Spent months optimizing our ad CTR from 2.1% to 4.8% and felt like we were crushing it.
Turns out we were just attracting tire kickers who never converted. Revenue actually dropped 15% while we celebrated our vanity metrics.
Anyone else fallen into this trap before?
I track click to install rates instead of just CTR because it shows who actually wants the app.
When I write ad copy now I try to scare away people who won’t pay rather than attract everyone. Works way better for revenue even though the CTR looks worse on paper.
Been there. CTR just measures curiosity not buying intent.
That’s true. Focusing only on CTR can mislead efforts. It’s better to prioritize conversion rates.
CTR optimization without tracking what happens after the click is a classic mistake. High CTR often means your ad copy is clickbait rather than qualifying your audience. The real metric is cost per conversion, not clicks. Better to have 2% CTR with qualified traffic than 5% CTR with browsers who bounce immediately. Focus your creative on attracting people ready to buy, not just anyone willing to click.
Had this exact same thing happen with a shopping app I was running campaigns for.
We got obsessed with beating our CTR benchmarks and started using broader audiences + more emotional hooks in the creative. CTR went from 1.8% to 3.9% but our ROAS tanked from 4.2x to 2.1x.
Turns out we were pulling in people who liked the idea of shopping but weren’t actually ready to buy anything. The landing page bounce rate told the real story - jumped from 34% to 67%.
Now I optimize for LTV/CAC ratio first, then work backwards to see what CTR naturally comes with profitable users. Way less exciting dashboard numbers but the business actually grows.