Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-Through Rate, or CTR, measures what share of impressions turned into clicks.
Divide clicks by impressions. CTR shows how often people choose to move from seeing your message to acting on it. It matters as your fastest read on whether creative connects. Not proof of quality on its own, but a signal that message, placement, and audience are starting to connect.
Signal Type
Metric Role
Metric Type
The Formula
Worked example
Benchmarks and interpretation
Where the number actually comes from
When to use it
Common Mistakes
In the REACT framework
CTR sits on the Reach-to-Engage border, because the click is the handoff: audience becomes visitor. It judges whether the message earned that transfer, nothing more. Winning the click is not winning the customer.
Related metrics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Click-Through Rate?
Click-Through Rate, or CTR, measures what share of impressions turned into clicks. It tells you whether the message earned the click, before anything else gets judged.
How do you calculate Click-Through Rate?
Use the formula: CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. Keep both inputs in the same reporting period and avoid mixing users, sessions, events, or customers unless the formula calls for it.
What data do you need for CTR?
You need served impressions and total clicks, pulled from the relevant connected sources and computed for the same period.
What mistakes should you avoid with CTR?
Never average CTRs across rows: recompute as total clicks over total impressions. And never crown a creative on CTR alone, because clickable and convertible are different talents.
When should marketers use CTR?
Use CTR when testing creative and messages: it is the fastest read on whether an ad earns a response. Decide creative winners here, then let downstream metrics decide whether those clicks were worth winning.
What is a good CTR?
Norms vary hugely by channel: search runs far higher than display, and branded terms higher still. Compare within the channel and format, and treat your own history as the benchmark.
Sources and methodology. CTR formula and definition derive from standard marketing analytics practice and platform reporting conventions. REACTIQ360 harmonises source data from Platform APIs, Content taxonomy, Harmonisation layer and applies a consistent same-period computation methodology.
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