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How to avoid automatic clicks and opens from skewing your metrics

Deliverability Defined Podcast
Updated: August 28, 2024
How to avoid automatic clicks and opens from skewing your metrics
3 min read

No matter how much we plan and analyze, there will always be things outside of our control. When it comes to email deliverability, avoiding automatic clicks is sometimes the hardest pitfall to avoid. Nevertheless, there are ways to stand up to security systems and work around the (almost) impossible.

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa explain why automatic clicks are so common and what you can do to take back control.

As email marketers, we don’t have many metrics to determine our success. So we need to make sure the metrics we’ve got are showing us the full picture as often as possible.

How to avoid automatic clicks and opens

Pullquote

(23:36) “Even though we say a lot of times there’s not always an obvious deliverability solution that’s going to just change everything right away, when you are doing everything to the best of your ability and you’re making good choices with your deliverability, it is a lot easier to pinpoint and determine where there are issues and what’s causing problems with your sender reputation. It’s easier to find those when everything else looks good.” ~ @mel_lambert_

Main Takeaways

  • [11:23] Automatic opens and clicks are more common for B2B addresses with strict anti-spam policies, especially .edu and .gov addresses. If you are a B2B sender, ask recipients to subscribe with their personal email addresses.
  • [14:38] Determine which subscribers are auto-clicking links by adding a “hidden” link in your email.
  • [17:49] Only use HTTPS links. Using mixed-security levels in your links can look untrustworthy and lead to automatic opens. For example, Kit’s tracking links are HTTPS and if it reroutes to an HTTP site, that looks suspicious.
  • [18:57] Monitor content. Content quality plays a big role— not only at the link level but also image-to-text ratio and other factors. Avoid clickbait and “aggressive” email marketing. If you act like a spammer, you’ll be treated like a spammer.
  • [21:41] As with everything else deliverability-related, sender reputation can make or break your NHI (non-human interaction) levels. Senders with highly engaged recipients don’t get nearly as many NHIs.

Links

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Alyssa Dulin
Alyssa Dulin

Alyssa is a Deliverability Lead located in Nashville, TN. She loves helping senders reach the inbox of their subscribers. Outside of work, Alyssa enjoys traveling, indoor cycling, and spending time with family. (Read more by Alyssa)