The share of people who clicked your ad after seeing it: clicks divided by impressions. It shows how relevant and appealing the ad was to the people who saw it.
Formula
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions
Example
Meera's Google Search ad was shown 80,000 times and clicked 4,000 times, so the CTR is 4,000 ÷ 80,000 = 5%. At ₹40,000 spend, each click cost ₹10.
How you'll hear it
“CTR on the new headline is up, but let's check whether the extra clickers are buying.”
What it helps you decide
Which ad copy, creative or keyword to keep, and whether an ad matches what the audience wants. On Search, a weak expected CTR also drags down Quality Score.
Where people misread it
Treating a higher CTR as a better ad. An ad that promises something the store does not deliver can win clicks that never buy. A good CTR with poor orders points to a mismatch between ad and offer.
The story
Meera runs two Instagram ads, each shown 1,00,000 times at a CPM of ₹100, so each costs ₹10,000. Ad A shouts 'Sale'. Ad B shows the new festive kurta range with prices.
| Ad A CTR | 2% |
| Ad A clicks | 2,000 |
| Ad A orders | 10 |
| Ad A spend per order | ₹1,000 |
|---|---|
| Ad B CTR | 1% |
| Ad B clicks | 1,000 |
| Ad B orders | 20 |
| Ad B spend per order | ₹500 |
What looks right: Ad A has double the CTR and half the cost per click (₹5 against ₹10).
What it hides: the 'Sale' ad pulled in bargain hunters who left when they saw the prices. Ad B's clickers knew what they would find: 2% of them bought, against 0.5% for Ad A, so Ad B brought twice the orders from half the clicks.
What to look at instead: CTR together with spend per order. Use CTR to choose between ads that sell equally well, not to replace the sales test.
All figures for Meera's store are fictional and for illustration only.
Work out your CTR, CPC and CPM
The example's numbers are filled in. Replace them with yours.
Compare ads on CTR only after checking that their clicks turn into orders at a similar rate.
Don't confuse it with
- Conversion rate: what share of clicks became orders; CTR stops at the click.
- View rate: the video equivalent, counting views instead of clicks.
Related terms
Want to use this at work? AI-led PPC Excellence is aFactor's 16-week program for paid ads.
Sources
- Clickthrough rate (CTR): Definition, Google Ads Help