Glossary
What is CTR (click-through rate)?
Also called: click-through rate, ad CTR
CTR (click-through rate) is the share of ad impressions that get clicked: ad clicks ÷ ad impressions × 100.
हिंदी में पढ़ेंCTR measures how often people click an ad. For standard ads, AdSense defines ad CTR as ad clicks divided by individual ad impressions. Reports also show versions with other denominators, such as page CTR (clicks ÷ page views) and ad request CTR (clicks ÷ ad requests), so these numbers are not directly comparable.
Most display ads have a CTR well under 1%. Since early 2024 AdSense has paid publishers per impression rather than per click for display ads, so CTR is now less of a direct driver of AdSense earnings than it used to be.
Never try to raise CTR artificially. Clicking your own ads, asking friends or readers to click, or placing ads where people click by accident all create invalid clicks. Invalid activity can lead to deductions from your earnings and account reviews, and buying cheap traffic can bring bots that click too.
Example
An ad unit serves 40,000 impressions and gets 120 clicks. Its CTR is 120 ÷ 40,000 × 100 = 0.3%.
Why it matters to publishers
CTR helps you understand how readers interact with your ads. Read it alongside impressions and RPM, and never try to push it up artificially.