What this calculator does
Click-through rate is the share of people who saw an ad and then clicked on it. It is the most immediate signal of whether an ad’s targeting, creative and message are landing with the audience it was shown to, before any question of what happens after the click.
CTR on its own says nothing about what those clicks were worth. A high CTR from an irrelevant or misleading ad can bring in clicks that never convert, while a lower CTR from a well-targeted ad can still deliver better business results. It is a diagnostic for the ad itself, not a measure of return on spend.
The formula
Divide the number of clicks by the number of impressions the ad received, then express that as a percentage.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CTR | Click-through rate: (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100. |
| Clicks | The number of times the ad was clicked. |
| Impressions | The number of times the ad was shown, whether or not it was clicked. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Clicks received | The number of clicks the ad received. |
| Impressions shown | The total number of times the ad was shown. |
When to use it
Testing ad creative
Running two versions of an ad to the same audience and comparing CTR is a direct read on which headline, image or offer is more compelling, independent of pricing.
Diagnosing a weak campaign
A low CTR points to a problem with the ad or targeting before spend is wasted on clicks or conversions further down the funnel.
Comparing placements
The same ad can post very different CTRs on different placements or devices, which helps decide where a budget is best spent.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How CTR changes with clicks at a fixed impression volume
A fixed 100,000 impressions, against a range of click totals.
| Clicks received | CTR | Impressions needed for 1 click, on average |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | 0.200% | 500 |
| 500 | 0.500% | 200 |
| 1,000 | 1.00% | 100 |
| 2,000 | 2.00% | 50 |
| 3,000 | 3.00% | 33 |
| 5,000 | 5.00% | 20 |
How CTR changes with impressions at a fixed click total
A fixed 1,000 clicks, against a range of impression volumes.
| Impressions shown | CTR | Impressions needed for 1 click, on average |
|---|---|---|
| 50,000 | 2.00% | 50 |
| 100,000 | 1.00% | 100 |
| 150,000 | 0.667% | 150 |
| 200,000 | 0.500% | 200 |
| 300,000 | 0.333% | 300 |
| 500,000 | 0.200% | 500 |
Questions
What is a good CTR?
It varies widely by ad format, placement, industry and audience, so there is no single number that applies everywhere. Compare CTR against your own past campaigns or against a specific alternative you are testing, rather than an external benchmark.
Does a high CTR mean the campaign is successful?
Not necessarily. CTR only measures whether people clicked, not what happened afterwards. A campaign needs conversion rate and CPA figures alongside CTR to judge overall performance.
Can CTR be too high?
An unusually high CTR sometimes signals a misleading ad, accidental clicks, or a placement prone to invalid traffic, rather than genuine interest. It is worth checking what happens after the click if CTR looks unusually strong.
Why does CTR fall as a campaign runs longer?
Ad fatigue is common: the same audience sees the same creative repeatedly and becomes less likely to click. Refreshing the creative or the audience often restores CTR.
Once you have the click-through rate, the conversion rate calculator shows what share of those clicks became a sale or sign-up, and the CPC calculator shows what each of them cost.