CTR is a useful signal of creative relevance, but optimising for it alone tends to reward curiosity rather than purchase intent. Judge creative on cost per purchase, and use CTR to diagnose why.
Formula
CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
Example
1,200 clicks from 1,00,000 impressions is a CTR of 1.2%.
Every core ad metric from five numbers: spend, impressions, clicks, conversions and revenue.
Related terms
- CPC (cost per click)CPC is ad spend divided by the number of clicks.
- CPM (cost per mille)CPM is the cost of 1,000 ad impressions.
- Creative fatigueCreative fatigue is the decline in an ad's performance as the same audience sees it repeatedly.
Where this comes up
Operator's Notes, Issue 01: The storefront is moving, and you won't own itMeta, Google and OpenAI each made a move on who owns the moment someone decides to buy. What the agent race means for brands, the WhatsApp pricing change Indian D2C should act on, and a 60-minute agent-ready feed audit.Part of the growth marketing glossary by Shiva Sharma.