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What Is CTR in Email?
The click-through rate is a critical metric for measuring a small business's email marketing success.
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When starting a new email marketing campaign, you’ll want to track and monitor specific metrics, including your email open rate, unsubscribe rate, bounce rate and more. These metrics provide valuable information on your subscribers and help determine whether your content resonates with them.
One of the most important engagement metrics is the click-through rate (CTR), which measures how many recipients interact with links in your email. We’ll explain what CTR means in email marketing, how to calculate it, and key strategies to improve it and create more effective campaigns.
What is email CTR?
Email CTR measures how many subscribers clicked at least one link, button or image in a particular email.
“CTR is the heartbeat of your email campaigns,” said Amber Gaige, chief marketing advisor at Far Beyond Marketing. “It tells you if your audience is nodding along or snoozing. High CTR means your email doesn’t just sit in the inbox — it’s engaging, leading readers to take action.”
According to the GetResponse 2024 Email Marketing Benchmarks report, the average CTR across all industries is 3.25 percent. However, what’s considered a good CTR varies. Consider the following examples of average CTRs by industry:
- Technology: 7.4 percent
- Financial services: 5.34 percent
- Real estate: 3.51 percent
- Education: 3.17 percent
- Travel: 2.52 percent
- Restaurants: 2.44 percent
- Health and beauty: 2.14 percent
CTR also varies by email type. For example, the average CTR for email newsletters is 3.84 percent, while triggered emails have a higher average of 5.02 percent.
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How do you calculate your email CTR?
Here is the formula you’ll use to calculate your email CTR:
Total number of clicks ÷ Total delivered emails x 100 = CTR
So, if you sent an email to 200 subscribers and 25 of them clicked a link, your CTR is 12.5 percent.
Why is CTR important?
CTR is important because it signals how well your email motivates subscribers to take a desired action, such as following you on social media, visiting your website, signing up for an email newsletter, or buying a product or service — depending on the part of the sales funnel you’re targeting. When subscribers click a link, it means your call to action (CTA) was effective.
“Click-through rates are an important action that signals intent from your audience that they are interested in proceeding with an action you are encouraging them to take,” said Naomi West, senior product marketing manager at Customer.io. “They can range in nature, from a newsletter’s ‘Let us know if you enjoy this newsletter by clicking on this happy face or sad face emoji’ to an e-commerce brand’s ‘Shop Now’ to a SaaS [software as a service] app’s ‘Try new feature’ call to action.”
A good CTR indicates that you’re engaging your email subscribers effectively and that your content is relevant to your audience. By contrast, a low CTR suggests you’ve missed the mark due to poor timing, ineffective copy or another problem.
“If you see a high percentage of your audience engaging with your email’s CTA, it tells us that you’ve done your part in encouraging interest, and now it’s up to your app or website to take them across the finish line,” West said.
How can email CTR be improved?
Every business can strive to improve its email CTR. The higher this number is, the more engaged your subscribers are. Consider the following best practices for improving your email CTR.
Improve your email open rates.
Boosting your email open rate can help you raise your CTR because these metrics go hand in hand. After all, if you can’t get your subscribers to open your emails, they won’t click any links.
The following tactics can help you improve your open rates:
- Modify the sender name. Instead of using your company name as the sender, try using a specific individual’s name to humanize your brand. This small change can help improve overall open rates.
- Adjust your message timing. Customers who are overwhelmed with emails may miss your message. “Segment your audience so you can send the right message at the right time — not when they’re asleep or in the middle of a hectic workday,” advised Joanna Borkowska, head of content at 6Minded.
- Use subject line best practices. A compelling subject line could improve your open rates. “Hook them with a subject line that’s short, snappy, stands out and feels like you wrote it just for them,” Borkowska recommended. “Add a preheader to give more context and a nudge.” Consider the following tips:
- Keep it brief. Long subject lines tend to get ignored and don’t work well on mobile devices. Mailchimp suggests using no more than nine words or 60 characters.
- Don’t ask questions. Subject lines that end with a question mark tend to have lower open rates.
- Limit emoji. Use emoji sparingly and only if they fit your brand.
- Don’t use all capital letters. Subject lines in all caps or with spammy-looking characters can trigger spam filters.
- Make it timely and specific. A clear, relevant subject line increases the likelihood that your email will be opened.
Optimize your emails for mobile.
Nowadays, both business users and consumers routinely open emails on smartphones. If your emails aren’t optimized for mobile, your CTR will likely suffer. Like responsive web design, responsive email design is crucial today.
“Mobile is basically our third hand — tap, swipe, repeat, faster than we think,” Borkowska said. “If your email lags or looks messy on a phone, forget about clicks. Responsive design? Non-negotiable. Keep the layout clean, text easy to read, and make your CTA a big, tappable button that stands out. And test on all devices — don’t let glitches steal your clicks.”
West emphasized the importance of creating content that users can access wherever they are. “[Every] year, engagement on mobile devices increases, and individuals are scrolling, reading emails and integrating the mobile experience in their lives at greater levels than before,” West explained. “You can rest assured that when you take into account what your email is going to look like on a mobile phone and make adjustments to make that experience as good as possible, your subscribers will rejoice!”
