Business & growth
What is click-through rate (CTR)?
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click something after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
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Technical definition
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. It is reported across search results, paid ads, email, and individual page elements, and the benchmarks differ so much between those contexts that a figure is meaningless without one.
In organic search, CTR falls steeply with position, and is further affected by SERP features. An AI Overview, a featured snippet, or a local pack above the organic results reduces the CTR available at every position beneath them.
In plain terms
Out of everyone who saw it, how many clicked.
One hundred people see your link in Google, four click it. Four percent.
Why it matters
CTR is the number that separates a ranking from actual traffic. Two businesses at position three for the same term can receive very different numbers of visitors depending on what their title and description promise.
It is also the fastest thing to improve, because it does not require a ranking change. Google Search Console shows impressions, clicks, and average position per query. Sort for pages with high impressions and low CTR, and you have a list of results people are seeing and skipping. Rewriting the title and description on those pages can move traffic within days, which is quicker than any change that depends on moving position.
