Click Through Rate

What is click through rate (CTR)? How does it apply to digital business marketing? CTR stands for the Click Through Rate. The number of clicks received from the number of impressions delivered is the definition of click through rate.  The word impressions refers to the number of views on an ad or page. CTR is one of the many metrics that should be measure and managed when marketing a business. CTR can gauge the health of the advertisement and how many individuals are clicking on the ad. For example, when a Google search is performed, the end users sees a variety of results that fall on a page. At the top of the page the user will first find ads sponsored by Google.  While beneath that are organic results or non-paid websites that meet the search criteria.

Organic results can use CTR to manage the click through that occurs. To drive traffic to a site or page, an organization can use search engine optimization (SEO) to target keywords that match what is being searched. Then using click through, you can track how many individuals are visiting and seeing the ad, site or webpage.

So where does CTR shine? It shines in the type of advertising called pay per click (PPC). PPC ads land at the top of the search engine results page. These ads pay Google for that placement, and for every click through that occurs. Click through advertising can be know as PPC. CTR tracking can provide insight into the breadth of exposure and impressions the ad is receiving.  Click through rate, or CTR is one of the many metrics that should be monitored and tracked when marketing a business.

How to Calculate Click Through Rate

Click through rate or CTR is a mathematical formula. This formula is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions. Clicks represent the number of times the ad, page or website that have been clicked.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

Click Through Rate CTR

Meanwhile, the total of number of views of the ad, page, or website represent the number of impressions. The formula is very simple and will provide the you a number in decimal form. A high CTR or good click through rate means that the ad, page, or website is relevant within the search engine and that it is receiving many click through. Furthermore, a high click through rate can contribute to an overall quality score that Google gives an advertisement.

A low CTR can mean the opposite. It can suggest that the ad is not relevant or appealing to the search engines. Furthermore, a low CTR can have a negative impact on the quality score provided by Google. Thus monitoring and tracking the CTR on new advertisements is important.  When gauging if an ad is successful or not, you must understand the market and industry. Some ads in certain industries have high CTR’s while others have lower. Thus, it is important to collect and gather the market performance metrics within the industry.  Digital advertisements must be flexible and able to pivot in order to be successful.  Consequently a good click through rate may not mean a successful advertisement campaign.

Click Through Rate Tracking

Click through rate can help market a business.  To help an organization it must use CTR as a tool and metric. They must know how to track and collect clicks and impressions. The number of clicks divided by the number of impressions represent the click through rate formula.  All great ads start with research and keywords. This step is time consuming yet can determine the success of the ad and the CTR. To help, there are many programs out in the market that can make the research and keyword study easy. We recommend Google AdWords. Google is a repository of current and historical data. Also they have tools and analytics that increase the transparency of what is going on with the ad, page or website.

Once the research and keywords have been integrated into a captivating ad, page or website, it is time to understand how the industry as a whole performs on PPC, or organic advertising.  To accomplish this there must be benchmarks established for your campaign based on the industry and the historical data. Then, launch and track the click through rate. Note that inside of Google AdWords there are a variety of metrics and reports that can be run that provide CTR with a variety of filters.  Through Google AdWords, research and reporting you can consolidate the process into a centralized location. This will make the process easier which will result in a higher click through rate and a successful ad campaign.

How to Increase Click Through Rate

Click through rate is one of the gauges that test how digital marketing campaigns are performing. The steps of a successful campaign have been outlined but how do you increase your CTR once you have implemented SEO and keywords?

Well, there are many answers but not a cookie-cutter solution. Digital marketing is evolving at a rapid pace. This means business owners must adapt as they approach business marketing. To market a business in the fast paced landscape, digital marketing is one of the main avenues to promote business and increase the exposure. For example,  there is a large push for mobile advertising. Studies have shown that mobile advertising in and outside of applications, is becoming more and more successful. The reach is greater and the CTR is outperforming desktop click through. As a result, business owners must adapt in order to advertise effectively.

Due to these changes, many business owners are achieving success through digital marketing and increasing advertisement CTR’s. Here are the top three recommendations that will help increase the click through rate:

  1. Quality of Text. Consumers are searching for answers to their questions. The text must answer those questions. Include a call to action and use meta descriptions to help boost advertisements.
  2. Links. Using reputable links will increase the reputation and credibility of the advertisement and overall site.
  3. Design and Architecture. Use a simple and clear ad and page design with basic URL’s that incorporate the researched keywords. Also within URL’s do not include exclamations points or numbers.

In summary, the click through rate (CTR) is an important metric within digital marketing. Well researched and thought out pay per click or organic advertising is key to a successful advertisement.  CTR will gauge the success of the advertisement when marketing a business.

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