Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

Definition

Clickthrough Rate (CTR) is a metric that measures the percentage of users who click on a specific link, button, or call-to-action (CTA) relative to the number of users who view it. CTR is commonly used to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, ads, and landing pages, with higher rates indicating stronger engagement and interest.

Why it matters

CTR tells you whether your message is resonating with your audience — low CTR on an ad means the creative or copy isn't compelling; low CTR on an in-app button means it's not visible, not relevant, or not clearly labeled. For product teams, tracking CTR on key actions (upgrade prompts, feature announcements, empty state CTAs) reveals which nudges are working and which are being ignored.

Real-world example

Dropbox found that their 'Upgrade to Pro' banner had a 0.3% CTR when shown to all users, but a 4.2% CTR when shown only to users who had just hit their storage limit — context is everything for CTR.