A view-through rate (VTR), measures the number of post-impression response or viewthrough from display media impressions viewed during and following an online advertising campaign.
[1] Also, viewthroughs lack a specific predetermined landing page since the visit can come through a direct type-in or via another click-based digital marketing channel, e.g. search, email or social media.
[2] Historically, the digital advertising business has relied on the easy to measure click-through rate (CTR) typically provided by the ad server.
It has become a popular means to determine the success of display media but often underestimates brand impact, suffers from significant biases and can often be manipulated through fraud.
A study done by online tracking and audience measurement firm Quantcast showed that there was no correlation between those who clicked on an ad and those who purchased down the line through a view-through conversion.