Formula
CTR = clicks / impressions x 100.
Meta's CTR (all) is "clicks (all) divided by impressions", where clicks (all) include link clicks, reactions, comments, shares and taps to expand media. Meta also reports a link click-through rate that counts link clicks only. Google Ads defines CTR as "a ratio showing how often people who see your ad or free product listing end up clicking it". Its formula is "clicks / impressions = CTR". Its example: "if you had 5 clicks and 100 impressions, then your CTR would be 5%".
Worked example
An ad gets 20,000 impressions and 300 link clicks. CTR = 300 / 20,000 x 100 = 1.5%.
A second creative in the same ad set gets 20,000 impressions and 600 link clicks. CTR = 3%. At the same $8 CPM, both creatives cost $160 for those impressions. The first bought 300 visits at $0.53 each. The second bought 600 visits at $0.27 each. Same audience, same price of attention, half the cost per visit.
Why it matters to a media buyer
CTR is the first metric to read on a creative test, because it moves before conversions do. Two creatives against the same audience at the same CPM differ only in how many people stop and click, and CTR measures that. It also feeds the auction: Meta's delivery system favors ads people respond to, so a higher CTR tends to bring a lower CPM as well.
Read it with two cautions. A high CTR with a low conversion rate means the ad promises something the landing page does not deliver. And a CTR that falls week by week on the same audience is creative fatigue: frequency is rising and the people who wanted to click already did. Watch CTR and frequency together and refresh the creative before the CPA moves.
In Adsap
The performance dashboard shows CTR per campaign, ad set and ad for Meta and Google Ads, from yesterday's numbers, next to frequency so fatigue is visible. The creative performance view ranks creatives by the same numbers. The free CPM, CPC and CTR calculator turns spend, impressions and clicks into CPM, CPC and CTR. The docs' best practices page suggests refreshing creative every 2 to 4 weeks and watching frequency and CTR trends.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the placement, the format and the objective. A Search ad on a brand keyword can run above 10%. A Feed ad on a cold audience often sits around 1%. Compare a creative with the other creatives in the same ad set, not with a global average.
Frequency. The same people see the ad again, and the ones who wanted to click already did. Falling CTR on a fixed audience with rising frequency is the usual sign of creative fatigue.
CTR (all) divides every click, tap or swipe on the ad by impressions, reactions and comments included. Link CTR divides link clicks only by impressions. Use link CTR when the goal is traffic to a page.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Center, CTR (all): "clicks (all) divided by impressions". https://www.facebook.com/business/help/928745330472862
- Meta Business Help Center, Clicks (all): what the metric counts. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/787506997938504
- Google Ads Help, Clickthrough rate (CTR): definition, formula and the 5 clicks per 100 impressions example. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2615875
- Adsap, CPM, CPC and CTR calculator and the docs' best practices.