How do landing pages impact email deliverability, especially with Gmail?

Key findings

• Direct impact: Landing page content can directly affect email deliverability and open rates, even if the sending domain is reputable.
• Content analysis: Gmail, being a sophisticated ESP, is known to crawl and analyze linked landing pages, using this data as part of its filtering process.
• Spam triggers: The presence of spammy language, excessive monetary terms, or other suspicious elements on a landing page can lead to emails being directed to the spam folder or promotions tab.
• Engagement implications: A significant drop in open rates, such as 28%, suggests that the email might have been routed to a less visible folder, demonstrating a substantial impact on audience engagement.

Key considerations

• Content consistency: Ensure your landing page content aligns with the context and intent of your email to avoid raising red flags with spam filters.
• URL masking: While URL masking (redirects) can be used, the underlying destination content is still analyzed by ESPs. Learn more about how URL shorteners and domain reputation impact deliverability.
• Gmail's sophistication: Recognize that Gmail's algorithms are highly advanced and consider website quality and relevance as part of their deliverability assessment. Understand how Gmail tracks email engagement for reputation.
• A/B testing: When conducting A/B tests with vastly different landing pages, be prepared to observe significant deliverability variations, as seen in the reported 28% open rate difference.
• User experience: The quality and perceived value of the landing page also influence user engagement, which indirectly boosts sender reputation. Kickbox highlights how email content itself can impact deliverability.

Key opinions

• Surprising impact: Marketers, particularly those new to having control over landing pages, are often surprised by how much landing page content can affect email deliverability, leading to significant drops in open rates.
• Content scrutiny: The general consensus suggests that content, including that on the linked landing page, is under scrutiny by email filters.
• Tab placement: A large difference in open rates (e.g., 28%) often points to emails landing in different Gmail tabs (primary versus promotions), rather than outright blocking, though this still impacts visibility.
• URL consistency: Even when using the same domain and masked URLs, variations in landing page content can trigger different deliverability outcomes.

Key considerations

• Post-click experience: Marketers should consider the entire user journey, from email click to landing page, as it all contributes to engagement signals. Klaviyo emphasizes that relevant, valuable emails encourage interaction and boost positive engagement rates.
• Hidden triggers: Be mindful of "spam trigger words" or excessive commercial language, not just in the email body, but also on the linked landing pages.
• A/B test variables: When running A/B tests, ensure that all variables beyond the specific content being tested (like domain, URL masking) are consistent to accurately attribute deliverability changes.
• Promotional vs. primary: Actively monitor how your emails land in Gmail's tabs, as this heavily influences open rates and can be subtly affected by landing page content. Learn about the impact of Gmail's Primary versus Promotional tabs.

Key opinions

• Impact confirmed: Experts definitively state that landing pages affect email delivery, particularly with Gmail.
• Gmail's crawling: Gmail actively crawls and assesses landing pages linked in emails, integrating this data into its filtering algorithms.
• Website ranking: Gmail assigns rankings to websites, and these rankings contribute to an email's overall deliverability score.
• Not primary, but significant: While landing pages may not always be a "primary metric," their influence can be substantial enough to cause significant deliverability shifts, such as changes in tab placement or spam filtering.
• Full journey analysis: Sophisticated filters follow every link to understand the full context of the email's intent and the linked content's quality.

Key considerations

• Holistic reputation: Understand that your sender reputation is not solely based on email metrics but also on the quality and trustworthiness of your linked web properties. Explore how Google Postmaster Tools manage domain reputation.
• Content quality beyond email: Invest in ensuring your landing pages are high-quality, relevant, and free of "spammy" characteristics, as this directly influences how ESPs view your campaigns.
• Transparent linking: While URL masking is common, recognize that the underlying destination is still subject to scrutiny. Consider whether secure HTTPS links improve deliverability.
• Monitor Gmail Postmaster Tools: Utilize tools to gain insights into how Gmail perceives your domain and emails, including potential issues related to content or linked pages. Learn about the Ultimate Guide to Google Postmaster Tools.

Key findings

• Content relevance: Documentation often stresses that email content should be relevant to the audience and consistent with the sender's brand, a principle that naturally extends to linked landing pages.
• Anti-phishing measures: Security guidelines (like DMARC, SPF, DKIM) are designed to combat malicious links and phishing, implying that linked content is heavily scrutinized for safety.
• Engagement metrics: ESPs emphasize positive engagement (opens, clicks, replies) and discourage negative engagement (spam complaints, unsubscribes), which are heavily influenced by the post-click experience on the landing page.
• Domain reputation: The reputation of the domain hosting the landing page is a critical factor, as ESPs associate the link with the sender's overall trustworthiness.
• User experience: Good user experience on a landing page, including fast loading times and mobile responsiveness, is indirectly linked to positive engagement signals.

Key considerations

• Compliance: Ensure your landing pages comply with privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and industry standards, as non-compliance can harm your domain reputation. CookieYes highlights landing page compliance.
• HTTPS: Always use secure HTTPS links for your landing pages to build trust and potentially improve deliverability. Explore how secure HTTPS links improve email deliverability.
• Avoid spam traps: Ensure your linked pages are not associated with known spam traps or blocklists. Consult a guide to email blocklists.
• Clear calls to action: A clear and expected call to action on your landing page contributes to positive user experience and engagement, which indirectly benefits deliverability.