Optimizing for CTR is how you build a cheap audience that never buys

Optimizing for CTR is how you build a cheap audience that never buys

CTR (click-through rate) = clicks ÷ impressions. High CTR feels like a winning creative. It isn't a revenue metric.

Creative buckets ranked by CTR vs actual CVR (CVR = conversions ÷ clicks), 90 creatives:
— Top CTR quartile: 2.1% CTR / 1.4% CVR
— Median: 1.3% CTR / 2.0% CVR
— Bottom CTR: 0.8% CTR / 2.7% CVR

The flashiest hooks pull curiosity clicks from low-intent users. Inverse correlation here was −0.3.

Fix: kill creatives on CPA and ROAS, never on CTR alone. Use CTR only to diagnose — low CTR + low CPM usually means a relevance, not offer, problem.

Read: a click you didn't pay for in intent, you pay for in CVR.