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Metrics & Analytics

Click Rate

The percentage of delivered emails where recipients clicked at least one link.

Definition

Click rate (also called click-to-deliver rate) measures the percentage of delivered emails that received at least one click on a link. It is calculated by dividing unique clicks by delivered emails and multiplying by 100. This metric indicates how compelling your email content and calls to action are. The formula is: (Unique Clicks / Emails Delivered) x 100.

Why It Matters

Click rate is a more reliable engagement metric than open rate because it requires active action from the recipient and is not affected by image-blocking or privacy features like Apple MPP. It directly correlates with your email's ability to drive action and is a key indicator of content relevance. Clicks are the most trustworthy email engagement signal.

How It Works

Click tracking works by replacing your email links with tracking URLs that redirect through a tracking server before reaching the destination. For example, yoursite.com/product becomes track.esp.com/c/abc123?url=yoursite.com/product. When someone clicks, the tracking server logs the click (timestamp, device, location), then instantly redirects to your intended URL.

Example

You send a product launch email to 5,000 subscribers. 4,900 are delivered, and 245 unique recipients click on at least one link.

Your click rate is: 245 / 4,900 x 100 = 5%

Looking deeper, you notice the main "Shop Now" button got 200 clicks while a secondary link got 75 clicks (some people clicked both).

Next campaign, you make the main CTA button larger and change its color from blue to orange. Click rate increases to 6.5%.

Over time, you learn that orange buttons, above-the-fold placement, and urgency-based copy drive the highest clicks for your audience.

Best Practices

  • 1Include clear, compelling calls to action in every email
  • 2Make links and buttons visually prominent and easy to tap on mobile (minimum 44x44px)
  • 3Limit the number of links to focus attention on your primary goal
  • 4Use descriptive link text that tells recipients what to expect
  • 5A/B test button colors, placement, and copy to optimize performance
  • 6Place your primary CTA above the fold where it is visible without scrolling

Frequently Asked Questions

Average click rates typically range from 2-5% of delivered emails. B2B tends to see higher rates (3-5%) due to targeted content. Transactional emails often see 6-10%. Newsletters typically see 2-3%. Compare against your own historical data as benchmarks vary widely.

Click rate is clicks divided by delivered emails (overall performance). Click-through rate (CTR) is clicks divided by opens (content effectiveness among openers). If you delivered 1,000, had 200 opens, and 50 clicks: click rate is 5%, but CTR is 25%.

This suggests your subject line attracts opens but the content does not compel action. Improve your CTA visibility (bigger, brighter buttons), make the value proposition clearer, ensure mobile-friendly design (buttons not links), verify your links work, and ensure the content matches subject line expectations.