How to read ad metrics in the right order

The short answer

Read the metrics in this order: hook rate, hold rate, link CTR, landing conversion, cost per result, then frequency. Fix the first one that is bad and leave the rest alone until it is fixed.

Each metric describes one level of the ad, so the first bad level is the one to change.

The metrics, in order

The thresholds below are working starting points from our method. They are not benchmarks you must hit.

Metric	Formula	It tells you about	Working threshold	If it is bad
Hook rate	3-second views ÷ impressions	The hook	30%+ for video	Try a different attention mechanism and a different first frame.
Hold rate	ThruPlays ÷ 3-second views	The angle	15–25%+	Show a more concrete scene, a different situation, or a shorter video.
Link CTR	Link clicks ÷ impressions	The message	0.8–1.5%+ on cold traffic	Frame the same situation differently, or pick a different situation.
Landing conversion	Conversions ÷ clicks	The offer, and whether the page matches the ad	Depends on the offer	Make the first screen continue the ad's message, and lower the entry barrier.
Cost per result	Spend ÷ conversions	The whole system	At or below your target	Walk back through the levels above.
Frequency	Impressions ÷ reach	Fatigue	Under 2–3 on cold traffic	Add a new creative or a new audience.

Fix the first bad level only

If hook rate is below its threshold, change the hook and leave the angle, the message and the landing page as they are. Each level sits on the one before it, so a change lower down cannot repair a problem higher up.

Cost per result is not a diagnosis on its own

Cost per result measures the whole system, so a bad number does not say which level is at fault. When it is bad, walk back through hook rate, hold rate, link CTR and landing conversion to find the first level that is off.

Match the first screen to the ad

The first screen after the click should continue the ad's message, with the same promise and the same language. When it does not, landing conversion drops for a reason that no creative metric shows.

If everything is red

If every creative looks bad at once, look for one broken step they all share. One shared step breaking is more likely than several independent messages failing together. Read hook rate, then link CTR, then the start of the page or quiz, then the event, and find where the numbers break.

Frequency and fatigue

When frequency climbs past the threshold on cold traffic and the winner's cost per result rises, the ad is burning out. That is fatigue and not breakage. The fix is a new creative or a new audience, and bids and targeting stay as they are.

Where Three Second Fame fits

Three Second Fame pulls per-ad numbers daily and then shows a Recommended next steps card, with a button for each step. Nothing changes until you press one. Nothing is spent until you turn it on; only you can start spending. You can read how it works or see the pricing.