ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Click-through rate

Click-through rate (CTR) is like a game where you want many people to click on something you show them. It's like when you show your friends a toy you got and you want them to reach out and touch it.

On the internet, there are many things you can click on like pictures or links. When people search for something on Google, for example, they see many results, and the one they click on the most is shown to be more interesting or helpful than the others.

CTR is a way to know how many people clicked on something compared to how many saw it. It tells you if people like what you show them or not.

Imagine you have a lemonade stand and you make different signs to show people your lemonade. If you have ten people pass by and four of them stop and buy your lemonade because your sign is eye-catching and looks delicious, then your click-through rate is 40 percent, which is a really good rate!

This is important for people and companies who want to advertise things. They want to make sure many people click on their ads and buy their products. So they create ads that are colorful or interesting to get people's attention, just like putting a fun toy in a toy store's window to get children to come in and buy it.