If you're an eCommerce retailer, chances are you've invested in Facebook ads to drive more traffic to your website and increase sales. And if you did, you might be wondering how to measure the success of these advertising campaigns.

The truth is, it can be tricky, as there are lots of different metrics to pay attention to. However, the click-through rate (CTR) is one of the most important metrics to analyze to boost your bottom line.

But what is CTR? What does it mean? And most of all, what's the average Facebook ads CTR for eCommerce businesses? To help you measure the success of your Facebook ads campaigns, we will answer these questions in this guide.  

What is the Average CTR for Facebook Ads in eCommerce? 

The average click-through rate of Facebook Ads in eCommerce varies depending on your industry, ad format, and audience. According to data gathered by Wordstream, the average CTR for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.89%. 

To give you a sense of what to expect, check out the highest average Facebook click-through rates by industry:

• Pets & Animals — 1.68%
• Food & Drink — 1.20%
• Beauty & Fitness — 1.02%
• Hobby & Leisure — 0.93%

Finance, science, and education industries have the lowest average Facebook Ads CTR (approximately 0.50%). 

Therefore, it is safe to say that your Facebook ads campaigns are performing well as long as your average click-through rate ranges between 0.90% and 1.20% or beyond.

What Does CTR Mean in eCommerce? 

CTR stands for "click-through rate," and it's one of the most important metrics to consider when you're running ads on Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform.

Simply put, CTR is a ratio that tells you how many people clicked your ad divided by how many people saw it. For example, if you have a CTR of 2%, that means 2 out of every 100 people who see your ad are clicking on it.

In other words, CTR enables you to understand what percentage of users who see your ad interact with it.

When your CTR is low, it means you're not doing enough to grab the attention of your audience and compel them to take action. But when your CTR is high, it means your audience finds your message compelling and relevant.

What’s more, your CTR directly affects your cost per acquisition (CPA), which is especially important for eCommerce businesses. Your CPA is another critical metric to track when running Facebook ad campaigns.

In short, CPA is the amount of money you pay when someone buys your product or signs up for your service after clicking on your ad.

• CTR = Total clicks / Impressions * 100%
• CPA = Total spend / Total number of conversions

If we look at these equations, it’s clear that CTR has a direct impact on CPA. The higher your CTR, the lower your cost per acquisition (CPA), and the more profitable your campaign will be.

3 Reasons Why Your CTR Is Lower Than Average 

Is your average CTR for Facebook Ads lower than average for your industry? This means that your campaigns are underperforming.

The truth is that there are so many factors that go into an ad campaign’s performance it can be hard to tell what’s going wrong or what needs to change.

But, we put together a list of reasons why your CTR is lower than average and how you can improve it.

​​Your ad copy isn't compelling enough

If you want people to click on your ad, your copy had better be great. Facebook ad space is competitive, and people see tons of ads every day.

For your ad to stand out and get clicks, you need to grab their attention quickly with powerful words and a clear call-to-action (CTA).

Your copy needs to show your audience the benefits of your products so that they can easily understand what they will get when they click on your ad.

Your Facebook ad images aren't attention-grabbing

If you're not getting enough clicks on your ads, it might be because your images aren't eye-catching.

People are visual creatures. We love seeing photos and videos, and we'll often stop what we're doing to look at something that catches our eye.

Images are the first thing people see on Facebook. They'll click on the ones with images that stand out to them — and they'll keep scrolling past the rest, completely ignoring them.

This is why it's so important to use attention-grabbing, creative images that clearly represent what you're advertising. If you suspect that your Facebook ads images might be underperforming, it's time for a change!

You're targeting the wrong audience

Targeting issues are probably the most common reason why eCommerce Facebook ad campaigns have a low CTR. If you're targeting people who have no interest in your message, they'll likely scroll right past your ad without even looking at it, much less clicking on it! 

You can remedy this by targeting your audience wisely. This does not mean targeting as many people as you can! Targeting a large audience is usually not a good idea because only a small percentage of them will respond to your ad.

The best way to target wisely is to narrow down your audience according to demographic information such as:

• Location
• Gender and age
• Interests
• Previous behavior
• Website and app activity.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to eCommerce and Facebook advertising, we can all agree that clicks are important. Clicks lead to conversions. However, remember that more clicks don't always equal more conversions! There are many factors that determine whether a click will convert into a sale - but that's a topic for another blog post.

So, what does this all mean for eCommerce advertisers?

The conclusion is pretty straightforward. While striving for a beyond average click-through rate on Facebook ads for your eCommerce marketing campaigns is important, it is not the only metric that you should focus on.

The success of your eCommerce Facebook ad campaign is determined by the combination of all metrics, such as CTR, CPA, and most importantly - your conversion rate.