Glossary
What is Click-through rate (CTR)?
Impressions click-through rate is the share of thumbnail impressions that turned into views.
Click-through rate (CTR) explained
In YouTube Analytics, impressions CTR is how often viewers watched a video after seeing its thumbnail on YouTube. If a thumbnail was shown 1,000 times and 50 people clicked, the CTR is 5%.
YouTube says half of all channels and videos have an impressions CTR between 2% and 10%. CTR naturally drops as a video is shown to wider, less familiar audiences, so compare videos at similar stages. Work out yours with the CTR calculator.
Why it matters for thumbnails
Thumbnails are the first thing viewers see, so they influence how click-through rate (ctr) plays out on your channel. Read our thumbnail best practices to put this into practice, or browse the rest of the glossary.
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YouTube CTR calculator
Work out your impressions click-through rate and what a better thumbnail could be worth.
Learn more →What is a good CTR?
What counts as a good impressions click-through rate — and how thumbnails move it.
Learn more →Impressions
An impression is counted when a video’s thumbnail is shown to a viewer on YouTube.
Learn more →