The CTR formula
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100
An ad shown 24,000 times that gets 360 clicks has a CTR of 360 ÷ 24,000 × 100 = 1.50%. The calculator also solves the other two ways round:
| To find | Formula |
|---|---|
| CTR | clicks ÷ impressions × 100 |
| Expected clicks | impressions × CTR ÷ 100 |
| Impressions needed | clicks ÷ (CTR ÷ 100) |
To get 1,000 clicks at a 1.5% CTR you need 1,000 ÷ 0.015 ≈ 66,667 impressions.
Where CTR is used
- Paid ads: the share of people who saw an ad and clicked it.
- Google Search Console: the share of searchers who clicked your result. Improving titles and descriptions can raise organic CTR without better rankings.
- YouTube: impressions click-through rate shows how often a thumbnail shown on YouTube led to a view.
- Email: click rate is clicks divided by emails delivered (or by opens, for click-to-open rate). Check which one a tool reports.
What is a good CTR?
It depends heavily on the channel. Search ads and branded searches usually have much higher CTRs than display banners, and the first organic search result gets far more clicks than the tenth. Compare against your own campaigns of the same type rather than a general average.
How CTR connects to cost
CTR links what you pay for impressions to what you pay for clicks: CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR). Doubling CTR at the same CPM halves your cost per click. That is why a better ad creative is often the cheapest way to cut costs. See the CPC calculator and the CPM calculator.
How to improve CTR
- Match the message to the audience. Specific beats clever: name the problem and the outcome.
- Test headlines and thumbnails one change at a time.
- Use numbers and timeframes where they are true, such as "in 10 minutes" or "5 templates".
- Refresh creative when CTR starts to fall for the same audience; it is often ad fatigue.
- For search results, write titles that answer the query and descriptions that show what the page offers.