Updated
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on an ad or search result after seeing it.
How do you calculate CTR?
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100. If an ad is shown 2,000 times and clicked 80 times, its CTR is 4%.
What is a good CTR?
It depends on the channel. Good Google Search ads often reach several percent, and searches for your own brand name go much higher. Display and social ads usually stay below 1%. In organic search, CTR depends heavily on ranking position and drops when AI Overviews answer the question directly.
Why does CTR matter?
- In Google Ads, expected CTR is part of the Quality Score and therefore affects your CPC.
- It shows whether an ad or snippet matches the search intent.
- In SEO, a better CTR turns existing rankings into more visitors.
How to improve CTR
- Use the keyword in the ad headline or title tag
- State a concrete benefit and a clear call to action
- Add ad assets such as sitelinks, callouts and prices
- Filter irrelevant searches with negative keywords
- Rewrite the meta description for SEO
Digitalman optimizes ads for clicks that turn into enquiries. Learn more on our Google Ads agency page.
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