What is CTR?
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of users who click on a specific link or search result out of the total number of people who view it. It is a key metric in both SEO and paid advertising, used to measure how effective a listing, ad, or call-to-action is at generating clicks.
CTR is calculated using the formula:
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
For example, if a search result appears 1,000 times and is clicked 50 times, the CTR is 5%.
Why CTR Matters
CTR is an important indicator of relevance and user engagement. In SEO, a higher CTR can signal to search engines that your page is appealing for specific queries, potentially helping improve rankings. In paid ads, CTR directly affects quality score and cost efficiency.
Key reasons CTR is valuable:
- Shows how compelling your titles and meta descriptions are
- Helps optimise ad performance in Google Ads and other platforms
- Influences organic rankings when combined with user behaviour signals
- Provides insights into user intent and content appeal
- Supports conversion rate improvements through better targeting
Low CTR may indicate that your snippet is not aligned with the searcher’s intent or needs improvement.
Example in Use
A blog post on “best SEO tools” ranks on page one of Google but has a low CTR. The team updates the title tag and meta description to make it more engaging and specific. As a result, more users start clicking on it, the CTR rises, and the page also improves slightly in rankings.
Ongoing testing of headlines and descriptions helps keep CTR optimised.
Related Terms
- Impressions
- Meta Description
- Title Tag
- Search Intent
- Conversion Rate