CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it.
CTR is a leading indicator. It moves before CPM, CPC, and CVR — so watching it weekly catches creative issues before they show up in CAC. Persistent CTR decay is the strongest signal of fatigue.
Definition
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, a fast signal of how compelling the creative and offer are to the audience receiving them.
Why it matters
CTR feeds directly into quality scores, CPM, and downstream CVR. Small CTR gains unlock big cost improvements across the funnel.
Formula
CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
Median CTR by placement (DTC ecommerce, 2024).
CTR by placement
CTR benchmarks vary wildly by placement: Reels/TikTok often 1.5–3%, feed 0.9–1.5%, Stories 0.6–1.2%, in-stream video 0.3–0.8%. Compare CTR within placement, never across.
60,000 impressions and 900 clicks = 1.5% CTR.
Common mistakes
- ✕Optimising CTR with clickbait that tanks CVR.
- ✕Comparing CTR across placements with different formats.
- ✕Treating CTR as a standalone success metric.