View-through rate facts for kids

A view-through rate (VTR) helps companies understand how many people saw an online ad and then later visited the company's website or did something else, even if they didn't click the ad right away. It's like seeing a commercial on TV and then going to the store later to buy that product. This measurement helps businesses know if their ads are working.

What is View-Through Rate?

The view-through rate (VTR) is a way to measure how effective online ads are. It counts how many times someone saw an ad on a website and then, at a later time, visited the advertiser's website or completed an action there. This action could be looking at products, signing up for something, or even making a purchase.

How is it Different from Clicks?

You might have heard of a "click-through rate" (CTR). That measures how many people clicked on an ad immediately after seeing it. VTR is different because it looks at what people do after seeing an ad, even if they didn't click it. For example, someone might see an ad for a new video game, not click it, but then remember it later and type the game's website address directly into their browser. VTR helps track these kinds of delayed responses.

Why is it Important?

Many websites use ads to earn money. Companies want to know if their ads are actually helping them get more customers or sell more products. VTR gives them a fuller picture than just clicks. It shows that even if an ad isn't clicked, it can still influence people to visit a website or buy something later. This helps businesses decide where to spend their advertising money.

How Companies Measure It

When you see an ad online, a small piece of information, called a "cookie," can be saved on your computer or device. This cookie helps the advertising company remember that you saw that ad. If you later visit the advertiser's website, the cookie can help connect your visit back to the ad you saw. Companies usually set a "lookback window," which is a period (like 30 to 90 days) during which they track if you visit their site after seeing an ad.

Challenges in Measurement

Measuring how well ads work can be tricky.

• Clicks are not the whole story: For a long time, companies mainly looked at how many people clicked on ads. But many people see an ad, don't click, but still remember it and visit the website later. So, just counting clicks doesn't show the full impact of an ad.
• Making sure it's fair: Sometimes, it can be hard to know for sure if a website visit happened because someone saw an ad, or if they would have visited anyway. Some less honest advertising companies tried to make it seem like their ads were more effective than they were. They might have placed many ads in places where people were unlikely to see them, just to "drop cookies" on many computers. This made it look like their ads led to more website visits. To avoid this, companies now use special tools and careful planning to make sure their measurements are accurate and fair. They want to know the true impact of their ads.

Related Ideas

Here are some other terms you might hear when talking about online advertising:

• Banner Ad - A common type of online advertisement, often a rectangular image.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR) - Measures how many people click on an ad compared to how many saw it.
• Cost Per Mille (CPM) - The cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views (impressions) of an advertisement.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) - An advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
• Web analytics - Tools and methods used to measure and analyze website data, like how many visitors a site gets.