Summary
Including email addresses in URL links negatively impacts email deliverability at Gmail for several reasons. Google's policies prohibit passing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as email addresses, through URL parameters in Google Analytics, Google Ads, and other platform policies due to privacy concerns and policy violations, potentially leading to ad disapproval. Email marketers and experts across platforms like Mailgun, StackOverflow, Reddit, EmailOctopus, Email Marketing Pros Forum, GMass, Litmus, Spam Resource, and Word to the Wise advise against this practice as it can trigger spam filters, damage sender reputation, raise privacy concerns, and negatively affect domain reputation. They recommend using clean, standard URL structures, dedicated tracking parameters, URL shorteners, and merge tags within the email body instead. Correct encoding is also important if email addresses are used in URLs.
Key findings
- Google Policy Violation: Embedding email addresses in URLs violates Google's policies for Google Analytics, Ads, and platform policies.
- Triggers Spam Filters: Unusual URL formatting, including email addresses, can trigger spam filters at Gmail.
- Domain Reputation Impact: Embedding email addresses within URLs can negatively affect domain reputation.
- Privacy Concerns: Including PII in URLs raises significant privacy concerns.
- Ad Disapproval: Violating Google's policies can lead to ad disapproval.
Key considerations
- Avoid PII in URLs: Do not include personally identifiable information (PII), such as email addresses, in URL parameters.
- Clean URL Structure: Use clean, standard URL structures to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Safe Redirection: Ensure links redirect to safe, expected destinations.
- Avoid Complex Links: Avoid complex or obfuscated links.
- Use Tracking Parameters: Utilize dedicated tracking parameters for click tracking.
- Use URL Shorteners: Consider using URL shorteners to mask complex URLs.
- Merge Tags for Personalization: Use merge tags within the email body for personalization purposes.
- Proper Encoding: If email addresses are necessary in URLs, ensure they are correctly encoded.
What email marketers say
7 marketer opinions
Including email addresses in URL links is generally discouraged for email marketing due to potential deliverability and privacy issues. Several email marketing platforms and experts advise against this practice, citing concerns about spam filters, damage to sender reputation, and the exposure of personally identifiable information (PII). Recommended alternatives include using clean, relevant URLs, dedicated tracking parameters, URL shorteners, and merge tags within the email body for personalization.
Key opinions
- Spam Filters: Email addresses in URLs can trigger spam filters at Gmail, leading to reduced deliverability.
- Privacy Concerns: Embedding email addresses in URLs raises privacy issues by potentially exposing PII.
- Sender Reputation: Using email addresses in URLs can damage sender reputation, increasing the likelihood of emails landing in the spam folder.
- Tracking Issues: Directly embedding email addresses in URLs for tracking is considered a poor practice.
Key considerations
- Clean URLs: Maintain clean, relevant URLs that are easy to understand and free of personal data.
- Tracking Parameters: Use dedicated tracking parameters provided by your email marketing platform instead of embedding email addresses.
- URL Shorteners: Consider using URL shorteners to mask complex URLs and improve deliverability.
- Merge Tags: For personalization, use merge tags within the email body instead of embedding email addresses in URLs.
- Encoding: If an email must be placed inside the URL, then it should be correctly encoded.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that placing an email inside a url requires the email address to be correctly encoded. This is so that the url is a valid and that it functions as expected.
2 Mar 2024 - StackOverflow
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that using email addresses in URLs can damage sender reputation and increase the likelihood of emails landing in the spam folder. Litmus recommends avoiding this practice for better deliverability.
18 May 2023 - Litmus
What the experts say
7 expert opinions
Embedding email addresses in URL links can negatively impact email deliverability at Gmail. Google's policies prohibit passing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as email addresses, through URL parameters in Google Analytics and Google Ads due to privacy concerns and policy violations. Unusual URL formatting, including email addresses, can trigger spam filters. To maintain deliverability, links should be clear and redirect to safe, expected destinations, avoiding complex or obfuscated links. Domain reputation can be negatively affected by embedding email addresses within URLs.
Key opinions
- Google Policy Violation: Embedding email addresses in URLs violates Google's policies for Google Analytics and Ads.
- Triggers Spam Filters: Unusual URL formatting, including email addresses, can trigger spam filters at Gmail.
- Domain Reputation Impact: Embedding email addresses within URLs can negatively affect domain reputation.
Key considerations
- Clear URL Structure: Use clean, standard URL structures to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Safe Redirection: Links should redirect to safe, expected destinations.
- Avoid Complex Links: Avoid complex or obfuscated links.
- PII Restrictions: Do not pass Personally Identifiable Information (PII) through URL parameters.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares another link that mentions email links: <https://support.google.com/platformspolicy/answer/6156630?hl=en-GB>
23 Jan 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares a further link to Google Ads policy that mentions email links: <https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6389382?hl=en-419>
5 May 2022 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Google's documentation across Google Ads, Google Platform Policies, and Google Analytics Help consistently prohibits including personally identifiable information (PII), such as email addresses, in URL parameters. This is due to privacy concerns and policy violations. Violating these policies can lead to ad disapproval and other penalties.
Key findings
- Prohibited by Google: Google prohibits including email addresses in URL parameters in Google Ads, Platform Policies, and Analytics.
- Privacy Concerns: The prohibition is driven by privacy concerns related to handling personally identifiable information (PII).
- Policy Violation: Including email addresses in URL parameters violates Google's policies.
- Ad Disapproval: Using email addresses in URLs can lead to ad disapproval in Google Ads.
Key considerations
- Avoid PII in URLs: Do not include personally identifiable information (PII), such as email addresses, in URL parameters.
- Review Google Policies: Regularly review Google's advertising and platform policies to ensure compliance.
- Alternative Tracking: Use alternative methods for tracking and personalization that do not involve passing PII in URLs.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Platform Policies specifies that passing personally identifiable information (PII) such as email addresses through URL parameters is prohibited. It can result in policy violations.
19 Jul 2024 - Google Platform Policies
Technical article
Documentation from Google Ads Help explains that Google prohibits the use of personalized information in ad URLs, including email addresses, due to privacy concerns and policy violations. Using email addresses in URLs can lead to ad disapproval.
12 Nov 2021 - Google Ads Help
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