When you’re running email marketing campaigns, there are certain metrics you need to keep an eye on. Monitoring and analyzing these metrics will help you understand your campaign’s performance. That way, you gain insights into what’s working well, what needs improvement, and whether your campaign has been successful.
The click-through rate is one of these metrics that you simply cannot overlook in your email marketing campaigns. In this guide, learn how to calculate your email click-through rate and use that information to improve your email marketing efforts.
What is click-through rate (CTR)?
Click-through rate is a term that pops up a lot in different types of digital marketing. So, what does click-through rate mean in the context of email marketing?
In an email campaign, the click-through rate is the percentage of recipients who opened the email and clicked on a link. Each recipient can only count toward your CTR once, even if they go back into your message and click links again.
The CTR formula is:
Click-through rate = [Unique clicks / (Sends – Bounces)]
This formula measures your CTR as a percentage of successfully delivered messages, not the total emails sent. If your message to a recipient bounced, they won’t receive it and won’t be able to click on any links it contained.
Keep in mind that your CTR on a specific message can also change over time. Your CTR after a couple of days may be higher than it was within an hour of sending the message, so be prepared to continually check on this metric.
Sample CTR calculation
Let’s say you send 1,050 messages in your email campaign, and 50 of them bounce. After six hours, you have five unique clicks.
Using the CTR formula, your click-through rate after six hours is 5 / (1050-50) = 0.005. Your current CTR is 0.5%.
After two days, more recipients have clicked on links in your message, and you’re up to 30 unique clicks. Your new CTR is 3%.
Expect your CTR to go up over time as more recipients see and engage with your message.
Why does click-through rate matter?
Click-through rate is one of the most important metrics in any email marketing campaign because it measures engagement. Higher CTRs tell you that your emails are getting through to your subscribers and driving them to take action by clicking a link. You’re not all the way to a conversion yet, but you’re getting close with each one of those clicks.
On the other hand, low CTRs tell you that something about your email isn’t connecting with your audience. You can investigate further to see whether you need to make your call to action more compelling, adjust your subject line, or make other changes to boost engagement and raise your CTR on future messages.
What is the average email click-through rate?
When you start analyzing the CTR on your campaigns, you may not know how to interpret the number. Is it high, or is it low?
The best way to understand your own email click-through rate is to compare it to average CTRs across other campaigns. As of December 2024, the average email click-through rate across industries was 1.36%. In other words, the average email marketing campaign gets more than one link click per 100 emails successfully delivered.
For example, industries like nonprofit membership organizations, manufacturing and distribution, and technology services have shown a range above and below the average at 1.32%, 1.80%, and 1.85%, respectively. Others, like personal care services and dining and food services, have average CTRs below 1%.
What is a good click-through rate for email?
There’s no easy way to answer what a good click-through rate is for an email campaign; what might be a really strong CTR for one brand’s campaign could be a worrisome statistic for another.
Instead of weighing your campaigns’ CTRs to the average across industries, try to compare them to other campaigns in your industry. If your rate is near or above the average in your industry, your campaigns are doing very well.
You should also track your CTRs across campaigns to see if can increase your click-through rate over time. Generally, as you gain a better understanding of what your audience likes and needs, your campaigns will be more effective, leading to higher CTRs.
Elements that impact email click-through rate
Beyond your industry, lots of different factors affect your click-through rates. Consider these key elements when evaluating the CTRs on your email campaigns.
Subject line
To get them to click on a link, you need recipients to open your message first. That’s why the subject line is so important. Alongside the sender name and the preheader, the subject line is what customers use to decide whether your email is worth opening. The more compelling your subject line is, the more people will open your email and potentially click on a link within.
Number of links
The number of links you include in your message will also affect your overall CTR. Some people believe that adding more links gives the reader more options, increasing the likelihood that they will click at least one, but this may not be the case. Extra links may end up distracting the readers from what you want them to do.
Make sure every link you include is relevant and appealing to the audience. Stuffing in additional links at random probably won’t lead to higher CTRs since the readers won’t have any reason to click on them.
Don’t be afraid to use the same link more than once. Many marketing emails include the same link in two places throughout the message – it might be a hyperlink or button at the end of the page.
