The click-through rate (CTR) is an important metric not only from Google Ads’ point of view but also with other marketing efforts like SEO, Facebook Ads or Microsoft Ads.
When it comes to Google Ads, the CTR plays an important role in determining the quality score of keywords which directly impacts the cost-per-click (CPC) cost.
This indicator offers valuable insights into how well an online advertising campaign is performing by measuring the percentage of users who clicked on the ad.
If your ad is effective enough to convince the users to click, then you can present your next argument in the sales funnel and convert them into hot leads. And this is a very strong indication of relevance.
This comprehensive guide explores the impact of CTR and the industry-specific benchmarks for Google Ads and other advertising networks. We will deep into what constitutes a good Google Ads CTR, the factors that influence it, and strategies to enhance CTR.
Table of contents:
- What is CTR?
- What is a good CTR?
- Google Ads CTR industry benchmark
- Facebook Ads CTR industry benchmark
- SEO CTR industry benchmark
What is CTR?
The metric that calculates the ratio of the number of users who clicked on the advertisement to the number of users who viewed the ad (impressions) is called the click-through rate.
The formula for calculating CTR is:
CTR = (number of clicks/number of impressions) * 100
For example, if your ad has received 100 clicks in 1000 impressions, your CTR would be 10%, i.e., (100/1000) * 100.
A higher CTR for Google Ads indicates that a greater number of people find your content interesting enough to click on the link. On the contrary, a low CTR is feedback that the content needs improvement.
Impact of CTR
Understanding the impact of CTR helps advertisers optimise their marketing strategies to achieve better results.
These Google Ads benchmarks provide insights into how well your ads are performing compared to industry standards. The good news for advertisers and business owners is that both of these averages, i.e., search and display networks are higher than in previous years.
The lower CTRs are due to passive engagement. However, display ads are valuable for brand awareness and retargeting efforts.
What is a good CTR?
A good CTR is relative and can vary depending on numerous factors, like industry standards, campaign goals, the advertising platform, targeted keywords, etc.
A higher CTR indicates your ad is relevant and compelling to the target audience. Continuous monitoring, optimisation of ad elements, adjusting ad strategies, and taking data-driven decisions are key to surpassing good CTR thresholds.
Let’s understand the standard CTR across different advertising networks.
What is a good CTR for Google Ads?
Search Network
The average CTR in Google Ads across all industries for the search network is 3.17% in 2024.
Display Network
The average CTR in Google Ads across all industries on the display network is 0.46% in 2024.
Data sourced from Wordstream’s Google Ads Data Page .
CTR and Quality Score in Google Ads
CTR is a key factor in determining your Google Ad’s quality score. Ads with a higher quality score impact the Ad Rank positively to appear in higher positions in SERPs (search engine result pages). Moreover, Google rewards ads with a higher quality score by lowering their cost per click (CPC).
A higher CTR shows the ad is relevant to the users. This helps ads rank higher in search engines, which increases visibility.
What is a good CTR for Facebook Ads?
The average CTR in traffic campaigns for Facebook ads across all industries is 1.51%.
The average CTR in lead generation campaigns for Facebook ads across all industries is 2.50%.
Data sourced from Wordstream’s Facebook Data Page.
The CTR above 2% is considered excellent, which indicates the ad is highly engaging. The CTR between 1 and 2% is average. This signifies that the ad is performing well but needs optimisation.
What is a good CTR for SEO?
On average, a CTR of above 3% is considered good for SEO according to Backlinko.
When a user clicks on the organic search results that lead to your website, this is considered an SEO click. The number of clicks measures how well your SEO efforts resonated with the target audience.
A high CTR indicates your webpage is compelling enough to draw the attention of users to click.
Google Ads click-through rate (CTR) industry benchmark
CTR benchmarks vary widely across different industries because of the nature of products and services, engagement levels of the audience, market dynamics, competitive landscape, etc. These benchmarks are the referral points, which help advertisers evaluate the overall performance of the Google Ads campaign.