Make your emails scannable.
Most people don’t read every single word in online articles, blog posts and emails. Instead, they scan for the most relevant information. That’s why it’s crucial to make your emails easily scannable by using short sentences, ample white space, bullet points and limited content. Here’s why:
- Scannable emails engage users. Engagement is the goal of any email marketing campaign, and scannable messages help grab attention. “Nobody’s sitting down with a coffee to read a novel in their inbox,” Gaige noted. “Headers, bullet points and short paragraphs keep readers engaged.”
- Scannable emails promote your CTA. A clear, easy-to-read email makes it easier for readers to find and follow your CTA. “Out of sight, out of mind — and out of clicks,” Borkowska cautioned. “Making your CTAs easy to find makes them easy to tap.”
Stick with one CTA per email.
Brands may have multiple products or services to promote and, as such, may be tempted to include numerous links in their emails. However, emails with too many links can overwhelm subscribers. When people are presented with too many choices, they may experience decision fatigue — causing recipients to take no action at all.
Instead, concentrate on one clear, well-designed CTA. “Focusing on one singular call to action can keep your subscriber focused on one key action you need them to take,” West said. “By reducing the number of things your subscriber needs to take awareness of, you ultimately strengthen your core message.”
West also stressed the importance of a well-designed CTA. “Short, concise and clear CTAs allow an email to be quickly digested by one’s audience,” West said. “If they span over multiple lines or lack key details for what action is being driven, they may confuse subscribers and result in lack of engagement.”
Use a button instead of a link for your CTA.
Consider using an HTML button instead of a hyperlink for your CTA. “We’re scanners, not readers,” Borkowska said. “Swamped with online noise, our eyes skip most of it — which means links often get lost in the shuffle. But a button? It’s a specific, distinguished, visual cue that grabs attention and breaks the pattern, making us more likely to stop, reflect and take action.”
If you opt for a button, ensure it’s “bulletproof” — meaning it’s coded directly into your email rather than being an image. Bulletproof buttons display even if a recipient has turned off images in their email settings. Most email marketing software includes tools to create bulletproof buttons that look great on all devices.
West noted that buttons may not work for every business and advised testing different CTA styles to see what resonates best. “One might assume that a button drives higher engagement due to its more eye-catching nature, but ultimately, engagement and design choices will vary from audience to audience,” West explained.
Personalize your emails.
Email personalization can boost engagement significantly, but it must be approached thoughtfully. Personalization goes beyond using the subscriber’s first name. It’s about delivering timely, relevant offers to your audience based on their interests and position in the customer journey.
Relevance is key. According to the GetResponse report cited earlier, personalized emails increase open rates substantially but don’t necessarily improve CTRs. This finding highlights the importance of matching users’ needs to your offerings, rather than relying solely on automation. People can see through generic, automated personalization, so relevance must be the priority.
“Personalized, timely emails will forever outperform batch-and-blast approaches,” West said. “When you take time to include customer information, you can not only time emails better, but you can appeal to the exact position of the user journey. This, in turn, results in a stronger relationship with the customer via their increased engagement.”
One of the best ways to use personalization to increase your CTR is to create dynamic offers — customized promotions based on a subscriber’s demographics, interests and stage in the customer journey.
For example, say you run an e-commerce store that sells athletic gear. A dynamic offer might promote running shoes to subscribers who have previously browsed running gear while showcasing yoga mats and apparel to those who have shown interest in yoga-related products. Each recipient receives content tailored to their specific interests.
Utilize A/B testing.
A/B testing removes the guesswork from your email marketing and helps you determine which elements resonate with recipients and which ones fall flat. Understanding what isn’t working can point you in the right direction and improve your CTR.
“You won’t understand your audience’s preferences until they give you the data that you need to make these informed decisions,” West said.
Borkowska agreed that A/B testing helps you influence subscribers with relevant content, which ultimately improves your CTR.
“Does it make sense to place the CTA at the beginning of your email, or would it be more effective to develop your argument first before prompting action?” Borkowska said. “Visuals can also influence responses, potentially making your content more or less engaging, which, in turn, affects clicks. The CTA itself might benefit from A/B testing so you can learn which message is more powerful and appeals to your audience more.”
West recommended testing the following elements to improve your email CTR:
- Email subject line
- Email content
- Images versus no images
- CTA design and placement
- Buttons versus hyperlinks
- Time of sending
- Content design
Strategize to boost your CTR
By understanding and improving your email CTR, you can improve your email marketing campaigns and reach your goals. Tracking this metric helps you gauge audience engagement and evaluate the effectiveness of your content and CTAs. Strategies such as optimizing emails for mobile, personalizing content, using clear and focused CTAs, and conducting A/B testing can significantly boost CTR.
Achieving a high CTR may require time and experimentation, but the insights you gain will empower you to create targeted campaigns to drive your desired results.
Jamie Johnson contributed to this article.