Visual design and link placement
You must consider where to put your links. If you hide them all the way at the bottom of your message, some recipients may miss them.
Design your email so your links stand out. A more intriguing visual design will make your email more appealing to readers. If you can draw them in with your design, you have a better chance of enticing them to click on links.
Email length
Along the same lines, the length of your email can also impact your click-through rates. Everyone is busy, and no one wants to spend their time reading long, rambling emails.
Shorter messages generally have higher engagement, including higher CTRs. Keeping your text short makes it easier for the readers to quickly find the link and click on it.
Relevance of the content
People only open and engage with marketing emails that are relevant to them. Tailoring your emails to your audience’s needs, preferences, and interests will make customers much more likely to engage with them. Every element you include, from text and images to the links themselves, should be relevant to your audience.
Look to your data to determine what your audience cares about most. Once you understand your email list subscribers, you can create more relevant messages that they will engage with.
Call to action (CTA)
The most common form of link in a marketing email is a call to action button. A CTA button is great because it stands out from the text and tells readers what to do next by clicking.
Not all CTA’s are created equal, though. Between the words used in the CTA and the design of the button, some CTAs are more compelling than others. CTA buttons that stand out visually and have more impactful text will generate more clicks than ones that blend into the rest of the message.
Your CTA doesn’t necessarily need to be a button. Use hyperlinked text throughout your message, especially in newsletters.
Mobile optimization
People use their cell phones for everything these days, including reading their emails. It’s safe to assume a significant portion of your audience will view your emails on mobile devices, so make sure to optimize your sends.
Some ways to optimize your emails for mobile devices include:
- Using small images that load quickly and limiting the number of images
- Keeping your subject lines short (no more than 35 characters) so they don’t get cut off
- Using large CTA buttons that are easy to click
- Implementing a responsive design that automatically scales your message to the user’s screen size and orientation
- Increasing the font size so it’s easy to read
Test your emails on different mobile devices and email clients before sending them to your entire contact list. If an image doesn’t load or a button isn’t easy to click on mobile, you can catch that in the testing phase before it hurts your overall campaign metrics.
Timing of your message
Believe it or not, the timing of your message can have a huge effect on your email marketing metrics, including your click-through rate.
Try to send your messages when your audience is most likely to engage with them. If your target audience is in-office professionals, that may be early morning during the work week. However, if your target audience is college students, you may be better off sending them in the evenings when they’re out of class.
Look at your engagement rate on emails sent on different days and times throughout the week to determine the best times to send future messages.
How to boost email click-through rate
There’s always room to improve your click-through rate and get more engagement on your marketing emails. Try these tips.
- Keep your emails short, sweet, and to the point.
- Include your link near the top of the email so readers don’t have to scroll to see it.
- Try including the same link in your message in two different places or forms.
- Make the images you include clickable.
- Optimize your messages for mobile devices.
A/B testing is another useful tool for boosting your click-through rate. In A/B testing, you change one detail of your message, like the color of your CTA button, and send the two versions to small groups to see which version performs better. Then, you take the “winning” version and send it out to the rest of your email list. It’s a cost-effective way to experiment with different designs and copy options.
Using tools to track your CTR
Using an email marketing tool like Constant Contact is the best way to track and analyze the click-through rate of your campaigns. Within the reporting dashboard, you can view key metrics like sends, opens, and clicks, as well as your CTR for each marketing email you send.
Constant Contact will also show you the click-through rate compared to the average in your industry and the average across all your campaigns. Dig deeper into the number of unique clicks per link in the reporting dashboard.
You’ll have all the information you need to understand and improve your campaigns at your fingertips. Sign up for a free trial today to start tracking your CTR.
Creating more engaging, clickable email campaigns
Before you can drive sales and conversions from your email marketing campaigns, you need to create messages that engage your audience. Every element, from the subject line to the CTA button, plays a vital role in determining whether your readers will read and interact with your message. Your click-through rate tells you how high that engagement actually is.
Start monitoring your CTR with a tool like Constant Contact to get a better sense of how your campaigns are performing. Then, use those insights to create more compelling campaigns that drive better results.
Next, download our free ebook “Data Driven: Your Guide to Digital Marketing Metrics”
