don't stop there.

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