The click-through rate, or CTR, shows how often users click a search result, an ad or a link after seeing it. It is expressed as a percentage and describes the relationship between impressions and actual clicks.
If a result is shown 100 times and 10 people click it, the CTR is 10 per cent.
The formula:
- CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100
Why does the click-through rate matter?
CTR is an important SEO metric because it shows how appealing a result is to users. Even when two pages rank in the same position, the one with the better click rate often gets more traffic.
The rate tends to be higher when:
- the title and meta description are convincing
- the result matches the search intent precisely
Many SEO specialists assume Google takes user signals such as clicks and behaviour into account. Results clicked more often than others in the same position can earn better rankings over time.
Where is CTR used?
Click-through rate is measured well beyond organic search:
- Google Ads
- banner advertising
- social media ads
- email marketing
- newsletters
- internal links
In email marketing, for example, CTR describes how many recipients click a link after opening the message.
Anyone reviewing their CTR regularly can often win more clicks with small changes.