Summary
Using redirected URLs in email call-to-actions (CTAs) is a common practice, particularly for tracking purposes. The consensus among deliverability professionals is that if handled correctly, redirects generally do not negatively impact email deliverability. This is largely because most email service providers (ESPs) implement their own click-tracking mechanisms, which often rewrite the original links in your email. Therefore, the domain initially seen by recipient mail servers is typically the ESP's tracking domain, not your direct CTA link or its final destination.
Key findings
- ESP click tracking: Most ESPs rewrite links for click tracking, making their own domain the one initially seen by mail servers, which often renders the original redirect less critical for deliverability. This concept is explored further in discussions about ESP click tracking and deliverability.
- Final destination reputation: While initial redirects are often benign, the reputation of the final landing page is crucial. If the destination is associated with malware, phishing, or spam, it can negatively affect your sender reputation, as discussed on Audience Point regarding links.
- Minimal impact: In many scenarios, particularly for reputable senders, redirects from your own domain or a subdomain to a different, trusted destination are considered harmless.
- Filter behavior: Some spam filters may occasionally follow redirect chains to inspect for malicious content, but this is not a routine behavior that impacts deliverability of legitimate emails.
Key considerations
- Sender reputation: Focus on maintaining a strong sender reputation overall. This is far more impactful than the mere presence of redirects. Learn more about understanding email domain reputation.
- Link consistency: While redirects are generally fine, ensure the redirecting domain (if not your ESP's) is reputable and aligns with your sending practices.
- User experience: Consider the user experience. Long redirect chains can increase load times and may appear less trustworthy to recipients, even if they don't directly block delivery.
- Warm-up phase: During IP or domain warm-up, it is often advisable to keep email content, including links, as simple and consistent as possible to build initial trust.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often prioritize consistency and simplicity in their email campaigns, especially concerning links and CTAs. Their main concerns revolve around how any link structure might influence user trust, click-through rates, and ultimately, campaign performance. While many marketers prefer direct links for clarity, they also acknowledge the practicalities of redirects for tracking and dynamic content, balancing perceived risk against analytical benefits. They actively monitor engagement metrics as indicators of potential deliverability issues.
Key opinions
- Consistency preference: Many marketers prefer to keep links clean and consistent, ideally using the same domain as the sender, to build trust and avoid potential issues, especially during warm-up periods.
- Redirect as workaround: Some view redirects as a way to maintain perceived consistency while still linking to external pages (e.g., social media), hoping to bypass strict anti-spam logic that might scrutinize external links.
- Final destination checks: A common question is whether mailbox providers actively check the final destination of redirected links, indicating a concern about what happens post-click.
- Impact on engagement: Concerns exist that complex redirects or unexpected final destinations could deter user engagement, leading to lower click-through rates. For tips on this, see how to increase email click through rate.
Key considerations
- Perceived trustworthiness: Marketers must weigh the perceived trustworthiness of a redirected link against its benefits. A clean, recognizable link path is often preferred by subscribers.
- ESP role: Understanding how a chosen ESP handles link rewriting is critical, as this often dictates the actual domain seen by mail servers and clients.
- Tracking versus deliverability: The desire for robust tracking metrics (which often involve redirects) must be balanced with potential deliverability concerns, even if minor.
- Spam filter perception: While redirects from trusted domains are generally okay, some marketers worry about how any non-direct link might be perceived by spam filters, especially if their domain reputation is lower.
Marketer view
Email Marketer from Email Geeks explains that they have always been taught to prioritize clean and consistent links in emails, particularly for CTAs. This approach is usually maintained during warm-up phases to build a solid sending reputation. They were unsure if using a redirect from a parent domain or subdomain to an external page would be seen as acceptable practice or if it would circumvent established guidelines.
Marketer view
Email Marketer from Email Geeks asks if there is any evidence that mailbox providers actively check the final destination of redirected links. This query highlights a common concern among marketers about the depth of spam filter analysis on link paths beyond the immediate URL.
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts generally agree that the impact of redirected URLs on deliverability is minimal, provided the underlying sending practices are sound and the final destination is legitimate. Their insights emphasize the technical workings of ESPs (Email Service Providers) and how their click-tracking mechanisms often abstract the original link from the immediate view of mail servers. The focus remains on maintaining a robust sender reputation rather than overly scrutinizing link redirect structures.
Key opinions
- Harmless for deliverability: Redirected URLs are largely considered harmless for deliverability when implemented correctly, especially if the redirecting domain is trusted.
