SMS click-through rate: how to calculate, analyze and optimize CTR

How effective are your SMS messages? Ask yourself or your marketer this question more often to make your business perform better.

Analysis, forecasting and constant optimization are the three pillars on which any marketing campaign rests, especially based on SMS messages. While this communication channel has a high engagement rate and an open rate of nearly 90%, tracking key metrics such as click through rate, conversion rate, and bounce rate is business critical.

Today we will talk about CTR: what should be the SMS click-through rate, how to calculate it and make your messages sell. Let's get started! ?

What is SMS Click-Through Rate? (CTR)

A few numbers first. According to some SMS software companies, SMS CTRs range from 19% to 36%, and sometimes as high as 46%. From a marketing standpoint, these are very good percentages that really affect the profitability of a business. But what do they mean and why are they so important?

Click-through rate, or CTR, is a metric that measures the percentage of clicks to a hyperlink in an SMS after reading a message. Recall that in SMS messaging it is possible to attach a URL that will redirect the user to the website, landing page and other web pages of the company. It looks this way:

In fact, CTR is an indicator of how competently you made up an advertising offer, whether you were able to interest the client and involve him in the sales process. Click-through rate analysis gives a good idea of the shortcomings and errors of the mailing list. After all, CTR in SMS affects your website traffic.

CTR formula for measuring average SMS click-through rate

Every business strives to see a good click-through rate on SMS messaging. But the truth is that determining the percentage of the ideal CTR is almost impossible. For one company, a satisfactory result is 15%, for another - 30%. Mostly the click-through rate depends on the goals of a particular company. And it may differ depending on the industry.

A low CTR doesn't mean that the messaging has failed. In the case of individual companies, one conversion click is enough to cover the costs and meet the requirements of an SMS marketing campaign. Most often, this works for large corporations offering unique products that are not available to a wide range of consumers.

For local businesses, successful messaging is one that has an SMS click-through rate of 15% or more. Renowned marketer Augustine Fu says companies should focus on their own organic click-through rate first.

The CTR is expressed as an impression-click ratio. For example, if your brand's messaging reaches 10,000 recipients and 2,000 of them click on the hyperlink, the SMS CTR will be 20%.

It is now possible to determine the click-through rate by SMS automatically. Few SMS providers provide access to this kind of statistics. However, you can also use URL shortening services that track actions on reformatted links.

Another way to monitor data about hyperlinks in SMS and do analysis is to connect the company's website to Google Analytics. This software has link filters to track conversions from SMS.

Three Strategies to Increase Click-Through Rates in SMS Messaging

Let's compare two commercial messages:

Example 1.

"Hi, [recipient's name]! We would like to inform you that a flash sale is taking place in our store now! Get 30% off your purchase with promo code FLASH30 at checkout. Hurry! Offer valid for 24 hours only! Go to the shopping site [URL]".

Example 2.

“Sale at [store name]! Get 10% off your purchase right now. Go to [insert URL] to make your purchase".

According to the statistics, only the first message can achieve a high click-through rate on SMS. While the second email is short and contains only essential information, it lacks several important elements that encourage the recipient to click on the hyperlink.

Below are three ways to increase your SMS click-through rate. These methods work successfully in any business area, so you can safely use them in messaging.

Client ≠ faceless subscriber: personalize your messages

Remember, your customer is not just a phone number that needs to receive a promotional notification. This is a living person with a certain character and behavior, entering into a business relationship with you at one stage or another.

The trigger of the modern consumer is your attitude towards him. Each customer wants to feel special and unique. If the mass SMS messaging really does make you feel like it's massive, it might not perform well.

To achieve the effect of personalization in messages:

• use the fields for names, surnames of people and company names to which you send SMS;
• collect data about customers;
• segment your target audience.

With Decision Telecom RCS service, companies can interact with customers in an improved format. This A2P messaging protocol has many options including a personalized preview.

Encourage your customer to take action with a CTA

A CTA (call to action) in marketing is a timeless way to motivate a customer to buy, order, call, or take another action, depending on the purpose of the messaging. In the text, these are the phrases: “Buy with a 20% discount”, “Get free delivery”, etc.

In the second example of the message, this element is completely absent, therefore, after reading the SMS, the addressee will most likely perceive it as informing. The main condition for using CTA is that the call should not only be bright and catchy but also correspond to the content of the link to which the subscriber will go.

Use corporate identity and branded elements

Most often, users do not want to click on hyperlinks in a message when they do not trust the sender. They are afraid that the link will lead to a phishing resource or infect the device with viruses. To prevent this attitude of customers, think about brand awareness in advance.

First, use the sender's unique alpha name. If for some reason you are unable to do so, please include the company name in the message. Second, use paid link shortening services where you can create branded links. Unknown URLs scare users away and lower SMS click-through rates.

Summing up

SMS-messaging, like any other type of promotion of services and products, is effective only when the business constantly monitors and periodically evaluates the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. This will help save money, time and nerves.

SMS click-through rate is one of the key indicators in this case, which determines how effective your messaging is. However, a high CTR is not always what businesses need to strive for. First of all, focus on the market segment you belong to, study the performance of competitors, and clearly formulate the goals and objectives of the SMS marketing campaign.

In the end, you or your marketing team can determine a satisfactory CTR for your business on your own. And so that the click-through rate does not disappoint, use our tips on customer engagement.