Click-Through Rate
Learn what click-through rate means in SEO, how to calculate the ratio of clicks to impressions, and its impact on search rankings and link traffic
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on a specific link out of the total number who see it. In SEO, CTR most commonly refers to the rate at which users click your listing in search engine results pages. A higher CTR often correlates with better rankings, as search engines interpret clicks as a relevance signal. For link building, CTR matters when evaluating the effectiveness of outreach emails, where a compelling subject line drives opens and clicks. It also applies to the links themselves — a well-placed contextual backlink within engaging content will earn more clicks than a buried footer link, delivering both referral traffic and stronger SEO value.