How Much Should I Care About My CTR?
Why I Care About CTR
Of metrics, and I have a very “meh”, relationship with them- I do think click-through-rate, or CTR, is one of the most helpful.
It can give you insight into:
Did the messaging & presentation do enough to get the people who saw it to take the desired action?
Did I get my marketing/advertising in front of the right people?
But, you only get these insights if you’ve got solid benchmarks to work with.
Recent benchmarks. From relevant samples. Of a statistically responsible size.
Let’s get into it.
What is CTR?
What it means, real quick: the click-through-rate, or CTR, is the percentage of people who saw your request who took the action you asked them to.
For example:
The number of clicks your Google Ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown
Clicks divided by impressions from a boosted social media post
The percentage of recipients who clicked on one or more links in an email* campaign
Or the percentage of people who saw a link in a Facebook or LinkedIn post or Instagram Story, etc. who clicked on it
But CTR gets granular. If you run a boosted post to get people to your group coaching sales page:
The people who made it to your sales page would be one CTR that you’d have to run against social media advertising CTR benchmarks specific to the platform you were advertising on
The percentage of people who made it to the sales page who clicked “add to cart” or “check out” would be another CTR with another benchmark specific to your field
Then the people who clicked on “add to cart” or “checkout” who actually bought would be another CTR with another benchmark
As I hope this illustrates, calculating CTR gets real complicated.
Plus, benchmarks are constantly changing. Not to mention using benchmarks from sources that have statistically responsible sample sizes that are also recent and relevant. Not to mention whether you have a statistically responsible sample size of your own marketing and advertising to justify getting worried about your CTR.
Especially considering most types of digital marketing campaigns take months and months before there is enough data and enough content to get metrics that really mean anything. (Remember, 6-12 months is how long it typically takes for your marketing efforts to truly bear fruit!)
Honestly, this is why I advise my small business, new business, and solopreneur peeps not to freak out too much about the metrics. Especially if looking at them causes anxiety and impedes your ability to actually keep marketing your work until it has a chance to actually well, work.
Why I Don’t Care About CTR
Here’s why I DON’T put much worry into CTR as a small business owner myself.
My email open rate is consistently high. My CTR isn't... until about email #3 in a launch.
I think that's when my aligned clients are like, "Yes! I want this. I've been thinking about it, and I trust that this is a good investment."
I'm cool with that.
Take your time, I'm not in a hurry- and I am not into pressuring or coercing anyone into a decision about what to do with their money. It's only an aligned sale for me if it's an enthusiastic "YES" from the client (and from me).
But, if I were to take the "numbers only" marketing approach I was initially trained in- I'd be freaking out and trying to get my CTR up. Totally missing the context that actually- it's 100% OK for my clients to have this as their process and speed.
Benchmarks Are Helpful Sometimes. But Not Always.
Sometimes they can make you try to fix what isn't broke.
Numbers mean nothing without context.
And they are So. Often. taken out of context.
Your feelings matter more.
Do you believe in your offer?
Are you confident you can help the people you want to help?
Do you love what you do?
Do you know how to explain the value you’re offering in a way that sounds amazing to your people?
Do you know who your people are?
For my brilliant, independent, creatives, healers, & small business rebels- the answers to these questions often matter a whole lot more to your marketing results than your CTR.
Want the emotional clarity that makes for truly irresistible marketing? Let me hype you up.
*Sponsored link.
