Glossary

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

CTR (click-through rate) is the percentage of ad impressions that resulted in a click. It measures how well your ad matches what the audience wanted in that moment. A high CTR means the message resonates; a low CTR means the ad, the audience, or the moment is off.

Formula: CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100

How to read it

Compare CTR within the same channel and campaign type; Search CTRs and Feed CTRs live in different worlds. On Google Search, CTR also feeds ad rank via expected CTR, so improving it can lower your CPC.

Where it misleads

A high CTR with a low conversion rate is a warning sign: the ad promises something the landing page doesn't deliver. CTR is a relevance metric, not a success metric.

Related terms

Impressions →

Impressions count how often your ad was displayed, regardless of whether anyone clicked or even consciously saw it. Every appearance on a search results page, feed, or placement counts once. Impressions are the top of the advertising funnel: without them, no clicks, no conversions.

Clicks →

Clicks count how often someone clicked on your ad. A click is the first active decision in the funnel: a user chose your ad over everything else on the page. Clicks drive traffic; whether that traffic is worth anything shows up later, in conversions.

Conversion Rate →

Conversion rate is the percentage of clicks (or interactions) that ended in a conversion. It measures what happens after the click: landing page quality, offer strength, and audience intent combined. It's the multiplier that decides whether traffic becomes results.

Metrics explained are nice. Metrics watched are better.

HeyMetrix monitors all of these across Google and Meta, with alerts and a nightly AI briefing.

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