Is tracking in email still worth it?

TLDR: YES

Bots, bots, bots everywhere!

Any deliverability person worth their salt will tell you that open and click tracking is wildly inaccurate.

No, Apple did not start this with Apply Mail Privacy Protection. Pre-loading of images has been around since LONG before Apple MPP.

Apple, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and many other pre-load images, which inflate open rates … A LOT.

Security appliances for corporate email follow links, inflating click tracking.

At this point, many people will ask,” What’s the point of tracking if it is so inaccurate?”

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Yes, all tracking is inaccurate in a vacuum, BUT, when looked at as a trend over time, it can be invaluable to spot issues in your overall deliverability!

Open rates are suddenly plummeting, probably landing in the spam folder.

Click rates are suddenly plummeting, probably landing in the spam folder.

The main point I am making is not to focus too much on tracking in email for a specific broadcast but rather look at it as a trend over a period of time. Don’t completely ignore individual broadcast metrics, as they could still indicate an issue if they are suddenly dramatically lower than the previous send.

Till next week!

Richelo “Rich” Killian

Together with:

HygieneEngine is today's most advanced email threat removal and verification service!

Consultants

Email Marketing Trends for 2025: Unproven Opportunities - Email Marketing Rules

In the ever-turbulent sea of email marketing, where economic squalls and tech typhoons reign, Oracle's digital gurus have charted the murky waters of 2025's "Unproven Opportunities." These low-impact, low-adoption trends are the Bermuda Triangle of strategies—enticing but risky. Most brands are opting to let braver souls navigate these waters first, watching from a safe distance as they wait for the fog of uncertainty to lift. Only two of the 26 trends have consistently found themselves marooned in this quadrant over six surveys—suggesting that some marketing treasures might just be fool's gold.

Apple MPP Open Rate Tracking: Which ESPs Provide The Most Accurate Reporting in 2025? - EmailTooltester

Apple's Mail Privacy Protection threw a wrench into email marketing analytics, inflating open rates and leaving marketers in a data dilemma. ESPs are all over the map with their fixes—some filter out faux opens, others shrug and suggest focusing on clicks. As the industry grapples with unreliable open rates, savvy marketers are eyeing clicks, conversions, and page visits as the new gold standard for gauging audience engagement. It's adapt or get left behind in the inbox shuffle.

Newsletter Bot Clicks: Which Clicks Are Real? - Spam Resource

Email marketers, beware of bot clicks skewing your KPIs! Frank Rix, email wizard, reveals that these non-human clicks inflate metrics, making real engagement harder to gauge. His pro tip? Watch for instant, uniform link visits post-send to spot these pesky bots. Keep your stats legit by filtering out rapid-fire clicks and using hidden links as bot bait. And remember, in the B2B realm, double-check those unsubscribe processes to keep genuine subscribers from ghosting you.

Email Service Providers (ESPs)

Win the inbox this month with these March newsletter ideas - GetResponse

Sip your coffee and brace for this: Nael Chhaytli's update is in! It's the talk of the town, but we won't spill all the beans here. Just know that Chhaytli's latest scoop is brewing with insights that'll perk up your day faster than a double shot of espresso. Stay tuned for the full story—it's bound to be steamy!

How to protect your engagement metrics from email bot clicks - MailJet

Email bots are the party crashers of the digital marketing soiree, skewing your engagement metrics with their non-human high-fives. Mailjet's Bot Activity Detector is the bouncer you need, filtering out these automated interlopers to ensure your email campaign data reflects actual human interaction. With 99% efficiency, you can trust your A/B tests, ROI calculations, and lead scoring to be bot-free, so your marketing strategies are as sharp as your wit.

Understanding bot clicks from data center IPs and their impact on email metrics - Omeda

Email marketers, beware the bot invasion! Pesky data center IP bots are skewing your campaign metrics, inflating click-through rates, and triggering false engagement alarms. Fear not—solutions like Omeda offer tools to filter these digital deceivers. Keep an eye on engagement patterns, analyze IP addresses, and employ stealth links to outsmart the bots. Remember, it's about quality, not bot-boosted quantity. Stay smart, stay authentic, and keep your metrics meaningful.

Other

Discovering DMARC: Email Senders Say Google, Yahoo Rules Helped Them - MediaPost

Email senders are giving a digital nod to Google and Yahoo, with 77% influenced by the tech giants to adopt DMARC protocols, and they're liking the vibe. A study shows 81% found DMARC met their anti-spam and phishing goals, while 15% are high-fiving over exceeded expectations. Adoption rates are up, confidence is soaring, and EasyDMARC's CEO is pushing for tougher policies. Turns out, when Google and Yahoo speak, email senders listen—and benefit.

cyber_Folks protect customers and network with Spamhaus’ enhanced email protection - Spamhaus Technology

Cyber_Folks, the email guardian angel for over 800k mailboxes, has teamed up with Spamhaus to cast a stronger shield against the dark arts of the web—phishing and spam. By sharing a bit of data, but none of your secrets, they're slamming the door on nearly all malicious emails. With Spamhaus' blocklists, they've tripled their filtering finesse, saving customers from the daily deluge of digital debris and giving them back 120 hours a month. Now, that's what we call inbox bliss!

Tools

Why Email Reputation is Important & Top 5 Tools to Check Your Sender Reputation Score - GlockApps

Email reputation is the new bouncer for your inbox nightclub, deciding if your messages are cool enough to slide past the velvet rope or get tossed into the spam alley. It's crucial for deliverability, avoiding email purgatory, and keeping your brand from looking like a shady back-alley dealer. To keep tabs on your email street cred, check out tools like Sender Score and GlockApps. They're like your personal email reputation stylists, ensuring your messages always look sharp to those ISP gatekeepers.

A Review of Apple’s AI Preview Text - Inbox Monster

Apple's AI-powered email previews are a hilarious mixed bag, delivering everything from gut-wrenching false news to utterly confusing order confirmations. While the technology still has room for improvement, some users are finding value in it. The key? Ensuring your emails have plenty of live text, clear offers, and tidy code - or just let the pros at Inbox Monster handle the AI preview magic. Buckle up, email marketers, the AI rollercoaster is just getting started!

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Events

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