Click through rate is a metric used to measure how many viewers clicked an advertisement and then viewed your site. The click through rate is used to measure the relevance of a paid advertisement. This is done by measuring the number of clicks upon an advertisement and measuring it against the total number of impressions, or total number of views. A high click through rate or CTR means that the paid ad is relevant to users whereas a low CTR means that the ad may not be relevant to users (Mackey, 2019). Click Through Rate is generally displayed as a percentage.
Click through rate helps marketers to understand which ads and what language is resonating the most with consumers. Beyond that, however, a higher CTR has other benefits to a brand's digital presence. "CTR is not just an indication of how relevant your ads are to searchers. CTR also contributes to your Ad Rank in the search engines...That’s right – PPC isn’t a pure auction. The top position doesn’t go to the highest bidder. It goes to the advertiser with the highest Ad Rank. And CTR is a huge factor in the Ad Rank formula" (Mackey, 2019). Click through rate impacts how a brand interacts with search engines. A higher CTR can impact how frequently an ad is shown, and also the cost per click. Additionally, organic search positions will improve as a result of a higher click through rate (Kim, 2018).
However, there are some marketers who don't believe CTR is a key performance indicator. One marketer argues that click through rates can help marketers to identify its most and least successful messaging, but that there are too many uncontrolled variables for the data to be completely reliable. "CTR can still be effective as a diagnostic tool for identifying more appealing ad copy or to understand when an ad has become more or less attractive relative to the ads it’s competing against over time. That said, it’s not a key performance indicator (KPI) advertisers should be chasing" (Taylor, 2018).
Overall, the click through rate can be a helpful tool for brands and marketers. The CTR can clue marketers in on when they are effectively reaching their target market, and when they are not. While some marketers may argue that the data can be somewhat unreliable, it still holds value.
References:
Click through rate helps marketers to understand which ads and what language is resonating the most with consumers. Beyond that, however, a higher CTR has other benefits to a brand's digital presence. "CTR is not just an indication of how relevant your ads are to searchers. CTR also contributes to your Ad Rank in the search engines...That’s right – PPC isn’t a pure auction. The top position doesn’t go to the highest bidder. It goes to the advertiser with the highest Ad Rank. And CTR is a huge factor in the Ad Rank formula" (Mackey, 2019). Click through rate impacts how a brand interacts with search engines. A higher CTR can impact how frequently an ad is shown, and also the cost per click. Additionally, organic search positions will improve as a result of a higher click through rate (Kim, 2018).
Figure 1.
Also, click through rate has an impact on conversion rate. "Increasing your click-through rate will also increase your
conversion rates. If you can increase your CTR by 2x then your
conversion rate should increase by 50 percent" (Kim, 2018).
Figure 2.
However, there are some marketers who don't believe CTR is a key performance indicator. One marketer argues that click through rates can help marketers to identify its most and least successful messaging, but that there are too many uncontrolled variables for the data to be completely reliable. "CTR can still be effective as a diagnostic tool for identifying more appealing ad copy or to understand when an ad has become more or less attractive relative to the ads it’s competing against over time. That said, it’s not a key performance indicator (KPI) advertisers should be chasing" (Taylor, 2018).
Overall, the click through rate can be a helpful tool for brands and marketers. The CTR can clue marketers in on when they are effectively reaching their target market, and when they are not. While some marketers may argue that the data can be somewhat unreliable, it still holds value.
References:
Figure 1. Retrieved from https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/09/26/high-ctr-benefits
Figure 2. Retrieved from https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/09/26/high-ctr-benefits
Kim, L. (2018,
July 9). 5 Surprising Benefits of a Super-High CTR. Retrieved from
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/09/26/high-ctr-benefits.
Mackey, M. (2019,
March 25). What Is Click-Through Rate & Why CTR Is Important. Retrieved
from
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ppc-guide/click-through-rate-ctr/#close.
Taylor, A. (2018,
September 17). Google is right; click-through and conversion rates kinda don't
matter. Retrieved from https://searchengineland.com/google-is-right-click-through-and-conversion-rates-kinda-dont-matter-305329.
Hey Katherine, I really like the background photo you've used for your blog. I also think the graphs you used in this post do a great job at emphasizing your key points.
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