In the world of digital marketing, click-through rate (CTR) is one of the most important metrics used to gauge the success of campaigns like pay-per-click (PPC) ads, email marketing, social media ads, and more. But what exactly constitutes a “good” CTR? Is a 12% CTR good? Let’s take a closer look.
What is CTR?
CTR stands for click-through rate. It is the ratio of users who click on a link, advert, or call-to-action compared to the number of total users who view it. For example, if an email campaign is sent to 1000 subscribers and 120 people click through to the landing page, the CTR is 12% (120/1000 = 0.12).
CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions (views or deliveries), then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. It can be represented by the following formula:
CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) x 100
High CTRs indicate an effective call-to-action that motivates users to take action. Low CTRs suggest the message, advert creative, landing page experience, or offer may need to be reworked to increase relevance and appeal to your target audience.
What is a Good CTR?
There is no universally agreed upon CTR that is considered “good” across all marketing channels. The benchmark for a good CTR varies widely based on factors like:
- Industry
- Type of campaign or medium
- Target audience
- Offer or product
- Stage in the sales funnel
- Time of year
However, here are some general CTR benchmarks for different digital marketing channels:
| Marketing Channel | Good CTR % |
|---|---|
| Google AdWords search ads | 2-8% |
| Facebook ads | 0.9-2% |
| Twitter ads | 0.5-1% |
| Banner ads | 0.1-0.5% |
| Email marketing | 2-3% for cold audiences, 5%+ for engaged audiences |
| LinkedIn Sponsored Updates | 0.025-0.25% |
| Landing pages | 2-3% for cold traffic, 10%+ for targeted traffic |
As you can see, CTR varies significantly depending on the platform. Search ads tend to perform better than social ads, because users on Google are in an active “search” mindset. Landing pages have the highest benchmark CTRs because visitors have already been qualified and targeted through earlier campaign efforts.
Is a 12% CTR Good?
In general, a CTR of 12% would be considered excellent. Here’s how it stacks up for major marketing channels:
- Search ads – A 12% CTR on search ads would be incredibly high. The top performing Google Ads campaigns average between 4-8%.
- Social media ads – Similarly, a 12% CTR on Facebook/Instagram or Twitter ads would be well above average. Expect 0.5-2% on most social campaigns.
- Display/banner ads – A 12% CTR is essentially unheard of for display and banner ads. The average is closer to 0.1-0.5% due to banner blindness and the distracting nature of the medium.
- Email marketing – For cold email outreach, a 12% CTR would be excellent. For segmented campaigns sent to engaged subscribers, it would still perform above average.
- LinkedIn Sponsored Updates – This would be an incredible CTR for LinkedIn’s native ad format, well above the 0.025-0.25% benchmark.
- Landing pages – A 12% CTR on landing pages would be solid for cold traffic. For targeted, warm leads it would be somewhat average or below average.
In summary, a 12% CTR across most digital marketing channels would represent a top-tier conversion rate. For search ads and landing pages, it may signal opportunities for further optimization. But overall a 12% CTR is excellent compared to benchmark averages.
How to Improve Your CTR
If you aren’t achieving a 12% CTR, here are some tips to improve it:
1. Target a specific audience
The more narrowly you can define your target audience and tailor your messaging to them, the higher your CTR is likely to be. Use audience research and data to determine demographics, interests, behaviors, and motivations.
2. Refine your ad creative
Ad headlines and body text should be relevant, clear, and compelling. Run A/B tests on ad copy and design to optimize for higher conversion rates. Align to your audience’s desires.
3. Land the user experience
Once clicked, your landing page should align seamlessly with the messaging in your ad. Keep forms short, load time fast, copy focused, images consistent, and page layout clean.
4. Offer a strong CTA
Calls-to-action like “Click Here” don’t provide enough context on offer value. Use action-driven language like “Start My Free Trial” instead.
5. Retarget engaged visitors
Bring back users who previously engaged but didn’t convert. Tailor messaging and CTAs to where they dropped off.
6. Continue optimization
Regularly refine your targeting, messaging, placements, design, page experience, and offers based on performance data.
Other Metrics to Track with CTR
While CTR is important, it shouldn’t be analyzed in isolation. Some additional metrics to track include:
Bounce rate
Bounce rate measures single-page visits where the user leaves without any further interaction. High bounce rates indicate poor landing page experiences.
Pages/session
More pages viewed per session signals greater engagement on your site. Low numbers may indicate weak interest or irrelevant content.
Time on page
Higher dwell time on pages indicates content is valuable to users. Low times can signal irrelevant or hard-to-consume content.
Form submission rate
For landing pages with forms, look at the percentage of users who submit. Lower rates highlight drop-off points.
Cost per conversion
What’s the average cost to acquire a conversion like sign-up or purchase? Look at CPC alongside CTR for the full picture.
Optimizing across these metrics will contribute to higher quality traffic, engagement, and conversions beyond CTR alone.
Conclusion
A 12% click-through rate is towards the higher end of average for most digital marketing campaigns. For search ads, 12% would be exceptionally high but for targeted landing page traffic it indicates room for improvement. Focus on relevant messaging, strong calls-to-action, seamless user experience, and continual optimization to push CTR upwards. But be sure to analyze it alongside other metrics to ensure you’re driving not just clicks but quality conversions.