Google Ads CTR benchmark for search and display networks for different industries are as follows:
| INDUSTRY | AVERAGE CTR
(SEARCH NETWORK) |
AVERAGE CTR
(DISPLAY NETWORK) |
| ADVOCACY | 4.41% | 0.59% |
| AUTO | 4.00% | 0.60% |
| B2B | 2.41% | 0.46% |
| CONSUMER SERVICES | 2.41% | 0.51% |
| DATING & PERSONALS | 6.05% | 0.72% |
| E-COMMERCE | 2.69% | 0.51% |
| EDUCATION | 3.78% | 0.53% |
| EMPLOYMENT SERVICES | 2.42% | 0.59% |
| FINANCE AND INSURANCE | 2.91% | 0.52% |
| HEALTH AND MEDICAL | 3.27% | 0.59% |
| HOME GOODS | 2.44% | 0.49% |
| INDUSTRIAL SERVICES | 2.61% | 0.50% |
| LEGAL | 2.93% | 0.59% |
| REAL ESTATE | 3.71% | 1.08% |
| TECHNOLOGY | 2.09% | 0.39% |
| TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY | 4.68% | 0.47% |
Facebook Ads click-through rate (CTR) industry benchmark
| BUSINESS INDUSTRY | AVERAGE CTR
(TRAFFIC CAMPAIGNS) |
AVERAGE CTR
(LEAD GENERATION CAMPAIGNS) |
| Animals & Pets | 1.63% | |
| Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry | 1.13% | |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2.55% | 3.70% |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | 0.99% | 1.79% |
| Automotive — For Sale | 1.18% | |
| Automotive — Repair, Service & Parts | 0.99% | 1.38% |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 1.34% | 2.46% |
| Business Services | 1.37% | 2.70% |
| Career & Employment | 1.31% | 2.37% |
| Dentists & Dental Services | 0.81% | 1.80% |
| Education & Instruction | 1.20% | 2.44% |
| Finance & Insurance | 0.88% | 1.98% |
| Furniture | 1.15% | 2.55% |
| Health & Fitness | 1.68% | 1.66% |
| Home & Home Improvement | 1,23% | 1.80% |
| Industrial & Commercial | 1.03% | 1.50% |
| Personal Services | 1.28% | 2.72% |
| Physicians & Surgeons | 1.02% | 3.17% |
| Real Estate | 2.45% | 3.69% |
| Restaurants & Food | 2.29% | 1.85% |
| Shopping, Collectibles & Gifts | 1.82% | |
| Sports & Recreation | 1.30% | 3.29% |
| Travel | 2.06% | 6.62% |
SEO click-through rate industry benchmark
We have listed down SEO CTR based on position and also for branded keywords.
SEO CTR benchmark based on SERP position
| ORGANIC SEARCH
RESULT POSITION |
CLICK-THROUGH RATE |
| 1 | 27.6% |
| 2 | 15.8% |
| 3 | 11.0% |
| 4 | 8.4% |
| 5 | 6.3% |
| 6 | 4.9% |
| 7 | 3.9% |
| 8 | 3.3% |
| 9 | 2.7% |
| 10 | 2.4% |
Organic CTR breakdowns for branded keywords
| ORGANIC SEARCH
RESULT POSITION |
CLICK-THROUGH RATE |
| 1 | 60.4% |
| 2 | 21.5% |
| 3 | 14.2% |
| 4 | 11.0% |
| 5 | 9.2% |
| 6 | 8.7% |
| 7 | 6.8% |
| 8 | 6.1% |
| 9 | 7.3% |
| 10 | 5.4% |
Understanding organic CTR
Organic SEO CTR is the percentage of clicks your website gets in the organic search results relative to the number of times it appears on the search engines (impressions). Google Search Console is one of the tools that helps track CTR by providing you with data on clicks and impressions for a given period.
Compelling title tags with the use of targeted long-tail keywords, schema markup implementation, user-friendly websites, and continuous optimisation are a few factors that help obtain a high CTR.
SEO CTR industry benchmark
Comparing clicks across all industries reveals interesting insights.
- According to a recent study in 2023, the first organic search result on Google has an average SEO CTR of 27.6%. The average CTR decreases sharply after the first position, with the second and third positions having 15% and 11% CTR, respectively.
- Moving up by one search result spot will increase CTR by 2.8% on average.
- Title tags between 40 and 60 characters have higher CTRs.
- Titles with positive sentiment increase clicks by 4% approximately.
- Keyword phrases with 10–15 words in length receive 1.76 times more clicks than single-word keywords.
- URLs that contain keywords receive 45% higher CTRs.
Data source: Backlinko.
How to improve CTR?
One thing that is common in all channels, to boost CTR is a compelling message featured prominently is required to make a strong impression leading to clicks and boosting the CTR.
- Improving Google Ads CTR: Here you need to consider two main things. Compelling messages and featuring ads as high as possible.
- Facebook Ads CTR improvement: With Facebook CTR, the right audience is the key along with very compelling image or video ads like reels.
- SEO CTR improvement: A higher position in SERP is critical here to boost CTR, writing a compelling meta title is equally important.
Get expert help to improve your CTR
We provide holistic data-driven online marketing to help customers get the best result possible and CTR is one of the metrics that we consider to assess the impact of campaigns across different advertising channels.
Visit our services pages to learn more and enquire to book a consultation with one of our experts.
