What is Click Through Rate or (CTR)?
This is what I will be answering and shedding some light on today.
First, let’s start by defining the term. Click through rate is defined by Google as:
“A ratio showing how often people who see your ad or free product listing end up clicking it. Clickthrough rate (CTR) can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads, and free listings, are performing.”
Source: Google
Basically, it is made up of clicks divided by impressions. It reflects the effectiveness of your keywords and ad copy. For example, if you had 5 clicks and 100 impressions, then your click through rate (CTR) would be 5%.
What does Click Through Rate (CTR) mean?
It’s a good indication of the effectiveness of the ad copy (A high CTR is a good indication that users find your ads and listings helpful and relevant.) A high CTR indicates/means that a high percentage of people who see your ad click on it. Meaning that both your keywords and ads are correlating and increasing engagement.
Think about it for a moment—when you see an ad populate during search results, you only click on it if it is for a product or service that speaks directly to your needs. That very action of you clicking on the ad (engagement) means that the ad copy is effective.
What is an example of a good CTR?
A great question that gets asked to me fairly often. Google’s benchmark for search campaigns is 1%.
Although WordStream has a highly quoted article that works from a larger sample size that indicates a 1.91% CTR is their benchmark (link is below.) For all intents and purposes, you will be hard-pressed to find clients that are happy with a sub 2% CTR nowadays.
Across lead generation accounts iPPC benchmarks at 2%—especially during the campaign’s toddler phase, and usually start to grow that number until we reach about 5-7% for lead generation campaigns.
Source: WordStream
What are some things that advertisers can do to increase their CTR?
So here are a couple of suggestions I have for advertisers that want to increase their CTR.
First:
Look at how you have your campaign setup from a structural standpoint. I’m speaking toward your ad groups and keyword themes. Really focus on keeping these closely themed to allow for extreme focus.
Second:
Use Ad Extensions, I can’t tell you how many search campaigns I have audited that are not taking advantage of this simple addition. Extensions are your friends, don’t be nervous to use them.
There is a multitude of extensions to choose from too—so try using all that apply to your campaign, they work well and offer you more real estate in your ad.
When developing a well rounded Google Ads campaign, it’s always important to consider the click through rate. It’s a great indication of whether or not your ads are doing a good job. As always dig into the data and don’t be afraid to test over and over.
Please feel free to reach out directly if you have any questions or just want to talk about how to dig into your metrics. I’ve got a shovel and I’m always happy to help!
