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PerformanceTerm

CTR

Click-Through Rate · click-through rate

CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of people who clicked on an ad compared to those who saw it. The main indicator of creative performance.

CTR — Click-Through Rate, ad clickability: number of clicks ÷ number of impressions × 100%. CTR shows how much a creative hits its target audience.

In performance campaigns, CTR is my first indicator of whether the creative is on fire. A healthy CTR in VK Ads is 0.7–2.5% depending on the niche. If it falls below 0.5%, it means the creative burned out or did not reach its audience.

A high CTR (4%+) is also suspicious: either the creative got into the lead buy (“download for free”), or the algorithm learned to show only the most loyal audience, and I have a narrow funnel.

The main rule with CTR: it cannot be optimized in isolation from CPL. You can create a creative with a CTR of 8% and zero sales (for example, a provocative headline without relevance to the product). That's why I look at CTR + CPL together: both should be normal.

Frequently asked questions about CTR

What is CTR?+
CTR — Click-Through Rate, the ratio of clicks to impressions as a percentage. It is calculated: clicks ÷ impressions × 100. The main indicator of the “engagement” of a creative and the relevance of the audience.
What is a good CTR in 2026?+
In Yandex Search - from 8% (median) to 25% for brand queries. In YAN - from 0.3% (normal) to 1% (good). In VK Ads - from 0.5% (normal) to 1.5% (good). Depends heavily on the niche.
Why does CTR affect CPC?+
Auction algorithms (Ya.Direct, VK Ads) raise ads with a high CTR in the search results and give them a discount on the bid - because it is profitable for them to show ads that are clicked on. Therefore, CTR × 2 often = CPC ÷ 1.5.

Related terms

CPCCPMEngagement

Where is it understood in practice?

What do I do when a performance campaign doesn’t work: 6-step checklist

9 min reading

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