{"id":13262,"date":"2010-05-26T23:57:40","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T18:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=13262"},"modified":"2026-10-12T11:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T05:34:00","slug":"increase-email-clickthrough-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways to Increase Your Email Click-Through Rate (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How can you increase your email click-through rate? A click is the clearest sign that subscribers find your emails valuable, and in 2026 it&#8217;s also the most reliable number to track, because Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates. A higher <strong>email click-through rate<\/strong> means more visits, sales and engaged readers. Here are 10 ways to improve it, updated from the original guest tips by David of ActiveCampaign.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-64222\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Increase email click-through rate\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/increase-email-click-through-rate.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Keep the layout simple with one main call to action, put your best content first, use a large button with specific text, show snippets that link to the full article, segment your list so each email is relevant, personalise beyond the first name, optimise for mobile, add a P.S. reminder, use honest urgency, and A\/B test subject lines, content and buttons.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af441d5b981c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af441d5b981c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#10_ways_to_increase_email_click-through_rate\" >10 ways to increase email click-through rate<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#1_Keep_the_layout_clean\" >1. Keep the layout clean<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#2_Focus_on_one_call_to_action\" >2. Focus on one call to action<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#3_Use_buttons_with_specific_text\" >3. Use buttons with specific text<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#4_Put_the_best_content_first\" >4. Put the best content first<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#5_Tease_then_link\" >5. Tease, then link<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#6_Use_video_thumbnails\" >6. Use video thumbnails<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#7_Segment_and_personalise\" >7. Segment and personalise<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#8_Design_for_mobile\" >8. Design for mobile<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#9_Add_a_PS_and_honest_urgency\" >9. Add a P.S. and honest urgency<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#10_Test_everything\" >10. Test everything<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#What_is_a_good_email_click-through_rate\" >What is a good email click-through rate?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#Tools_that_help\" >Tools that help<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#Whats_the_difference_between_click-through_rate_and_click-to-open_rate\" >What&#8217;s the difference between click-through rate and click-to-open rate?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#Do_more_links_increase_clicks\" >Do more links increase clicks?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/05\/increase-email-clickthrough-rate\/#Why_are_my_open_rates_so_high_but_clicks_low\" >Why are my open rates so high but clicks low?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_ways_to_increase_email_click-through_rate\"><\/span>10 ways to increase email click-through rate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Keep_the_layout_clean\"><\/span>1. Keep the layout clean<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Busy layouts with many links and big header images pull attention from your main link. A simple single-column email with plenty of white space works best.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Focus_on_one_call_to_action\"><\/span>2. Focus on one call to action<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Decide the one thing you want readers to do. Secondary links are fine, but make the main one stand out.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Use_buttons_with_specific_text\"><\/span>3. Use buttons with specific text<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A large, tappable button saying &#8220;Read the full guide&#8221; or &#8220;Get 20% off&#8221; beats a small &#8220;Click here&#8221; text link. Repeat it at the end of longer emails.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Put_the_best_content_first\"><\/span>4. Put the best content first<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Many people only read the first screen. Lead with your strongest story or offer.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Tease_then_link\"><\/span>5. Tease, then link<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Share a short snippet of each article and link to the full version on your site. Readers scan faster and click to finish.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Use_video_thumbnails\"><\/span>6. Use video thumbnails<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A screenshot of a video with a play button, linked to the page where it plays, draws clicks. Animated GIFs can work too, but keep files small.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Segment_and_personalise\"><\/span>7. Segment and personalise<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Split your list by interests, location, purchases or past clicks, and send each group what it cares about. Recommendations based on behaviour beat simple first-name personalisation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Design_for_mobile\"><\/span>8. Design for mobile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Most emails are opened on phones. Use readable fonts, short paragraphs and buttons big enough to tap.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_Add_a_PS_and_honest_urgency\"><\/span>9. Add a P.S. and honest urgency<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A P.S. line reminds readers of the call to action at the end. Real deadlines or limited stock lift clicks; fake countdowns erode trust.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_Test_everything\"><\/span>10. Test everything<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A\/B test subject lines, preview text, button colour and wording, layout and send time. Change one thing at a time and judge by clicks, not opens.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_good_email_click-through_rate\"><\/span>What is a good email click-through rate?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Benchmarks vary by industry, but many newsletters see roughly 1% to 4% of recipients click. Compare against your own past emails rather than averages, and look at click-to-open rate for a fairer view of content quality.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tools_that_help\"><\/span>Tools that help<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Email platforms such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.activecampaign.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ActiveCampaign<\/a>, Mailchimp and Kit offer segmentation, automation and A\/B testing. Start with the basics in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/email-marketing-tips\/\">email marketing tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_the_difference_between_click-through_rate_and_click-to-open_rate\"><\/span>What&#8217;s the difference between click-through rate and click-to-open rate?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>CTR is clicks divided by emails delivered. Click-to-open rate is clicks divided by opens, which measures how engaging the content is to people who opened it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_more_links_increase_clicks\"><\/span>Do more links increase clicks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not usually. Too many choices can lower clicks on your main link.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_my_open_rates_so_high_but_clicks_low\"><\/span>Why are my open rates so high but clicks low?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Privacy features record &#8220;opens&#8221; automatically for many Apple Mail users. Focus on clicks as your real measure.<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally written by guest author David of ActiveCampaign, an email marketing software company. Updated for 2026 by QuickOnlineTips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you increase your email click-through rate? A click is the clearest sign that subscribers find your emails valuable,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":64222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[44,49],"class_list":["post-13262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-guest-posts","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64223,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13262\/revisions\/64223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}