How to Calculate CTR

CTR formula: Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100. Step-by-step examples for Google Search, Display, Meta, and LinkedIn with 2025 ...

Click-through rate (CTR) measures what percentage of people who see your ad actually click it. It's one of the most fundamental metrics in digital advertising and directly affects your Quality Score, ad costs, and traffic volume.

CTR Formula

CTR (%) = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. Example: 450 clicks from 50,000 impressions = (450 ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 0.90% CTR. The percentage format is standard — most platforms display CTR as a percentage between 0.1% and 10%+ depending on channel and campaign type.

CTR Calculation Examples

Google Search: 120 clicks, 3,000 impressions → (120 ÷ 3,000) × 100 = 4.0% CTR. Meta Feed: 85 clicks, 28,000 impressions → (85 ÷ 28,000) × 100 = 0.30% CTR. LinkedIn: 22 clicks, 8,500 impressions → (22 ÷ 8,500) × 100 = 0.26% CTR. Note: 4.0% on Google Search is average; 0.30% on Meta is below average for a conversion campaign.

Solving for Clicks from CTR

Clicks = Impressions × (CTR ÷ 100). If you have a budget projecting 200,000 impressions at a 1.5% expected CTR: 200,000 × (1.5 ÷ 100) = 3,000 expected clicks. Use this for campaign planning and budget modeling.

Solving for Impressions from CTR

Impressions = Clicks ÷ (CTR ÷ 100). If your campaign generated 2,500 clicks at a 2.5% CTR: 2,500 ÷ (2.5 ÷ 100) = 100,000 impressions. Useful for estimating reach from click data.

2025 CTR Benchmarks by Platform

Google Search: 4.80% average (varies 2–8% by industry). Google Display: 0.35%. Meta Feed: 0.90–1.50%. YouTube (video): 0.35–0.65%. LinkedIn: 0.44–0.65%. TikTok: 0.80–1.20%. Always benchmark within platform and campaign type — comparing Search CTR to Display CTR is meaningless.

CTR vs Quality Score

On Google Search, CTR is the largest component of Quality Score, which directly affects your CPC. Higher CTR → higher Quality Score → lower CPC. A campaign improving CTR from 3% to 5% (all else equal) can reduce CPC by 15–20% through Quality Score improvement.

When CTR is Misleading

High CTR doesn't mean high conversion rate. An ad with 8% CTR and 0.5% conversion rate produces a worse CPA than an ad with 3% CTR and 3% conversion rate. Always track CTR alongside conversion rate and CPA — CTR optimization that doesn't improve CPA is not improving business results.