Ad glossary
CTR (click-through rate)
The percentage of people who click an ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
CTR, or click-through rate, is the share of ad impressions that result in a click. It is one of the quickest signals of whether your creative and message are relevant to the people seeing them. As with CPC, Meta reports both CTR (all), which includes any click on the ad, and link CTR, which counts only clicks to your destination.
How to calculate it
CTR = (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100
Worked example (made-up numbers): an ad gets 40,000 impressions and 600 link clicks. Link CTR = (600 ÷ 40,000) × 100 = 1.5%. Run your own figures through the CTR calculator.
What affects it
- The hook: the first second of a video or the headline of an image decides whether anyone stops scrolling.
- The offer: a clear reason to click, such as a bundle or a guarantee, tends to lift clicks.
- Audience fit: the same ad can perform very differently in front of cold and warm audiences.
- Fatigue: CTR often declines as frequency rises and people see the ad repeatedly.
How to read it
A high CTR is encouraging but not proof of success. Clickbait-style creative can attract clicks from people with no intent to buy, which shows up later as a low conversion rate. Read CTR alongside conversion rate and CPA, and compare it within the same placement and audience type rather than across very different campaigns.
Last reviewed Oct 27, 2026