Glossary /
CTR
Efficiency & cost
CTR
The share of impressions that turn into clicks — defined differently by every ad platform.
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of ad impressions that result in a click, calculated as clicks divided by impressions. It's a core engagement signal for ad creative and targeting.
?
?
What is CTR?
CTR tells you how often people who saw your ad clicked it. A higher CTR usually means your creative and targeting are landing with the right audience, which is why platforms reward it with lower costs and better delivery. The catch: "click" and "impression" don't mean the same thing everywhere. On Google Search, an impression is your ad appearing on a results page and a click is someone tapping the link. On Meta and TikTok, an impression can be a video that auto-plays in a feed, and a "click" may include reactions, profile taps, or expansions — not just clicks to your site. Because the numerator and denominator are defined differently, a 2% CTR on Search and a 2% CTR on TikTok describe two different behaviors. CTR is useful inside a single platform, but comparing it raw across channels is misleading unless the definitions are normalized first.
CTR formula
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. The numerator is the number of clicks your ad received; the denominator is the number of times it was shown. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. The trap is that each platform fills "clicks" and "impressions" with its own definition.
Worked example
A single ad over a reporting period.
Clicks
1,000
Impressions
50,000
CTR
2.0%
(1,000 ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 2.0%
A Search click reflects intent; a feed video impression does not. The same 2% is not comparable across platforms.
CTR formula
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. The numerator is the number of clicks your ad received; the denominator is the number of times it was shown. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. The trap is that each platform fills "clicks" and "impressions" with its own definition.
Worked example
A single ad over a reporting period.
Clicks
1,000
Impressions
50,000
CTR
2.0%
(1,000 ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 2.0%
A Search click reflects intent; a feed video impression does not. The same 2% is not comparable across platforms.
How CTR differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
On Search, an impression is your ad rendering on a SERP and a click is a tap on the headline. CTR here reflects genuine search intent, so benchmarks run higher than social. Display and YouTube use different impression and engagement rules within the same account.
Meta Ads
Meta counts an impression each time your ad enters the screen, including auto-playing video in-feed. "Clicks (all)" bundles link clicks, reactions, comments, shares, and profile taps, while "link clicks" is narrower. Which click you divide by changes CTR dramatically.
TikTok Ads
TikTok impressions are largely auto-played video views in a fast-scrolling feed, so the denominator is inflated relative to intent-driven search. Clicks point to your destination, but the low-friction feed environment produces a CTR that isn't directly comparable to Search.
Common CTR misconceptions
A higher CTR is always better.
CTR measures interest, not value. A clickbait creative can drive a high CTR and terrible downstream conversion. Read CTR alongside conversion rate and cost per acquisition, not on its own.
CTR is comparable across channels.
It isn't, because each platform defines clicks and impressions differently — a Search click is intent-rich, a feed video impression is not. You have to normalize the underlying definitions before any cross-channel CTR comparison means anything.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CTR in simple terms?
CTR is the share of people who saw your ad and clicked it. If 100 people see the ad and 2 click, your CTR is 2%. It's a quick read on whether your creative and targeting are connecting with the audience.
How is CTR calculated?
Why does CTR differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on CTR?
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of ad impressions that result in a click, calculated as clicks divided by impressions. It's a core engagement signal for ad creative and targeting.
?
?
What is CTR?
CTR tells you how often people who saw your ad clicked it. A higher CTR usually means your creative and targeting are landing with the right audience, which is why platforms reward it with lower costs and better delivery. The catch: "click" and "impression" don't mean the same thing everywhere. On Google Search, an impression is your ad appearing on a results page and a click is someone tapping the link. On Meta and TikTok, an impression can be a video that auto-plays in a feed, and a "click" may include reactions, profile taps, or expansions — not just clicks to your site. Because the numerator and denominator are defined differently, a 2% CTR on Search and a 2% CTR on TikTok describe two different behaviors. CTR is useful inside a single platform, but comparing it raw across channels is misleading unless the definitions are normalized first.
CTR formula
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. The numerator is the number of clicks your ad received; the denominator is the number of times it was shown. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. The trap is that each platform fills "clicks" and "impressions" with its own definition.
Worked example
A single ad over a reporting period.
Clicks
1,000
Impressions
50,000
CTR
2.0%
(1,000 ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 2.0%
A Search click reflects intent; a feed video impression does not. The same 2% is not comparable across platforms.
How CTR differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
On Search, an impression is your ad rendering on a SERP and a click is a tap on the headline. CTR here reflects genuine search intent, so benchmarks run higher than social. Display and YouTube use different impression and engagement rules within the same account.
Meta Ads
Meta counts an impression each time your ad enters the screen, including auto-playing video in-feed. "Clicks (all)" bundles link clicks, reactions, comments, shares, and profile taps, while "link clicks" is narrower. Which click you divide by changes CTR dramatically.
TikTok Ads
TikTok impressions are largely auto-played video views in a fast-scrolling feed, so the denominator is inflated relative to intent-driven search. Clicks point to your destination, but the low-friction feed environment produces a CTR that isn't directly comparable to Search.
Common CTR misconceptions
A higher CTR is always better.
CTR measures interest, not value. A clickbait creative can drive a high CTR and terrible downstream conversion. Read CTR alongside conversion rate and cost per acquisition, not on its own.
CTR is comparable across channels.
It isn't, because each platform defines clicks and impressions differently — a Search click is intent-rich, a feed video impression is not. You have to normalize the underlying definitions before any cross-channel CTR comparison means anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CTR in simple terms?
CTR is the share of people who saw your ad and clicked it. If 100 people see the ad and 2 click, your CTR is 2%. It's a quick read on whether your creative and targeting are connecting with the audience.
How is CTR calculated?
Why does CTR differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on CTR?
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See viewability and vCPM across every platform—display, video, programmatic— in one normalized report, instead of reconciling vendor numbers by hand.
Book a demo