CTR in email marketing: what it is, how to calculate it and how to improve it
The right formula, what counts as a good figure and what to change in your emails to get more clicks
CTR, or Click Through Rate, refers to the percentage of clicks on a specific link out of the number of impressions or views of that link.
In email marketing, CTR is calculated on delivered emails:
CTR = (unique clicks / delivered emails) × 100
For example, if you deliver 1,000 emails and 25 people click on a link, your CTR is 2.5%.
Don’t confuse it with CTOR, or click-to-open rate, which divides clicks by opened emails. If 200 opens lead to 25 clicks, the CTOR is 12.5%. CTR measures the result of the whole campaign; CTOR measures how well the content works among those who open it.
CTR is a basic metric and you’ve surely come across it elsewhere:
· Google Ads campaigns
Any tool where you spend money and where it matters to know how many clicks a link or button gets.
In fact, it’s a more interesting metric than others such as opens, because of everything we can learn from it.
· What is a good CTR in email marketing?
According to HubSpot’s roundup of industry benchmark studies, the average email CTR in 2025 was around 2.3%. It’s only a guideline: it varies a lot depending on the industry, the type of email and the quality of the list.
That’s why your own campaigns are the best benchmark. Work out your average over the last few months and aim to beat it.
What’s more, CTR is now a more reliable metric than open rate. Some email programs load images automatically to protect privacy, which means opens get counted that aren’t real. Clicks, on the other hand, do reflect interest.
Measure the clicks of every campaign
Mailrelay’s statistics show you the CTR of each send and which links your subscribers click on.
· Impressions count, and a lot
For years, researchers have studied the effect of advertising even in situations where we ignore it or try not to pay attention to it.
I’ll save you the trouble:
· Advertising works even if you ignore it completely
Let me give you a very simple and obvious example.
Imagine you go on YouTube, and while you’re watching some videos an ad appears. You ignore it.
You keep watching videos.
The ad appears again. You keep ignoring it.
Another day, the same thing.
You never click on the ad, and you certainly don’t show the slightest interest.
Now answer these two questions:
· Do you think you could remember the brand of the advertised product?
· If you needed to solve the problem the product is aimed at, would you consider buying it?
I’m sure that in 90% of cases the answer to these questions is “yes”.
How is that possible?
Simple. Our brain registers every stimulus it receives, even if unconsciously.
Even if you’re not paying attention.
No attention at all.
And little by little it gets used to the stimulus.
That’s why the brands you hear every day seem more trustworthy and more recognizable, and they’re usually where we start when we need to find a solution to a problem or need we have.
► So what does this mean?
It means you shouldn’t get discouraged if your click metric is low.
Every delivered email gradually helps your sales, even if people don’t click.
Granted, it’s better if they click. That’s why we’re giving you these 20 original subject lines for your newsletters.
We’ll talk about that now.
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Up to 80,000 emails a month and 20,000 contacts for free, with human support on every plan.
· More is more is more
One of the simple strategies for improving results is usually to increase your sending frequency.
Although it may seem counterproductive, in many cases it’s very useful.
However, by increasing sending frequency we increase the opportunities for opens and clicks.
Since it’s very hard to know the best moment for our subscribers, sending more often increases the chances of our email arriving at the best time.
On top of that, it encourages our contacts to look forward to our email and sometimes helps build a habit, which brings in more web traffic.
What else can we try?
► Increase the number of links, but don’t overdo it
Having 2 or 3 links instead of a single one can help increase your CTR.
Try to space them out, not too close together.
For example, one right at the beginning and another in the middle or at the end.
That way you maximize the chances of people clicking.
That said, there’s no need to overdo it: including too many links can make the newsletter look too complex, or even make it look like spam.
2 to 3 links should work well for you.
► Make your links different from each other and from what surrounds them
Another easy thing that can improve your CTR is making your links very different from each other and from the rest of your newsletter’s text:
· For example, use the standard link format. With the text in blue and underlined. Many people recognize it more easily that way.
· You can also use fairly long link texts; combined with the different format, this will help your links not go unnoticed
· Use clear calls to action, where readers can see exactly what benefit they’ll get. Don’t stop at “click here”.
You can also consider using images, but keep in mind that not all email clients display images by default.
Make sure you also have a text link.
· 3 simple ways to get more clicks
1. Resend the campaign to those who didn’t open it. A few days later, with a different subject line. Many people didn’t see the first send, and this way you get a second chance with little effort.
2. Repeat the important link in two places. For example, near the beginning and at the end of the email. Each reader makes up their mind at a different point while reading.
3. Use visible buttons and test variants. A button with clear text works better than a link hidden in a paragraph. A/B test the subject line, the button text or its position, and keep whatever gets the most clicks.
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· Frequently asked questions
These are the most common questions about CTR in email marketing.
What is CTR in email marketing?
The percentage of people who click on a link in your email out of the total number of delivered emails.
How is it calculated?
Divide unique clicks by delivered emails and multiply by 100.
What’s the difference between CTR and CTOR?
CTR is calculated on delivered emails. CTOR, on opened emails.
What is a good CTR?
As a guideline, the industry average is around 2-3%, but what matters is improving your own average.
How can I improve the CTR of my emails?
With one clear main link, visible buttons, content that’s relevant to each segment and A/B tests. You’ll find more ideas in our post on how to improve CTR.
Jose Argudo
CMO at Mailrelay. Writes about email marketing, copywriting and conversion for small businesses and entrepreneurs.