Click-through rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of ad impressions that result in a click: clicks divided by impressions, times 100. Many platforms report both an 'all clicks' CTR, which counts any interaction, and a link CTR, which counts only clicks to your destination. Link CTR is the one that reflects traffic.
Updated
Formula and example
CTR = (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100.
Example: 300 link clicks from 25,000 impressions is a 1.2% link CTR.
All clicks versus link clicks
An 'all clicks' metric counts likes, profile taps, expanding the text and other interactions. It is usually much higher than link CTR and can make an ad look effective when it is mostly generating curiosity. When judging whether an ad drives traffic, use the link version.
Why CTR alone misleads
An ad that teases without saying what it sells can produce many clicks from people who leave as soon as the page loads. An ad that is explicit about price and audience may get fewer clicks from people far more likely to buy. CTR is a measure of curiosity, so read it next to conversion rate and cost per acquisition.
For video ads, CTR also depends on how much of the ad people watch. A low CTR with a low hold rate is a creative problem; a low CTR with a high hold rate usually points to the offer or the call to action.
How the platforms define it
Google Ads defines CTR as how often people who see your ad end up clicking it: clicks ÷ impressions. Its example is 5 clicks from 100 impressions, a 5% CTR.
Google gives no benchmark. Its help page says a good CTR is relative to what you advertise and on which networks, which is why comparing against your own ads in the same placement is more useful than a published average.
Questions
- What is a good CTR for video ads?
- It varies too much by platform, placement and industry for one number to be meaningful. Compare against your own ads in the same placement.
Sources
Read on 27 October 2026. Platforms change specs and policies without notice; check the source before you build to a number.