By Corey Frankosky · Last Updated

What Is Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who see your ad and then click it. You calculate it by dividing your clicks by your impressions. A high CTR tells you your ad matches what people are searching for, and a low CTR tells you the ad, the keyword or the offer needs work.

Google's Definition

"A ratio showing how often people who see your ad or free product listing end up clicking it."

Source: Google Ads Help.

How CTR Is Calculated

The formula is clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. Google Ads shows CTR at the campaign, ad group, keyword and ad level, so you can see exactly where people are skipping you.

Keep in mind that CTR measures interest, not results. A clickbait headline can raise CTR and still lose money if the clicks do not convert.

Click-Through Rate (CTR) Example

Example

Your ad shows 2,000 times this week and gets 130 clicks. Your CTR is 130 divided by 2,000, or 6.5%.

The 2026 median search CTR across all industries is 6.64%, according to the WordStream by LocaliQ 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks report. Branded campaigns usually run well above that, so look at branded and non-branded campaigns separately.

Why It Matters

  • Relevance signal: CTR is the quickest way to see whether your ad matches the search behind it.
  • Quality Score input: Expected CTR is one of the three parts of Quality Score, which affects what you pay.
  • More traffic for the same budget: A higher CTR means more of your impressions turn into visits.

How to Improve It

  1. Put the keyword in your headline. People click ads that repeat what they just typed.
  2. Add assets. Sitelinks, callouts and call assets make your ad bigger and give people more reasons to click.
  3. Sharpen the offer. A specific price, timeframe or guarantee beats a vague promise.
  4. Remove irrelevant searches. Negative keywords stop your ad from showing for searches that will never click.

Watch: Click-Through Rate (CTR) Explained

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Question to AnswerWhich of your ads has the lowest CTR right now, and does its headline include the keyword people are searching?
  • Cost Per Click (CPC): The amount you pay each time someone clicks your ad. The 2026 all-industry median is $5.42.
  • Quality Score: Google's 1 to 10 rating of how relevant your keyword, ad and landing page are.
  • Ad Rank: The set of values Google uses to decide whether your ad shows and where it appears.
  • Conversion Rate: The percentage of ad clicks that turn into a lead, call or sale. The 2026 median is 8.18%.

Go Deeper

To track CTR alongside Quality Score week to week, read How to Monitor Google Ads CTR and Quality Score. You may also find How to Write Google Ads Copy That Gets Clicks useful.

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