# What is CTR – Click Through Rate?

What is CTR – Click Through Rate? The percentage of people who clicked a link/ad out of those who saw it. A measure of ad quality and relevance.

## How it works in practice

High CTR means the message 'spoke' to the audience. Low CTR means something isn't connecting. In Google Ads, CTR affects Quality Score and CPC.

## Related metrics

- CPC — high CTR lowers CPC
- Quality Score — Google calculates QS based on CTR
- Impressions — CTR × Impressions = clicks
- Ad Copy — the most significant factor

## Common misconception

'High CTR = a good campaign.' A 10% CTR that brings non-buyers is worse than a 2% CTR that brings buyers.

## How to fix it

Low CTR? (1) change the headline hook — a question works better than a statement, (2) images with human faces stop the scroll more, (3) check whether the audience is relevant.

## Real-world example

A camping store: CTR was 0.8% with a product photo. Switching to a person outside a tent at sunset jumped CTR to 2.4%. A question-based headline pushed it to 3.1%.

## Where to start

In Google Ads, CTR is critical because it affects costs. On Meta, what matters is conversions.

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Category: Marketing · From the [Jimmy OS KPI Glossary](https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi.md) · Source page: https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi/ctr-click-through-rate