Which metric is often inflated by clickbait tactics?

Click-through rates (CTR) are a key metric that can be significantly affected by clickbait tactics. Clickbait refers to sensationalized or misleading headlines and thumbnails designed to entice users to click on content, regardless of its actual value or relevance. When publishers use clickbait, they can attract a high number of clicks because the headlines are intriguing, but often the content does not deliver on the promises made. This can lead to inflated click-through rates, indicating high engagement when the actual viewer retention and satisfaction may be low.

In this context, a high click-through rate may not reflect genuine interest or quality content, but rather the effectiveness of the baiting strategies employed to attract attention. This distortion highlights the challenges of interpreting engagement metrics that can be artificially boosted by such tactics.