One of most important things one needs to understand when asking this question is the fact that Google separates their networks into the Google Search Network and Google Content Network, and CTR will vary greatly depending on which network is being referred to.

The Search network is the most well known network and is essentially the network people search when using a typical Google search engine. In this case, the CTRs on the ads that people click on as a result of their searches can go as high as 20%+ if the ads are located at the top of the search results. This percentage rapidly decreases the further down an ad is positioned in the search results, so that by the time your ad is at the bottom of the page, your CTR is down to around 1% or even lower.

Having a good ad position for a given search result is quite obviously the most important factor when trying to achieve a good CTR. In most cases, a high position is also more important than good ad copy.

When you’re looking at the Content Network on Google’s partner sites, the CTR has an entirely different meaning. The CTR will drop dramatically when compared with Search network CTR figures. You might see CTR figures of 0.05% which is whole lot less than typical Search network results.

But these low percentages are not the full story. The amount of traffic being generated by the Content Network far outweighs these low CTRs. It is still possible to achieve incredible results using the Content Network.

But you shouldn’t just assume that a low CTR is OK. Always try to keep your CTR over 1% or you could incur the wrath of Google and get Google-slapped! This is the undesirable way Google penalises poor performing ads that are not attracting enough clicks. Google progressively increases the CPC until the person running the ad either improves the CTR or gets fed up with the increasing expense and eventually gives up.

By keeping your ads in the top search positions, your CTRs will invariably remain in the high single to double digits – and Google will reward your hard work by gradually reducing your minimum CPC – which is always a good thing.

Learn more about CTRs. Stop by Andrew Egorov’s site where you can also find out all about avoiding the Google slap and why it’s best that you do.