Conversion Optimisation
Click-through Rate (CTR)
Also known as: CTR & Click-through Rate
Plain English
The percentage of people who click something after seeing it.
Definition
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of users who click on a link, button, or element compared to the number of users who see it.
In practice
Used to measure effectiveness of calls to action, links, ads, and content placements.
In context
It is easy to raise and easy to raise badly. A misleading label lifts CTR and pushes the failure one step further down, where it costs more to diagnose.
The reality
High CTR doesn’t always mean success - users might click but still fail to convert if expectations aren’t met.
Compared with
Click-through Rate vs Conversion Rate
CTR measures interest in the promise. glossaryConversion RateConversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action compared to the total number of users.Open glossary term measures whether the thing behind it delivered. A high CTR with a low glossaryConversionA conversion is any action a user takes that aligns with a defined goal, such as making a purchase, signing up, or completing a task.Open glossary term rate is usually an expectation problem, not a page problem.
FAQ
Common questions
A few practical answers to the questions that usually come up around this term.
What is click-through rate?
CTR is the percentage of users who click compared to those who see something.
How do you calculate CTR?
By dividing clicks by glossaryImpressionAn impression is recorded each time content, an ad, or a link is displayed to a user, regardless of whether they interact with it.Open glossary term and multiplying by 100.
Why is CTR important?
It measures how effective content or calls to action are.
What affects CTR?
Placement, wording, design, and glossaryUser IntentUser intent is the underlying goal or reason behind a user’s action, search, or interaction.Open glossary term.
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