Ad glossary · Performance metrics · Checked 2026-10-23
What is CTR: how click-through rate is worked out and which one to read
CTR (link click-through rate) is link clicks as a percentage of impressions: link clicks divided by impressions.
- English
- CTR (link click-through rate)
- Also called
- Click-through rate
- Area
- Performance metrics
How it is used
CTR measures whether the creative and the audience fit: the opening seconds, the headline, the main image. It stops at the click; whether people buy after that is conversion rate.
| Metric | Which clicks count | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| CTR (link click-through rate) | Only link clicks to the ad’s destination (site, app, form) | Whether the creative brings people to the page |
| CTR (all) | Link clicks plus reactions, comments, shares, clicks on the Page name, expanding images or text | How much interaction the creative draws; far above link CTR means most clicks stay on the post |
Two CTRs
Meta reports CTR (link click-through rate) and CTR (all). The first counts only link clicks to the destination; the second counts every click. To judge whether a creative brings people to the site, read link CTR.
Low CTR: fix the opening first
CTR measures how many of the people who saw it wanted to click, and it depends most on first impressions: the first three seconds of video, the main image, the first line of the headline. Audience breadth matters too, but changing the opening usually shows a difference fastest.
High CTR with low conversion means the ad attracts curious people who do not buy; the problem is the gap between the ad’s promise and the page, not a creative that fails to catch the eye.
Formula: plug in your numbers
CTR = link clicks ÷ impressions
Example
80,000 impressions, 1,200 link clicks: CTR = 1,200 ÷ 80,000 = 1.5%. If the same ad’s CTR (all) is 3.1%, about as many clicks again were likes, comments or expanding the text.
Not to be confused with
CTR (all): the numerator is clicks (all), which includes likes, comments and expanding the text, so it usually runs well above link CTR.
FAQ
What is a good CTR?
Industry averages help little: placement, sector and format all move CTR a lot. Comparing CTR between creatives in the same ad set is what shows which opening works.
What is the difference between CTR (all) and link CTR?
CTR (all) counts every click, including likes, comments and expanding the text; link CTR counts only link clicks to the destination. For traffic and sales ads, read link CTR.
Where the course puts it to work
- Intermediate, chapter 6: Reading ad data: the four formulas behind the report
- Advanced, chapter 6: A creative testing system
Official sources
We read each page below on 2026-10-23 and built the definition from it.
- CTR (link click-through rate) · Checked 2026-10-23
- CTR (All) · Checked 2026-10-23
- Clickthrough rate (CTR): Definition · Checked 2026-10-23
- About Ads Metrics in Seller Center · Checked 2026-10-23