What is CTR?

CTR (click-through rate) is the percentage of users who click on your ad or search result after seeing it. CTR = (clicks / impressions) x 100%. A higher CTR means your ad or page is more relevant and appealing to the searcher.

CTR in Google Ads

In Google Ads, CTR is one of the three components of Quality Score. A higher expected CTR lowers your CPC and improves your Ad Rank. Ad extensions increase CTR by adding more relevant information to the ad.

CTR in SEO

In SEO, Google Search Console calculates CTR as the percentage of impressions that lead to a click. An appealing meta title and meta description increase your organic CTR without you having to rank higher in the search results.

Improving CTR

For ads: test different headlines and add a strong call to action. For organic results: optimise titles and descriptions for relevance and click appeal. Use numbers, questions and emotional triggers.

Is a higher CTR always better?

A higher CTR is positive, but irrelevant clicks cost money without converting. Always optimise CTR together with your conversion rate.

What is a good CTR for Google Ads?

Above 5 per cent is strong for search ads in most industries. For display ads, 0.1 to 0.5 per cent is normal.

Why is my CTR falling while my position stays the same?

This can point to more competitors with stronger ads or less relevant ad copy. More at developers.google.com/search.