Click through Rate (CTR)
What is click through rate?
The Click-Through Rate is a metric used in web analytics and digital marketing, calculating the ratio of users clicking a certain element, page or search result, from the total number of users viewing that element. Search engines use the CTR as a crucial indicator of relevance. A high CTR on an organic search result shows that users have found the title and description in the snippet to be relevant for their query.
About the Click-Through Rate
The Click-Through Rate is one of the most important metrics in web analytics and digital marketing, calculating the ratio of users clicking a certain element, page or search result, from the total number of users viewing that element. Google and other search engines use the CTR as a crucial indicator of relevance, as a click is interpreted as a sign of interest from the user. A high CTR on an organic search result shows that users have found the title and description in the snippet to be relevant for their query.
The term is used in various sub-domains, such as:
Pay-per-click Advertising
Search Engine Marketing
E-mail Marketing
A/B Testing on a webpage
In Pay-per-click Advertising, it is the most basic assessment of a campaigns’ efficiency and an ads’ appeal. A high CTR is a good sign, as it means a high ratio of the people seeing the ad are also clicking it, proving that the message is reaching the audience and receiving a response.
In Search Engine Marketing, it not only shows how many users have found the snippet of the page to be relevant, but is also an important algorithm element for calculating page rankings. Therefore, CTR both influences and is influenced by SERP position. On average, the first position in search results has a CTR of about 30%, while the number 2 and 3 positions range somewhere between 10% and 20% CTR. This means that more than half the users, that launch a search, click on one of the first three results.
In E-mail Marketing, CTR measures how many customers that received a message and opened it, click on an element in the message that subsequently brings them to your landing page. In this domain, we expect CTRs to be relatively low, most likely under 5%, depending on the industry and the way that the campaign is done.
In A/B testing, the CTR is used as a comparative measure to see which version of a landing page is more efficient and drives action. For example, you can simultaneously run a version of a landing page with a red “sign up” button, as well as one with a green button. The button with the highest CTR is determined to be more efficient and will be kept for the final version of the page.
What is the formula for calculating Click-Through Rate?
CTR = Number of click-throughs / Number of impressions x 100 (%)
