Click-through rates appear in practically every form of digital marketing campaigns. Are your click-through rates hurting your paid advertising campaign, or are they working in your favor? If you want to be successful in your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns it is important to have an understanding of what click-through rates are. 

What Are Click-Through Rates?

CTR or click-through rate is the overall rate for which your paid advertisements are clicked on. Essentially, it is the number of clicks advertisers earn on their advertisements for every impression. This is the basic formula for how your CTR is calculated: 

(Total Clicks) or # of people who clicked on the ad / (Total Impressions) or # of people who saw the ad = Click Through Rate

If your PPC advertisement had 100 impressions and only 1 click, your CTR will equal 0.1%. This means a higher CTR translates into a higher percentage of people who click on your ad when they see it. It is important to note that CTR does not calculate the amount of people who saw your advertisement, did not click on it, but landed on your website in the future as an outcome of seeing your paid advertisement.

Why Are Click-Through Rates Important?

CTR are very important to your paid advertising account. This is because it directly influences your Quality Score. Google Ads and other popular search marketing platforms even offer pricing discounts for ads that offer a high relevance to a user’s search. So if you are actively advertising on relevant search queries while earning a high click-through rate, it means you’re driving the highest number of users to your website and business. Also, a high click-through rate lets you know which of your ads are performing the best, while a low click-through rate will help inform you which ads need improvement. 

Do High Click-Through Rates Automatically Mean Something Positive?

While high click-through rates are typically seen as a positive in the PPC world, there are instances where it can hurt your PPC campaign. This is because they are what deliver businesses their revenue and conversions. However, there are certain occasions when high CTRs can actually damage a business’ overall profit. For example, if you are consistently bringing in a high number of clicks on your ad, but not seeing any conversions. At the end of the day, a high click-through rate means little to nothing if the end result isn’t conversions. 

Strengthen Your PPC Click-Through Rate

There are a variety of ways you can take to improve your overall PPC click-through rate. Here are a few:

  • Increase your bids. Increasing your bids is the fastest proven way to increase your CTR and website traffic. When you have a higher bid on your ad placement, it means you will have a higher average position on the search results. In reality, the higher your ad is on the results page, the better chance you have of it being seen and clicked on by users.
  • Research your keywords. It is important to take your time researching your business’ keywords. Finding the best keywords for your business is the most important step in paid advertising. Without carefully put together keywords, your business could be wasting a lot of money and time on your pay-per-click advertising campaign. 
  • Use appealing ad copy. Your ad copy is your business’ first impression to prospective customers. That being said, it is important to have well written copy, while still being compelling. You have to be able to convince people to click on your advertisement and sell your company all in one. If your headline doesn’t attract users to click on your ad, your chances of performing well are low. 
  • Use negative keywords. When you effectively use negative keywords, it will decrease your  chances of having your ads appear on irrelevant and inappropriate search queries. Preventing your ads from being triggered in the irrelevant search queries will also result in your ad from not being pushed down to a lower position due to not receiving clicks. 

Need PPC Help?

If you are thinking of diving into pay-per-click advertising, look no further than Blue Ridge Media Company in Cleveland, Ohio. Our team is experienced and Google Partner certified for all your paid advertising needs. We are here to help you get real advertising results. Check out our paid advertising services, and contact us today on our website or call us at (888)-535-2762 today!