What is click to open rate (CTOR)?
Click to open rate (CTOR) refers to the percentage of users who not only open a marketing email, but also click on a link it contains. It is designed to give marketers a more accurate idea of how well their email marketing campaign is actually performing.
If you want more information on this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What is the difference between click-through rate (CTR) and click to open rate (CTOR)?
The main difference between click-through rate (CTR) and click to open rate (CTOR) is what they measure.
Click-through rate (CTR) measures how many of your recipients clicked on a link in your marketing email against the total number of that particular email you sent out. For instance, if you sent the same marketing email to 1,000 people and a total of 100 people clicked on a link contained in it, then your CTR is 10% (i.e., 100/1,000 x 100).
Click to open rate (CTOR), on the other hand, measures the total number of recipients who clicked on a link in a marketing email you sent out against the total number of recipients who opened it. For example, if 1,000 people opened your marketing email and 500 of them clicked on a link contained in it, then your CTOR is 50% (i.e., 500/1,000 x 100).
As you can see, your click to open rate (CTOR) gives you a more accurate picture of how well your campaigns are doing because it only takes into account the people who have actually seen the link contained in your marketing emails (because they opened it) instead of all recipients.
Question #2: What is the difference between open rate and click to open rate (CTOR)?
The main difference between open rate and click to open rate (CTOR) is also what they measure. The former measures the effectiveness of things such as your subject lines and subject preheaders; the latter measures the effectiveness of your campaign in terms of getting your customers to take action.
As we have seen earlier, click to open rate (CTOR) measures the percentage of recipients who not only open the marketing emails you send out, but also click on the link they contain.
In contrast, open rate simply measures the total number of unique opens a marketing email you sent out got against the total number of recipients. For example, if you sent the same marketing email to 1,000 people and 400 of them opened it, then your open rate is 40% (i.e., 400/1,000 x 100).
Question #3: How do I measure my click to open rate (CTOR)?
As we have seen earlier, to measure you click to open rate (CTOR), all you have to do is take the total number of recipients who clicked on a link contained in a marketing email you sent out, divide that number by the total number of recipients who open said email, and then multiply the result by 100.
So, if, say, a total of 10,000 people opened a marketing email you sent and 9,000 of them clicked on a link it contains, then your click to open rate (CTOR) is 90% because:
9,000 (recipients who clicked on a link in your email) / 10,000 (recipients who opened said email) = 0.9
0.9 x 100 = 90
It does not matter how many of this particular marketing email you have sent out. The click to open rate (CTOR) is only concerned with recipients who have opened it and proceeded to click on a link it contains.
Question #4: What is a good click to open rate (CTOR)?
As a general rule, a good click to open rate (CTOR) to shoot for is anywhere between 20 and 30%. If you get any lower than that, then it would be a good idea to segment your email list better and send out more relevant emails and offers to each segment.