Click-Through Rate (CTR) Statistics in Bulk SMS Campaigns

Written on Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A few weeks ago TextBoard included click tracking capabilities within mobile terminated marketing messages and since then we've compiled some VERY interesting data on its effectiveness. We are currently seeing an average 19.3% click-through rate on all text messages sent.

Click tracking was included in TextBoard after our integration with the bit.ly API was complete. This API integration allowed marketers sending messages to quickly create tiny URLs through the bit.ly shortening service.

Bit.ly offers an incredible URL shortening tool that goes beyond just creating short, easy- to-read URLs. The tracking capabilities are very detailed, and it only made sense to pull into TextBoard data that already existed on bit.ly’s end.

So that’s exactly what we did, not knowing what results to expect. A few of the pessimists assumed not many mobile subscribers were clicking links within text messages and that any data returned would be minimal.

They were wrong, very wrong, and the rest of us were very surprised.

Click-Rate Statistics from Bulk SMS Campaigns

Within 2 weeks of running click tracking services for text messages, TextBoard was able to compile data about link activity. The statistics rival even some email marketing campaigns.

• Average 19.3% click-through rate for text messages containing URLs.
• Links are clicked, on average, 45 seconds after being sent.

This data is clearly statistically significant and just about knocked our socks off! Even something as simple as the click rate says a lot about your subscribers’ abilities. Asking a mobile subscriber to click a link within a text message is asking a lot. Some may not have a phone capable of running a web browser, and others who have smart phones like the iPhone or Android may not have data plans.

But with such a high average click-through rate, and the data to support it, it’s obvious that more subscribers are able to view online content on their phones than ever before. There is no time better than now for advertisers to take advantage of this.

Why is this data so important and why should you care?

With click tracking you’re able to learn more about the subscribers to your texting campaigns. Viewing and segmenting those that did or didn’t click a specific URL allows marketers to provide more relevant follow-up text messages.

A good click through rate is a solid measure of your campaign success; more clicks typically means your message was of value, and the subscriber wanted to read more.

Messages sent via SMS are short, simple, and do not provide the advertiser information about the subscribers other than their numbers and carriers. But with breakthroughs such as this, advertisers can optimize data about subscribers and their preferences. Click tracking helps to further segment a subscriber list because the advertiser, knowing the click habits of its audience, can return content best suited to each person. And because you’re now driving the subscribers to a mobile site, even more data about their actions can be obtained.

Installing Google Analytics for site tracking allows you to learn specifically what devices are being used to access content, online and offline. Click tracking allows advertisers to follow users from start (text messages sent) to finish (product or service purchased) and measure ROI of the SMS campaign. With proper funnel tracking in place, you can even learn about any areas of a conversion process that need to be improved.

We expect this to be a growing trend, obviously. As more and more smart phones and web-enabled texting devices enter the market, the participation rate of online content via SMS will increase as well.

Posted in mobile services, sms marketing, text marketing |