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One of the most common questions that newcomers ask when they start using Google for their advertising is "What is a good CTR"?

One of the most common questions that newcomers ask when they start using Google for their advertising is "What is a good CTR"?

One of most important things one needs to understand when asking this question is the fact that Google separates their networks into the Google Search Network and Google Content Network, and CTR will vary greatly depending on which network is being referred to.

The Search network is when people search directly on Google.com. They enter a search, type in a keyword, and click on the ads that come up. Here the CTR goes from 20+ %, which is when your ad appears at the very top of the search results (right at the top of the organic search results), to all the way down to less then 1% or possibly down to 0.5% if your ad shows up in the number 10 position or lower.

It doesn't take an Einstein to realise that to get a good CTR, you want to ensure that your ad is in as high a position as possible for a given search result. Furthermore, getting a top position is in a lot of ways a lot more important than how good your ad copy is.

When you're looking at the Content Network on Google's partner sites, the CTR has an entirely different meaning. The CTR will drop dramatically when compared with Search network CTR figures. You might see CTR figures of 0.05% which is whole lot less than typical Search network results.

However, don't be fooled by these low percentages. The traffic being generated in the Content Network is many times larger. With low CTRs in the Content Network you can still achieve excellent results.

Nevertheless, if should always be everyone's goal to get as high a CTR as possible in both the Search and Content Networks. Any CTRs of 1% or less will more than likely raise a red flag to Google and you could quite possibly end up getting Google slapped. This is when Google actively penalises you for having a poorly-performing ad by raising your CPC until you either leave or improve your ad's CTR.

By keeping your ads in the top search positions, your CTRs will invariably remain in the high single to double digits - and Google will reward your hard work by gradually reducing your minimum CPC - which is always a good thing.

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