Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR is clicks divided by impressions — the share of people who saw something and clicked through. In paid search, industry average CTR runs roughly 2–5%; below 1% usually signals the ad isn't matching what the searcher actually wants, while a CTR above 10% means the message-to-intent match is working well.

• —In Google Ads, CTR directly feeds Quality Score — a low CTR doesn't just mean fewer clicks, it makes every click more expensive too.
• —A low CTR is almost always a relevance problem — the ad copy, the keyword, or the audience targeting doesn't line up.
• —CTR alone doesn't tell you if traffic converts — a high-CTR ad that attracts the wrong audience can still be a net loss.

This is the exact lesson that covers this term in depth — with examples, diagrams, and a hands-on exercise.