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Email Marketing Glossary.

Clear, no-fluff definitions of every email marketing term that matters—from open rates to double opt-in. 

 

Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)

Click-to-open rate (CTOR) is the percentage of people who opened an email and then clicked a link inside it. It isolates how effective your content and CTA are, independent of the subject line.

Also known as: CTOR, click to open rate

Click-to-open rate answers a sharper question than plain click-through rate: of the people who bothered to open, how many found something worth clicking? That makes it a purer measure of your email's content and offer.

How is click-to-open rate calculated?

CTOR = (unique clicks ÷ unique opens) × 100. Because it uses opens rather than total sends, it separates content performance from subject-line performance.

Why does CTOR matter?

A high open rate with a low CTOR usually means your subject line is doing the heavy lifting but the email itself isn't delivering. It's a fast way to diagnose whether to fix your subject lines or your content.

How do you improve CTOR?

Make sure the email delivers on the subject line's promise, lead with your strongest content, and give readers one obvious next step. Note: since opens can be inflated by privacy features, read CTOR as a directional trend.

Related terms

Open Rate Click-Through Rate (CTR) Conversion Rate Bounce Rate Unsubscribe Rate

Related reading from Drip

Email Marketing Analytics: 7 Metrics You Need to Track

Frequently asked questions

How is click-to-open rate calculated?
Divide unique clicks by unique opens, then multiply by 100. For example, 50 clicks from 250 opens is a 20% CTOR. It measures engagement among people who actually opened the email.
What's the difference between CTOR and CTR?
CTR divides clicks by total emails delivered; CTOR divides clicks by opens. CTOR removes the subject line's influence, so it's a cleaner measure of how well the email's content and CTA performed.
What is a good click-to-open rate?
Benchmarks vary widely by industry, but many ecommerce senders see CTOR in the low double digits. Because open tracking can be inflated by privacy features, focus on your own trend over time rather than a single absolute number.
Why is my CTOR low?
A low CTOR usually means the email content or offer isn't matching the expectation set by the subject line. Tighten the connection between subject line and content, lead with your best material, and use one clear call to action.
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