Why optimising for CTR is damaging your performance

brightonSEO April 2025

This talk is for marketers of any level; it should create a moment to consider how managers and above are measuring performance.

CTR is a metric we have been using for years, but is it the right metric to really judge the quality of our listing on the SERP? In this talk Lottie will demonstrate why focusing on CTR as a metric to optimise to and as a measure of performance is flawed.

In a world where we are looking to create more personalised and relevant brand experiences, ensuring we are answering the right question for the audience, messaging which discourages someone from interacting with copy can be as effective and often more so, than those which generate high clicks to site. This is in addition to the variety of other factors which also influences CTR, ultimately making it an ineffective metric to use for reporting and benchmarking.

Identifying the right metrics to measure performance are vital to enable business growth in any channel.

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