CTR (Click-Through Rate)
Click-Through Rate is the percentage of ad impressions that result in a click. Calculated as (clicks / impressions) × 100. A leading indicator of creative relevance and audience targeting.
CTR is the cleanest early signal that a creative is working. Good CTR means the hook is landing — the audience saw enough value in the headline, image, or first second of video to click through. Low CTR almost always means one of: wrong audience, wrong offer, weak hook, or stale creative.
CTR benchmarks vary by channel and format. Meta feed ads sit around 1–2% CTR. Google Search ads often 4–8%+. Display ads typically 0.3–0.8%. TikTok and Reels run 1–3%. What matters more than the benchmark is the trend — a CTR that drops 30%+ from its recent baseline is creative fatigue.
CTR is a means, not an end. High CTR with bad conversion is often worse than low CTR with good conversion — you're paying for clicks that don't convert. Always pair CTR with conversion rate and CPA/ROAS to read the full picture.