Asia leads world in click-through rates

Between January 2006 and July 2007, DoubleClick ads served in China recorded a 0.48 per cent CTR - that is, the number of times an ad was clicked on divided by the number of impressions served. That was almost double the rate observed in Hong Kong and Singapore (both 0.27 per cent), and more than triple the rate seen in the US.

Malaysia was second on the list, with a 0.40 per cent CTR. Rick Bruner, DoubleClick's New York-based director of research and industry relations, said the higher rates in Asia were likely due to the markets' immaturity and the novelty value of interactive ads in the region.

Also, more sophisticated brand advertisers in the US are less focused on CTR, instead preferring other methods such as surveys for measuring advertising effectiveness. "Click-through rate is easy for us to report on, however in the more mature markets, it's less and less seen as the most important metric. It's more of a beginner's metric," said Bruner.

Bruner predicted the CTR would come down in Asia over time - as they have in the US - but marketers should take advantage while they still can. "Get in while the getting's good, because the click-through rate is higher than it is in other markets."