Definition
Link click-through rate measures how often recipients click a specific link in an email, dividing clicks on that link by emails delivered. It isolates the performance of individual elements, so you can see which calls to action, product picks, and content blocks actually drive engagement.
Where overall CTR tells you whether an email worked, link-level CTR tells you what worked and what did not. Comparing links across a campaign reveals the strongest and weakest elements and guides future placement and creative.
Link-level CTR reveals which elements drive engagement, not just whether the email worked as a whole. Comparing links across a campaign shows the strongest and weakest content. This granular view guides placement and creative decisions.
How Link CTR Differs From Email CTR
Email CTR often counts any recipient who clicked at least one link, while link CTR counts clicks on a specific link. Per-link data shows which elements earn the click.
Using unique tracking identifiers on each link lets your ESP attribute clicks to the exact element.
Why It Matters
Link-level CTR reveals which elements drive engagement, not just whether the email worked. Understanding it lets you optimise the specific content that earns clicks.
Best Practices
- Measure each link with unique tracking identifiers.
- Compare link CTR to identify the strongest calls to action.
- Combine it with conversion data, not just clicks.
- Track per-link trends over time and by segment.
- Use the data to guide placement and creative.
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Related Glossary Terms
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A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
Abuse Complaint
An abuse complaint is a report from a recipient who marks an email as spam, which negatively affects sender reputation and deliverability.
AI Email Summary
An AI email summary is a short, machine-generated overview of an email's key points, shown by Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail before a recipient opens the message. It is reshaping how email marketers think about subject lines, preview text and open rates.
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is a metric that measures the average revenue generated per email subscriber over a specific period, used to evaluate list value and campaign effectiveness.
Attention Rate
Attention rate is the percentage of email opens that last longer than 5 seconds, distinguishing genuine reads from passive opens, preview-pane views, or Apple MPP auto-loads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clicks on a specific link divided by delivered emails. Link-level CTR reveals which elements drive engagement, not just whether the email worked as a whole.
Email CTR often counts any recipient click; link CTR is per link. Comparing links across a campaign shows the strongest and weakest content.
To learn which elements actually drive engagement. This granular view guides placement and creative decisions.
It varies by position and offer; compare links within the email. Link-level CTR reveals which elements drive engagement, not just whether the email worked as a whole.
Use unique tracking identifiers per link. Comparing links across a campaign shows the strongest and weakest content.