Summary
Assessing the impact of third-party links on email deliverability requires a comprehensive approach. It involves proactive monitoring of domain and link reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools, IBM X-Force, and blacklists, alongside the analysis of engagement metrics such as click-through rates and spam complaints. A/B testing with and without these links is crucial for direct comparison, and wrapping them in branded link trackers offers greater control. Employing reputable ESPs and dedicated IPs provides additional layers of protection and isolation. Experts emphasize the provider-specific nature of reputation and the complexity of email filters, influenced by numerous factors and machine learning. Avoiding generic link shorteners and exercising caution with affiliate and redirect links are also essential. Be mindful that changing ESPs can temporarily affect deliverability, potentially obscuring the true impact of third-party links. Regularly test and monitor your emails for the effect of 3rd party links.
Key findings
- Reputation is Key: Proactive monitoring of domain and link reputation is critical. Use tools and blacklists.
- Analytics: Analyze click-through rates and spam complaints.
- Testing and Measuring: A/B test emails, measure inbox placement with seed lists, with and without third-party links.
- Control Reputation: Wrap links in branded link trackers to control the reputation and protect your domain.
- Isolate issues: Use a dedicated IP and a reputable ESP to isolate deliverability issues.
- Reputation Variances: Email reputation is provider-specific.
Key considerations
- Shorteners: Avoid generic link shorteners.
- Affiliate Risk: Be wary of affiliate and redirect links as they are high risk.
- Data Overload: Filters use many factors; understand this when analysing data.
- Esp change side effects: Changing ESPs affects deliverability temporarily, so understand the base level.
- Be Test focused: If a 3rd party link is suspicious, use the resources available to test it before adding it to the email.
What email marketers say
16 marketer opinions
Determining if third-party links impact email deliverability involves a multi-faceted approach. It includes actively monitoring domain and link reputation using tools and blacklists, as well as analyzing engagement metrics like click-through rates and spam complaints. A/B testing with and without third-party links is also helpful, as is wrapping third-party links in a branded link tracker to maintain control over reputation. Employing reputable ESPs and dedicated IPs provides further isolation and management of sender reputation, while avoiding generic link shorteners can prevent being associated with spam.
Key opinions
- Reputation Monitoring: Tools like IBM X-Force, VirusTotal, and blacklist checks can identify problematic domains.
- Engagement Analysis: Significant drops in click-through rates or increases in spam complaints after including third-party links indicate deliverability issues.
- A/B Testing: Comparing email performance with and without third-party links reveals their impact on inbox placement and engagement.
- Branded Links: Wrapping third-party links with a branded link tracker provides reputation control.
- Dedicated IPs: Using a dedicated IP gives more control over sender reputation and allows isolation of the impact of third-party links.
- ESPs: Reputable ESPs monitor and manage sender reputation to prevent deliverability problems.
Key considerations
- Link Shorteners: Avoid generic link shorteners as they can be associated with spam.
- Data Points: Reputation is influenced by a combination of factors, where a shared ESP link has a slight influence.
- Brand Link Trackers: Ensure that link trackers are branded to your domain so you own the reputation.
- Domain Reputation: You need to control the reputation of your domain. Strive to link to only your own domain in messages to reduce the risks.
- Third party analysis: Consider testing third party links with IBM's X-Force, Cisco's Talos, or something like VirusTotal. That might give you some hints at severe reputational problems or malware hosting.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackExchange recommends checking if the third-party domains are on any email blacklists (e.g., Spamhaus). Being blacklisted can significantly impact your email deliverability.
29 Apr 2025 - StackExchange
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests using tools like IBM's X-Force, Cisco's Talos, or VirusTotal to check domains for reputational problems or malware hosting. Also recommends considering link shortening and shared content domains as potentially having poor reputation.
30 Jan 2024 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
8 expert opinions
Expert advice on determining if third-party links impact email deliverability emphasizes the complexity and nuance of the issue. Deliverability is provider-specific, making testing crucial. It involves assessing delivery patterns, especially when third-party links are involved. Experts recommend A/B testing, wrapping links in your own tracker, and understanding that filters use numerous factors, including machine learning, to determine if mail is wanted. Volume also plays a role, as ubiquitous links may be less impactful. Affiliate and redirect links can be detrimental due to poor reputation or being associated with blocklists. Furthermore, changing ESPs can temporarily affect deliverability, making it difficult to isolate the specific impact of third-party links.
Key opinions
- Provider Specific Reputation: Reputation is not universal; it varies between email providers like Gmail or Outlook.
- Testing is Essential: Testing with and without third-party links and observing delivery patterns is vital to determining their impact.
- Filter Complexity: Email filters use a multitude of factors and machine learning to determine email quality, making the impact of a single element difficult to isolate.
- Link wrapping and isolation: Control deliverability by wrapping links and controlling reputation.
Key considerations
- Affiliate and Redirect Links: Exercise caution with affiliate and redirect links due to potential reputation issues or blocklist association.
- ESP Changes: Be aware that changing ESPs can affect deliverability temporarily, potentially masking the true impact of third-party links.
- Email volume and links: Volume plays a part, and it is recommended that popular links may be useless for tracking.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that reputation is provider-specific. Suggests sending test emails with suspect domains to multiple accounts and observing delivery patterns to gauge reputation with Google specifically.
1 Sep 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise highlights that affiliate links are often a cause for concern as their reputation is often poor due to spammers and fraudulent use. This means that your email may be filtered due to the bad reputation of the domain.
30 Aug 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Documentation from various email platforms like Mailjet, Google Postmaster Tools, SparkPost, and Microsoft SNDS emphasizes monitoring tools and testing methodologies to determine the impact of third-party links on email deliverability. Consistent reputation monitoring using platforms like Google Postmaster Tools, observing spam rates, and checking inbox placement with seed lists (with and without the third-party links) are all essential steps to identify whether links lead to issues such as increased spam complaints or landing in spam folders. The Microsoft SNDS tool helps monitor IP and domain reputation specifically for Microsoft email services by providing complaint rate data.
Key findings
- Reputation Monitoring: Consistently monitor sending domain reputation to detect associations with spam or malicious content.
- Spam Rate Monitoring: An increase in spam complaints after adding third-party links suggests a potential deliverability issue.
- Seed List Testing: Using seed lists with and without third-party links helps determine if the links cause emails to land in the spam folder.
- Platform-Specific Monitoring: Tools like Microsoft SNDS provide insights on IP and domain reputation within specific ecosystems.
Key considerations
- Proactive Approach: Regular monitoring and testing should be an ongoing process, not just a reaction to deliverability problems.
- Holistic View: Combine insights from different tools and platforms for a comprehensive understanding.
- Actionable Insights: Use the data from monitoring and testing to identify and remove or replace problematic links.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailjet explains that consistently monitoring your sending domain's reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools can help you detect if third-party links are causing deliverability issues by associating your domain with spam or malicious content.
11 Nov 2021 - Mailjet
Technical article
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains using their dashboard to monitor spam rates associated with your sending domain. An increase in spam complaints after introducing third-party links indicates a potential issue.
16 Apr 2022 - Google
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