Click-through-rate

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who see a link, advert, or email subject line and actually click it. The formula is simple:

CTR % = (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100

If 5 out of 100 finance directors who view your LinkedIn Sponsored Post click the headline, the CTR is 5 %. High CTR means your message resonates and your creative catches the eye; low CTR signals that offer, copy, or targeting needs work.

First signal of relevance

Search engines and social platforms reward ads that earn above-average CTR with lower costs per click and higher impressions. For B2B marketers, a strong CTR shows the ad copy matches the audience’s pain point before you spend further budget on traffic that will never convert.

Early warning for funnel health

A landing page cannot convert visitors you never get. Tracking CTR across ads, email campaigns, and call-to-action buttons highlights weak links in the journey. If nurture emails boast 40 % open rates but only 0.5 % click, the subject lines are fine—your body copy or CTA needs work.

Sets the baseline for optimisation

Most marketing experiments start with “Improve CTR by X %”. A bump from 1.2 % to 1.8 % on display ads lifts traffic 50 % without extra spend. That traffic feeds remarketing audiences and pipeline forecasts, making CTR a lever you can pull quickly without coding overhaul.

Tighten audience targeting

Serve ads only to roles, industries, or intent keywords that match your ideal customer profile. A cloud-security SaaS advert shown to general IT enthusiasts will underperform versus one aimed at “Head of Information Security” in fintech companies.

Sharpen the value promise

Lead with the outcome, not the feature. “Eliminate 80 % of manual invoice checks” piques a CFO’s interest; “AI-powered OCR platform” feels abstract. Match headline and body copy so the benefit is unmistakable.

Use action-oriented CTAs

Swap vague verbs like “Submit” for specific actions: “Get my risk audit” or “Start 14-day trial”. First-person wording often lifts CTR because it makes the benefit personal.

Test creative frequently

Rotate multiple headlines, images, and formats. Algorithms tend to fatigue audiences after a few days, and fresh creative can revive falling CTR. Track variants individually to learn which angles resonate—pain, gain, urgency, or social proof.

Align destination with promise

Google and LinkedIn penalise “click-bait” gaps: if your ad promises a checklist but the landing page shows a generic contact form, CTR may hold yet subsequent quality scores drop. Consistent message match keeps algorithms happy and prospects engaged.

Consistently monitoring and refining CTR is one of the quickest ways to boost traffic quality, lower ad costs, and keep your growth engine running efficiently—without diving into deeper technical tweaks reserved for advanced optimisation.