Social media terms › Click-through rate (CTR)

Social media glossary

What is click-through rate?

Click-through rate, or CTR, is the share of people who clicked a link, ad or button after seeing it, usually shown as a percentage of impressions.

Click-through rate tells you whether your content convinces people to take the next step. A post can reach many people, but if nobody clicks, it is not driving traffic to your website, shop or booking page. CTR helps you judge how compelling your message and call to action are.

It is usually calculated by dividing the number of link clicks by the number of impressions, then multiplying by one hundred. Ads managers on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other networks report CTR automatically. For organic posts, you may need to compare link clicks with reach or impressions yourself.

Improve CTR by making it clear what people will get when they click, using a strong image and placing your call to action where it is easy to see. Compare CTR between similar posts rather than across very different types of content.

Example

An online bookstore compares two posts about the same sale and finds the one showing a book cover gets a higher click-through rate.

Related terms

Impressions

Impressions are the total number of times your content was shown on someone's screen, counting repeat views by the same person.

Call to action (CTA)

A call to action, or CTA, is a short prompt that tells people what to do next, such as "Shop now," "Comment below" or "Book a call."

Conversion rate

A conversion rate is the share of people who complete a desired action, such as buying, signing up or booking, out of everyone who had the chance to.

Cost per click (CPC)

Cost per click, or CPC, is the average amount you pay each time someone clicks on your online ad, calculated by dividing total ad spend by total clicks.

What Is Click-through rate? Meaning and Examples