- ESP link rewriting: Most ESPs rewrite links for click tracking, meaning the domain seen by mail exchange (MX) servers and email clients is often the ESP's own domain, not the original CTA link.
- Final destination vs. immediate link: The primary concern for filters is usually the final destination of the link, particularly for malware or phishing, rather than the redirect itself. You can find more details on this topic when looking at deliverability drawbacks of redirects.
- Consistency of rewritten link: The consistency of the rewritten tracking domain (e.g., click.esp.com) is more relevant than whether its ultimate destination is a website or a social page.
Key considerations
- Source reputation: While redirects are often mitigated by ESPs, ensuring the domain initiating the redirect (if not the ESP's) has a good reputation is still important.
- Security scanning: Some filters perform occasional deep dives, following redirects to scan for malware or phishing at the final URL, emphasizing the need for secure landing pages.
- Understanding ESP behavior: Senders should understand how their specific ESP handles link rewriting and tracking, as this significantly influences how links are perceived by recipient servers. This also relates to URL alignment for intermediate redirect links.
- Avoid unnecessary complexity: While redirects are generally safe, excessively long or convoluted redirect chains might raise flags or simply degrade user experience.
Expert view
Deliverability Expert from Email Geeks suggests that using redirected URLs in email CTAs is generally harmless. This perspective stems from the understanding that most ESPs automatically rewrite links for click tracking. Therefore, the domain initially observed by the mail server and client is typically the ESP's tracking domain, not the original link. This rewriting process often nullifies concerns about the original link's direct impact on deliverability.
Expert view
Deliverability Expert from Email Geeks reiterates that it should be fine to use redirected URLs. This reinforces the idea that, in most operational email environments, the technical architecture of ESPs makes direct redirects a non-issue for deliverability. Their confidence suggests that the underlying mechanisms are robust enough to handle such link structures without negative consequences.
What the documentation says
Technical documentation and research on email protocols and spam filtering generally focus on the authentication of the sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and the reputation of the sender's IP address and domain. While the content of emails, including links, is scanned for malicious intent, the simple act of using a redirect from a legitimate source is not typically singled out as a deliverability concern. The emphasis is on the security and trustworthiness of the ultimate destination and the overall sending practices rather than the number of hops in a redirect chain.
Key findings
- Protocol focus: Email protocols (like SMTP) and authentication standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) primarily govern the initial transmission and authenticity of the sender, not the subsequent redirects of embedded URLs.
- Security over structure: Anti-spam mechanisms are designed to detect malicious or phishing content, which might involve following redirects. However, the redirect itself is not inherently problematic unless it leads to a harmful destination. More on this can be found in our guide on how email blacklists actually work.
- Reputation of tracking domain: For ESP-rewritten links, the reputation of the ESP's tracking domain is paramount, overshadowing the original URL's characteristics.
- Best practices: While not directly impacting deliverability from a redirect perspective, general best practices suggest minimizing unnecessary redirects for better user experience and to reduce latency.
Key considerations
- Final URL trustworthiness: Ensure that the final URL after any redirects is secure (HTTPS), legitimate, and does not host content that could trigger spam filters or blocklists. Using secure links is also critical, as detailed in our guide on HTTP versus HTTPS links.
- Avoid suspicious domains: Never redirect through or to domains with poor reputations, as this will unequivocally harm your deliverability.
- Testing: Routinely test your email links to ensure they function as expected and lead to the intended, legitimate destinations without errors.
- Compliance: Adhere to general email marketing compliance guidelines, which indirectly support better link practices by promoting overall trustworthy sending behavior.
Technical article
RFC 5321 (SMTP) specifies how mail servers should handle various message components, including Uniform Resource Locators, but it does not explicitly detail the deliverability impacts of redirects within those URLs. The primary focus of the standard remains on the initial connection and authenticating the sender's identity and domain. This suggests that the redirect itself is not a direct protocol-level concern.
Technical article
A study on email link behavior indicates that while some mail transfer agents may perform rudimentary checks on destination URLs, the primary reputation assessment for links usually occurs at the click-tracking domain level. This means that filters are more concerned with the immediate domain presented in the email, often an ESP's tracking domain, rather than meticulously traversing every redirect hop.
Related resources
6 resources
Related pages
How do link redirects affect email reputation and deliverability?
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What are the deliverability drawbacks of using redirects in email links?
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How do URL shorteners and domain reputation impact email deliverability?
Does using HTTP links instead of HTTPS links affect email deliverability?
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