PusharooPush notification click-through rate (CTR), explained
CTR is the number most people use to judge a push campaign — and the one most often calculated inconsistently. Here’s how to measure it honestly and move it.
- CTR = clicks ÷ notifications sent (or ÷ delivered — say which).
- Published benchmarks vary widely because vendors measure differently; compare against your own history.
- Specific copy, good timing and segmentation move CTR far more than design tweaks.
- A rising CTR with a shrinking list can hide a problem — watch unsubscribes too.
How to calculate it
The simplest definition is clicks ÷ sent. Some tools divide by delivered (accepted by the push service) or by displayed (shown on screen), which produces higher numbers from the same campaign. Neither is wrong; the mistake is comparing a “per displayed” number from one tool with a “per sent” number from another.
| Metric | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CTR (sent) | clicks ÷ sent | Most conservative, easiest to compare over time |
| CTR (delivered) | clicks ÷ (sent − expired/failed) | Removes dead subscriptions from the base |
| CTR (displayed) | clicks ÷ shown on screen | Needs a display event from the service worker |
Pusharoo reports sent, expired and clicked for every campaign and automation, so you can compute both of the first two.
Why benchmarks disagree
Vendor reports use different denominators, different industries and often a mix of app and web push. As one dated example, Gravitec’s pricing FAQ (read Nov 12, 2026) describes its observed averages as delivered 80–95% of sent, seen 30–60% of delivered and opened 1–15% of seen — a range so wide it shows how much audience and content matter. Use outside numbers as context only. Your best benchmark is your own last 10 campaigns.
10 ways to raise CTR
- Make the title specific — a product, number or deadline (copywriting).
- Send fewer, better notifications; fatigue drags every campaign down (frequency).
- Send at the right local time (timing).
- Segment: recent visitors click more than dormant ones (segments).
- Link to the exact page promised, and make it load fast on mobile.
- Use a recognisable icon — your logo, not a generic bell.
- Add an image where it’s supported (rich push).
- Avoid repeating the same offer; novelty matters.
- Re-test your prompt: subscribers who opted in for a clear reason click more.
- Clean dead subscriptions so the base reflects real people (automatic in Pusharoo).
The CTR trap
CTR can rise for the wrong reasons. If you send less to dormant subscribers, CTR goes up — great. If people are unsubscribing in droves, CTR may also go up because only the most loyal remain. Track three numbers together: list size, CTR and expired/unsubscribed per campaign.
Use A/B tests to raise CTR
Benchmarks vary too much to be useful; your own tests don’t. Pusharoo’s “test on a slice, then send the winner” sends variants A and B to 10–50% of the audience, waits, and sends the higher-CTR variant to everyone else. Test titles first — they carry most of the weight — then images and buttons.
Do buttons raise CTR?
Action buttons add a second click target on Chrome, Edge and Android; button clicks are counted separately. They help when the two actions are genuinely different (“Track order” vs. “Contact support”), and add clutter when they repeat the main link.
Beyond the click
A click is a visit, not a result. Tag every link with UTM parameters and look at what happens next in your analytics — pages per visit, sign-ups, revenue. A campaign with lower CTR that brings buyers beats one with a high CTR that bounces. See push notification analytics.
Questions
What is a good click-through rate for web push?
It depends on audience, content and how CTR is calculated. Compare against your own recent campaigns using the same formula rather than a vendor’s headline number.
Why is my push CTR dropping?
Common causes are higher frequency, less specific copy, sending at worse times, or a growing share of dormant subscribers. Check each in turn.
Does Pusharoo track clicks?
Yes. Every campaign and automation step shows targeted, delivered, expired, clicks and CTR (button clicks counted separately), and a signed webhook can notify your server of each click.
Does CTR differ by browser?
Yes. Mobile often shows higher CTR than desktop, and platforms show notifications differently; compare like with like.
What’s the fastest way to raise CTR?
Send fewer, more targeted messages to segments that asked for them, with a specific title.
Keep reading
Push notification analytics that actually answer questions
Campaign stats, UTM tags, browser events and click webhooks — and the handful of metrics worth watching.
Push notification copywriting: 12 rules that earn the tap
Twelve practical rules with before-and-after rewrites: specificity, verbs, honest urgency, tone and testing.
Push notification opt-in rate: measure it, then raise it
How to measure opt-in at each step, why Chrome may quiet your prompt, and ways to raise sign-ups.
Push notification deliverability: what really affects delivery
Expired subscriptions, TTL, offline devices, Focus modes and worker errors — and how to fix each.
More in Growth: The push opt-in prompt, done right · Push notifications for online stores · How to get more push notification subscribers · Switching web push providers: a practical migration plan · Win-back push notifications that bring people back · Push notifications vs. pop-ups · All guides
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