click through

Pricing model for Internet banner advertising where the advertiser pays the owner of the Web site displaying the banner advertisement every time a customer clicks through the advertisement, regardless of whether the customer goes on to make a purchase. The payment per click through is higher than the CPM (cost per mille) rate, reflecting the higher level of risk to the Web site displaying the advertisement.

There is an inherent problem with this model for the company displaying the banner advertisements on their Web site. Regardless of whether surfers click through the banner, the advertisement is still being displayed. Advertisers have used this to their advantage by gearing their banner advertisements to brand awareness campaigns instead of using them to generate sales directly.