View-through rate, or VTR, is a metric used to evaluate the success of an advertisement by calculating the ratio of views to impressions. It is commonly used to measure the effectiveness of online video ads but can also be applied to other types of ads, such as display ads. It's important to note that VTR is not to be confused with CTR (click-through rate), which measures the clicks the ad received.
VTR is calculated by dividing the number of times an ad was viewed by the number of times the ad was shown (also known as impressions). The formula for VTR is:
VTR = (Number of views / Number of impressions) x 100
For example, if an ad was shown 100 times and viewed 20 times, the VTR would be: (20 / 100) x 100 = 20%
It is important to note that VTR is counting the views after the ad was shown. It doesn't mean that a view-through is equivalent to a conversion, as users may see the ad but not interact or convert.
One of the main reasons VTR is important is that it can provide valuable insight into how engaging your ad is to your target audience. A high VTR suggests that the ad was relevant and interesting to the people who saw it, while a low VTR indicates that the ad was not as engaging. Marketers can use this information to adjust the ad, such as changing the messaging or the targeting, to improve its performance.
Another beneficial aspect of VTR is that it measures the impact of an ad even if the viewer doesn't click on it. While CTR is a widely used metric for determining the success of an ad campaign, it only measures the number of times the ad was clicked on. However, VTR considers the number of times the ad was viewed, which provides a more complete picture of the ad's performance.
Furthermore, VTR can also be used to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for an ad campaign. By measuring how many people viewed the ad, VTR can be used to estimate how many potential customers the ad reached, which can then be used to calculate how much revenue was generated by the ad. In other words, while CTR only tells you how many people clicked on the ad, VTR tells you how many people engaged with it, which sometimes can be a better indicator of the ad's effectiveness.
