Glossary
What is click through rate in email?
Click through rate, or CTR, is the share of people who clicked at least one link in an email, out of those it was delivered to. It is useful for newsletters and campaigns built around a link. In cold outreach it matters less: early messages work better without links, and security scanners can click links automatically, inflating the number.
Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 24 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.
How do you calculate it?
CTR = recipients who clicked / emails delivered x 100. An example with made up numbers: 500 delivered, 15 people clicked, a CTR of 3%. Some tools divide by opens instead, which gives click to open rate; check which one a report uses.
Why is CTR unreliable?
- Security scanners in company mail systems often open and click every link to check it.
- Click tracking rewrites links, which some filters treat as suspicious.
- A click is attention, not intent.
What should cold outreach measure instead?
Replies from people, and what the replies become: conversations, meetings held and opportunities. Links in a first cold email also tend to hurt more than help, so many senders add a link only after a reply. See reply rate and email open rate.
How Sellinger handles it
Sellinger's analytics count people reached, replies, meetings and deals, not clicks; see reading your analytics. The book meetings goals send a calendar link after interest, not in the first message.
Common questions
What is a good click through rate?
Should cold emails include links?
What is click to open rate?
Sources and method
General email practice; the example is illustrative. Sellinger analytics from the analytics help article.
Related: Email open rate, Reply rate, Inbox placement, Unsubscribe rate.
