Money & metrics · also called feed CTR, second-click rate, SERP CTR
Ad CTR (feed click rate)
Ad CTR is the share of searches or results-page views on a feed that end with the visitor clicking a paid ad.
After the visitor clicks a keyword, a results page loads with ads from the search feed. Ad CTR is the fraction of those page views that produce a paid click, the "second click" of a two-click flow and the only one that earns money.
Several things move it. Coverage comes first: if the feed returns no ads for a query, there is nothing to click. Ad depth and the relevance of the ads to the query matter next. So does the visitor: someone who truly wants a quote for boiler repair will click an ad offering one.
Ad CTR is also a quality gauge that feeds read carefully. Very low rates suggest the wrong audience or weak keywords. Very high rates, especially alongside poor advertiser conversion data, suggest confusion, layouts that blur ads and content, or automated clicking. Search feeds forbid any attempt to encourage or reward ad clicks (see incentivised click). The healthy way to raise ad CTR is to choose keywords with strong commercial intent and deep advertiser demand.
An example
Say 450 searches lead to 270 ad clicks: ad CTR is 60%. If coverage drops so that 20% of searches show no ads, only 360 searches can be monetised, and at the same click rate 216 clicks result, cutting revenue by a fifth.
Related terms
Lander CTR (keyword click rate)
Lander CTR is the share of landing-page visitors who click a keyword or related search term, taking them on to the page that shows search ads.
Coverage (ad coverage)
Coverage is the percentage of ad requests for which the search feed returns at least one ad.
Ad depth
Ad depth is the number of search ads returned and shown for a single request or results page.
Monetised click (paid click)
A monetised click is a click on a sponsored listing from the search feed that an advertiser is charged for and the publisher is paid for.
RPS (revenue per search / session)
RPS is revenue divided by the number of searches (or, in some reports, sessions), showing how much each search on the feed earns on average.
Sponsored listing
A sponsored listing is a paid search ad that looks like a search result and charges the advertiser when someone clicks it.