Click-Through Rate (CTR): formula, benchmarks, and 5 ways to improve
Click-through rate (CTR) measures how many recipients click a link in your email. Learn the formula, see benchmarks, and get 5 practical tactics to boost your CTR.
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of email recipients who click on at least one link in your email. The formula is: (unique clicks / delivered emails) x 100.
Where open rate tells you if your subject line works, CTR tells you if the content itself is relevant enough to drive action.
The formula
CTR = (unique clicks / delivered emails) x 100Example: You send to 10,000 recipients. 9,800 emails are delivered. 392 unique recipients click. Your CTR is (392 / 9,800) x 100 = 4.0%.
CTR vs CTOR
There are two variants:
- CTR — clicks as a share of all delivered emails
- CTOR (Click-To-Open Rate) — clicks as a share of those who opened the email
CTOR isolates the content’s effect from the subject line’s. If your open rate is 25% and your CTOR is 15%, your CTR is approximately 3.75%.
Use CTR to compare campaigns. Use CTOR to evaluate content specifically.
Benchmarks
Average CTR across industries:
| Industry | Typical CTR |
|---|---|
| B2B/SaaS | 3-5% |
| E-commerce | 1-3% |
| Media/newsletters | 4-7% |
| Nonprofits | 3-5% |
Automated flows (like drip campaigns) typically have 2-3x higher CTR than broadcast campaigns because they’re based on behavior and timing, as Mailchimp’s email marketing benchmarks confirm.
5 ways to improve your CTR
1. One clear call-to-action
Emails with one primary CTA perform better than those with three or five. Give the recipient one thing to do — not a menu.
2. Buttons over text links
Buttons typically have a 28% higher click rate than text links, according to Campaign Monitor’s research. Use a contrasting color and action-oriented text (“See results” rather than “Click here”).
3. Segment your list
Segmented emails perform significantly better. When the content matches the recipient’s situation, CTR increases by up to 100% compared to broadcasting to the entire list.
4. Put the most important thing first
Most recipients only scan the top of the email. Your primary link should be visible without scrolling — ideally within the first 300 pixels.
5. Use specific, action-oriented text
“Download our free template” performs better than “Read more.” Specific CTAs set an expectation and reduce the uncertainty of clicking.
When is CTR worryingly low?
If your CTR is consistently below 1%, there’s a problem. The most likely causes:
- Content doesn’t match the audience (segmentation is missing)
- CTA is unclear or buried at the bottom
- The email is too long and loses the recipient
- The list is old and unengaged — consider cleaning it
Always combine CTR with open rate and unsubscribe rate to understand the full picture. Read more in our guide to newsletters that actually get read.