How do chained redirects affect email delivery and sender reputation?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 23 Jun 2025
Updated 18 Aug 2025
7 min read
Email marketers and deliverability professionals often rely on redirects for tracking clicks, managing campaigns, or integrating with various services. While single redirects are common and generally well-understood, chained redirects, where a link passes through multiple intermediary URLs before reaching the final destination, introduce additional complexities. This scenario is particularly relevant for those using multiple third-party tracking services or affiliate links.
The core question is, do these multi-hop redirects pose a risk to email delivery and sender reputation? The short answer is yes, they can. Each step in a redirect chain can introduce new variables that influence how mailbox providers (MBPs) perceive the legitimacy and safety of your links, directly impacting your inbox placement.
How chained redirects work
When a recipient clicks a link in your email, instead of going directly to the final destination, the browser might first be directed to a tracking domain, then to an affiliate network domain, and finally to the intended landing page. This process involves multiple HTTP redirects, each with its own URL and server.
Mailbox providers employ sophisticated filters that analyze every aspect of an incoming email, including the links within. For chained redirects, this analysis can extend to each domain in the sequence. While enterprise filters are more likely to perform deep link analysis and mechanically follow redirect chains, many consumer providers may not do it consistently due to the computational expense at scale.
These providers might sample redirection chains or only dig deeper if there are other suspicious elements in the message. What is true today might change tomorrow, as their algorithms are constantly evolving. The key is that each hop might have a different reputation tied to it, adding layers of complexity to the overall trust assessment.
Impact on sender reputation
Sender reputation is built on a multitude of factors, and the domains used in your email content play a significant role. With chained redirects, the reputation of each domain in the chain is evaluated. If any of the intermediate domains have a poor reputation, perhaps due to previous association with spam or malicious activity, it can negatively impact your email's standing.
This is especially true if a shared tracking service or affiliate network domain is used by other senders who engage in problematic emailing practices. Mailbox providers (MBPs) may flag emails containing these links, leading to lower inbox placement or even outright blocking. Multiple chained domains can be seen as a negative reputation hit.
This issue relates to how multiple or external domains affect sender reputation. If spam filters detect a long, complex, or unfamiliar redirect chain, they might become suspicious, increasing the likelihood that your email is marked as spam or rejected. An email reputation check involves evaluating and monitoring the reputation of your email domain and IP addresses from which you send emails.
The risk of complex redirects
Excessive or obscure chained redirects can be perceived as an attempt to hide the final destination, a common tactic used in phishing or malware distribution. This can lead to your emails being directed to the spam folder or blocked by security systems.
Impact on email deliverability
Beyond reputation, chained redirects can directly affect email deliverability by introducing technical hurdles. Each redirect adds a small amount of latency. While individually negligible, a chain of several redirects can accumulate to a noticeable delay, impacting user experience. More importantly, such delays can trigger spam filters or timeout mechanisms designed to prevent users from accessing slow or potentially malicious sites. AudiencePoint states that overly complex or unfamiliar redirect URLs might lead spam filters to block your emails.
Security concerns are another critical factor. Email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are in place to combat phishing and spoofing. While redirects don't directly interfere with these protocols, a series of untrusted domains in a redirect chain can raise red flags. It might be helpful to review the deliverability drawbacks of using redirects.
In some cases, MBPs might even refuse to deliver emails with overly complex redirect structures as a pre-emptive measure against potential threats. This is because complex link structures are often exploited in phishing attacks or for distributing malware, making filters highly suspicious of them.
Simple redirects
Direct or single-hop redirects generally maintain a higher level of trust. The origin and destination are clear, reducing suspicion from spam filters and improving load times.
Reputation: Clear chain of trust, easier for MBPs to verify.
Performance: Minimal latency, faster user experience.
Chained redirects
Multiple hops introduce complexity and potential points of failure or distrust, increasing the risk of deliverability issues. Each hop can have its own reputation.
Reputation: Any weak link (blocklisted or low-reputation domain) can jeopardize delivery.
Performance: Increased latency, potential for timeouts.
Strategies for managing redirects
Minimizing redirect chains is a primary strategy. If you must use redirects for tracking, aim for a single redirect through a trusted, preferably branded, domain. A branded tracking domain can significantly improve trust with mailbox providers, as it aligns with your sending domain's reputation. This is also covered in how URL shorteners and domain reputation impact deliverability.
Consider setting up a CNAME record for a subdomain specifically for tracking links. This allows you to use a URL that appears to be part of your own domain, even if it redirects to a third-party tracking service. This can help bypass some of the suspicion associated with generic or unknown tracking domains.
Regularly monitor the reputation of all domains involved in your email campaigns, including any tracking domains or those used in redirects. If an intermediate domain falls onto a blocklist (or blacklist), it can severely impact your deliverability. Additionally, explore alternative solutions like server-side tracking (e.g., using Cloudflare Workers), which can send data to multiple sources without relying on multiple client-side redirects.
Cloudflare Workers can be white-labeled to send data to multiple sources, offering a way to avoid complex redirect chains. This approach can provide better control over your tracking while maintaining a clean and trustworthy link structure within your emails.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Minimize the number of hops in your redirect chains to reduce latency and improve trust.
Use branded tracking domains or subdomains to enhance your link's perceived legitimacy.
Regularly monitor the reputation of all domains in your redirect paths.
Implement server-side tracking solutions where possible to avoid complex client-side redirects.
Common pitfalls
Using multiple unbranded or generic redirect URLs that lack established reputation.
Ignoring the reputation of intermediate domains in a redirect chain.
Failing to check for blacklisting (or blocklisting) of any domain within your link path.
Creating very long or obscure redirect chains that appear suspicious to filters.
Expert tips
Consider that mailbox providers may only sample redirection chains or dig deeper if there are other issues with the message.
Recognize that reputation scores can vary greatly depending on the link and the specific mailbox provider.
Note that enterprise filters are more likely to perform deep link analysis compared to consumer providers.
Understand that the impact of redirect chains on deliverability is constantly evolving.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says multiple chained domains can be viewed as a negative reputation hit, and it is recommended to avoid them.
2024-11-01 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks states that each hop in a redirect chain might carry a different reputation, which can complicate affiliate mail when run through multiple redirects.
2024-11-15 - Email Geeks
Summary
While chained redirects can be useful for advanced tracking and integration, they introduce potential risks to your email deliverability and sender reputation. The increased complexity and multiple domain hops provide more opportunities for spam filters to become suspicious, leading to lower inbox placement or outright blocking. Each domain in the chain contributes to the overall trust score, and any weak link can compromise the entire message.
To maintain optimal email deliverability, it's crucial to minimize redirect chains, use branded tracking domains, and proactively monitor the reputation of all involved domains. By adhering to best practices and understanding the potential pitfalls, you can mitigate the risks associated with chained redirects and ensure your emails consistently reach their intended recipients. A strong email deliverability strategy means continuously adapting to sender requirements and monitoring your performance.
