CTR calculator
Calculate click-through rate from ad clicks and impressions, and understand what the percentage does and does not tell you.
Last updated
Written by Madly editorial
01 / Your inputs
Run the numbers
Example figures are filled in so you can see a result straight away. Replace them with your own. Results update as you type; no data is sent or saved.
Use link clicks for link CTR, or all clicks for all-click CTR. Do not mix definitions between periods.
Number of times the ad was shown.
02 / Calculation
Click-through rate
Calculated result
1.2%
Unit: %
- Click-through rate (decimal)
- 0.012
Formula
CTR (%) = clicks ÷ impressions × 100.
How to read this
A change in CTR may reflect a different audience, placement or creative. Check landing-page and purchase data before calling it an improvement.
Assumptions
Clicks and impressions refer to the same ads and date range. Repeat impressions from one person are counted separately.
How to use this tool
- Open the ad report in your ad platform and set the date range you want to judge.
- Copy the impressions and the link clicks for the same ads. Use link clicks, not all clicks, if your platform separates them.
- Enter both numbers above and read the percentage.
- Repeat for each ad or placement, keeping the date range identical, and compare them side by side.
Worked example
Illustrative example: 120 clicks from 8,000 impressions gives 1.5% CTR.
What this measures
Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of served impressions that led to a click. Compare like-for-like placements and time periods rather than treating a click as a purchase.
Formula and units
CTR (%) = clicks ÷ impressions × 100.
Assumptions and review notes
Clicks and impressions refer to the same ads and date range. Repeat impressions from one person are counted separately.
A change in CTR may reflect a different audience, placement or creative. Check landing-page and purchase data before calling it an improvement.
There is no universal good CTR. A cold audience on a broad feed placement behaves very differently from a retargeting audience who already know you, and a high-priced product will usually attract fewer, more considered clicks than a low-priced one. We do not quote an industry average because published averages mix very different accounts, and we cannot show you one with a source and date that applies to your product. The honest benchmark is your own account.
- Placement: stories, feed and search each produce different click behaviour.
- Audience temperature: warm audiences click more than cold ones.
- Creative format: video, carousel and static images read differently.
- Offer and price: a strong offer or low price tends to lift clicks without lifting profit.
- Treating a high CTR as proof of a good ad. Clicks cost money, and a curiosity-led ad can attract clicks that never buy.
- Comparing CTR across placements or objectives that behave differently.
- Judging an ad on a few hundred impressions, where one extra click moves the percentage a lot.
- Mixing all clicks with link clicks and then comparing against someone else's figure.
A closer look
Common questions.
- What is CTR in advertising?
- Click-through rate is the percentage of impressions that led to a click. It is clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. It describes interest in the ad, not the result after the click.
- Is a low CTR always a problem?
- Not always. If your clicks are expensive but convert well, a modest CTR can still be profitable. Look at cost per purchase and contribution margin alongside it.
- Should I use link clicks or all clicks?
- Link clicks are usually the cleaner measure of people heading to your site. All clicks can include reactions, profile clicks and expands. Pick one and keep it consistent.
- How many impressions do I need before trusting CTR?
- More is better. With only a few hundred impressions a couple of clicks changes the result noticeably, so wait until the figure settles before acting.
- How do I improve CTR?
- Test one change at a time: the opening line, the image, the offer. Use the A/B significance calculator to check whether a difference is likely to be real.