What is CTR and when to take it into consideration

The CTR, which in Spanish translates as click through rate, is a metric that measures the number of users who have clicked on a link or advertisement with respect to the total number of impressions of this, i.e. the number of times it has been seen. It also measures the impact that a digital campaign is having and also its positioning in search engines or SEO.

how is the click through rate calculated?

The formula for the Click through rate or CTR is: (Clicks / Impressions) x 100. This KPI is measured as a percentage, so it is necessary to multiply it by 100. It is obtained by dividing all the clicks obtained on that link, ad, CTA, etc, by the number of times it has been seen, i.e. the impressions, and then multiplying by 100.

In Google Ads a good CTR is around 1-2%, while in display advertising the percentage is lower, around 0.5%.

when should the click through rate be taken into account?

The CTR has become one of the main KPIs of a digital marketing campaign and it is the metric that indicates whether your actions are being efficient or not. Although there is no exact formula to create a perfect campaign, the CTR tells you the ratio between clicks obtained and impressions, so it tells you how interested users are in your ad. This helps you to see if your ad is interesting or if you need to make a change because it is not appealing.

It is also important to take it into account because it helps you to increase traffic to your website or landing page, because the higher your CTR means that you are getting more clicks. If your click through rate comes from an ad it will direct you to your website or some specific content, if on the other hand it comes from a CTA or a call to action, your traffic will be driven to a landing page to perform an action.

How to increase the CTR of your ads

Here are some key things to keep in mind to improve your CTR:

1. Make full use of all extension types: There are numerous extension types that will make your ads stand out from the crowd. By using a full range of extensions, it increases the size of your ad and makes your ads appear more relevant which will lead to an increase in CTR.
2. Write irresistible ads: it sounds simple enough but unless you are dedicated to writing an ad with a good high level of attraction and a fantastic call to action, Google will place it as a low average ad.
3. Make good use of your keywords, the ones that make your online positioning favourable: Use them both in the title of the ad, within the ad itself and also in the URL that directs or sends traffic to your website.
4. Use a URL at the bottom of your ad: This will increase your CTR by reinforcing the weight of your keywords. The URL does not necessarily have to point to an existing web page, just containing the keywords will make the ad more appealing to the consumer.
5. Regularly adjust your bids: make sure you constantly review the price of your bids to ensure you continue to appear at the top of the search box. If your bids are well updated, it will have an impact on the position of your ad on the network and therefore you will get a decent CTR.
6. Include calls to action in your ads: think about your unique selling points and include them in your ad copy. This will make your ads stand out more and therefore get you more clicks. If you have something to mention in the ad, whether it's a prize or accreditation or something like that, include it in your offer copy or add an extension. Using exclamation marks and other characters can make your ad more attention grabbing and encourage potential customers to click more. But be careful, because you can only use one symbol per ad, but don't worry because if you overdo it, Google will tell you what you're doing wrong and you'll be able to correct it.

what is SEO for?

Now that you know what CTR is, how it is calculated, how to increase it and why you need to take it into account, you just need to know what exactly it is used for in SEO: Basically it is used to get your website to the first page when a Google search is performed. That said, there are several factors that influence the CTR in the SERPs:

-An optimised URL, which means containing the right keywords and not exceeding the number of characters.

-A metatitle tag that contains the main keyword, something attractive to the user.

-A meta description tag that is optimised, and like the meta title tag, contains the keyword and provides a useful summary for users.

-Add so-called rich snippets, which means that you will attract users with a more visually appealing search that offers valuable information to the user.

In short, the CTR is an element that can help us to position our website in search engines, always keep it in mind, what are you waiting for to include it in your SEO positioning strategy?