What is Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

CTR measures the percentage of people who click a link, ad, or search result after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions. It’s a core metric for judging how compelling a headline, ad, or meta description actually is at earning attention once it’s already been shown.

A higher CTR on a search result suggests the title and meta description are effectively matching searcher intent, and while Google hasn’t confirmed CTR as a direct ranking factor, a compelling listing still drives more of the traffic a page’s existing ranking position makes available. Improving it is a low-cost way to get more value from rankings already earned.

Writing a clear, specific, benefit-focused title tag and meta description, rather than generic or vague phrasing, tends to earn more clicks from the same ranking position. Testing a few different variations of a page’s title and description over time can reveal what resonates most with actual searchers.