Your team is hyped about that 6.4% click-through rate. The dashboards look great. Everyone’s smiling.
So why are sales still… hauntingly flat?
I recently spoke with a prospective client — one of those “we’re considering switching agencies” conversations. And like any responsible grown-up relationship, both sides were vetting each other. I asked why they were looking elsewhere. Their answer:
“Our agency keeps telling us we’re beating industry standards on CTR.”
Beat the benchmark. Outperform the average. And yet… no lift in sales. Strange, right?
Not really.
Because here’s the truth:
Click-throughs are a vanity metric unless you understand what happens after the click.
High CTR with low sales usually points to one (or more) of three things:
1. You’re Attracting the Wrong People
This same prospect told me their ad kept showing up during children’s programming. Unless toddlers suddenly have a $2500+ disposable income for luxury purchases, that’s probably not a win. When I asked what audience segments they were targeting, they had no idea. In this case, the issue is the lack of strategy and alignment to drive all other decisions and accountability across both teams. You might be attracting the wrong people because you didn’t start with a strong foundation based on past sales data or because your ad buys are simply not set up correctly. Sometimes a clever ad gets clicks. Great. But curiosity ≠ intent. Catchy creative can boost engagement from the wrong crowd. That’s not marketing. That’s clickbait. Either way – inspect what you expect!
2. Your Post-Click Experience Is Broken
Have you ever clicked your own ad? No? Try it.
Common issues we see:
- Broken links
- Email forms that don’t work
- Inboxes full of ignored leads (RIP)
We no longer run paid media for clients unless we can audit their whole end-to-end sales experience.
Why? We see “Disjointed Funnel Syndrome” all the time, and marketing and sales strategies were never formally introduced.
It’s awkward for everyone. Especially your ROI.
3. You’re Measuring Motion, Not Progress
Congrats — someone downloaded your free guide.
Cool. Now what?
The gap between a lead magnet and an actual sale can be… let’s say… spacious. If you don’t have a lead nurturing plan, you’re not selling. You’re hoping.
Hope is not a strategy. It’s just expensive.
We’re not anti-CTR. But we are pro-context.
Without a full-funnel view, you’re optimizing the wrong thing.
Metrics matter — but only when they trace all the way to the sale.
Inside Track
Imagine this: Your CTR jumps 3X after a campaign launch.
But sales? Flatlined.
You check the data:
- 14-second time on page
- 93% bounce rate
The offer was solid. The follow-through wasn’t. Clicks are a handshake, not a close.
Things We’ve Been Accused of Being Good At:
CTR is the garnish. Sales are the meal. We help organizations turn attention into actual revenue.
