View-through Rate (VTR) is a metric in digital marketing that measures the effectiveness of video ads. It represents the percentage of users who watch a video ad entirely or up to a certain point without skipping.
What is VTR?
VTR, short for View-through Rate, is a metric that indicates the effectiveness of digital marketing strategies by measuring the percentage of viewers who watch a video ad from start to finish. This measurement helps assess the effectiveness of the related ads.
In video advertising, performance metrics typically include views and impressions. However, these metrics are often insufficient, as it is unclear whether the viewer saw the call to action (CTA).
Therefore, to accurately gauge the effectiveness of a video ad, VTR should also be monitored.
How Does VTR Work?
VTR applies only to ads that can be skipped by users. Non-skippable ads generally have a VTR of nearly 100%, as viewers must watch the video to reach their intended content.
However, some users may leave the page due to annoyance with the ad, which can lower the VTR. Even in such scenarios, VTR values can still be relatively high.
You can track the VTR percentage in non-skippable ads, though even then, the VTR calculation may not be entirely accurate.
Skippable ads are the most suitable type for calculating VTR. VTR reflects viewers’ insights about video ads. For instance, a low VTR percentage may indicate that viewers are losing interest in the video.
However, VTR alone does not provide all the details. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of video ad effectiveness, specific parts of the video can be measured through VTR. For example, you can check the 25%, 50%, and 75% segments of the video ad from the point where users choose to skip.
If viewers stop watching the video before seeing the CTA, you can consider adjusting the ad to move the CTA earlier in the video. Additionally, you can make the video more engaging for viewers.
All these tracking metrics are made possible by adding a few code snippets to the ad. You can also include cookies in these ads to track viewer behavior and see if they clicked through to your brand’s website.
How is VTR Calculated?
The VTR formula is as follows:
VTR = (Total Completed Views / Total Measured Impressions) x 100
For example, suppose a video ad appears on 1,000 viewers’ screens, and only 4 of those viewers find the ad useful and watch it in its entirety. So, with only 4 completed views out of 1,000 impressions, how would you calculate the VTR? Let’s use the formula to find out:
In this example, the Video Completion Rate (VTR) would be calculated as follows:
Total Completed Views: 4
Total Measured Impressions: 1,000
VTR = (4/1,000) x 100 = 0.4%
How to Improve VTR?
A higher VTR percentage does not always produce good results for every video ad. However, it’s reasonable to say that the higher the VTR, the better. The targeted percentage gives insight into whether VTR should be improved. Generally, a good average VTR is considered to be around 15%.
Even a low VTR can be sufficient for promoting a high-priced product, as just a few sales can make the production cost of the video worthwhile.
Before improving the Video Completion Rate (VTR), let’s look at the factors that can impact the video’s performance:
- Where the video ad appears (which platforms and videos)
- The demographics of the targeted viewers
- The title and thumbnail of the video
- The style, tone, and subject of the video
- The length of the video
Increasing your VTR percentage is directly related to the platform on which the video ad is published. This factor alone can indicate whether the video ad is suitable for the audience of the platform.
For example, the audience for a video ad published on YouTube is different from that of a video ad on Facebook, and there are differences in view rates between the two.
Additionally, the title and thumbnail of the video should be specially designed to attract interest. The style, tone, and subject of the video should be engaging for the target audience. Most importantly, the length of the video matters. If you have a video ad longer than 30 seconds, it may cause many viewers to lose interest. The viewer’s goal is not the video ad itself but rather the media content behind the video ad. Therefore, video lengths that do not bore the viewer should be used.
Some media research suggests that brands have an average of eight seconds to capture viewers’ attention. If interest is not captured within these eight seconds, users tend to skip the videos. Thus, the first few seconds of the video are crucial.
What are the Advantages of Measuring VTR?
The advantages of measuring VTR (Video Completion Rate) include:
- Measuring Ad Effectiveness: VTR is used to measure how engaging and effective a video ad is for viewers. It shows whether the ad was watched to completion, indicating how well the video retained the viewer’s attention.
- Understanding Viewer Behavior: VTR allows you to see at what point viewers are leaving the video. This information helps identify which parts of the video content are less engaging.
- Improving Ad Strategy: VTR helps optimize the ad strategy based on factors such as video length, where it appears, and its style and tone. A low VTR may indicate that changes are needed in these areas.
