Summary
The alignment of sending and click tracking domains is a common topic in email deliverability, especially as email service providers (ESPs) offer varying levels of flexibility. While complete alignment is often seen as ideal, it's not strictly necessary for good deliverability, provided that both domains maintain strong reputations. The primary concern is how these differences are perceived by recipients and whether they trigger spam filters or blocklists based on perceived inconsistencies or malicious intent.
Key findings
- Reputation is key: The most significant factor for deliverability, whether domains align or not, is the individual reputation of each domain involved in the email's infrastructure (sending, DKIM, click tracking).
- Common practice: Many large email marketing platforms routinely use different click tracking domains, making this a widely accepted practice. Receivers are accustomed to seeing this setup, so it doesn't automatically trigger spam flags.
- Recipient suspicion: While not an automatic filter trigger, a stark mismatch between the visible sending domain and the linked domain could potentially raise suspicion for highly observant recipients, though this is less common with well-known tracking domains.
- Simplified checks: Aligning domains can simplify the checks performed by receiving mail servers, as they only need to verify one domain's reputation for authenticity. This might marginally ease the filtering process.
Key considerations
- Domain reputation: Focus on maintaining an excellent reputation for both your sending domain and your click tracking domain. This includes avoiding spam complaints and maintaining good engagement rates. You can learn more about this by reading what is domain reputation.
- Subdomain usage: If possible, use a subdomain of your primary sending domain for click tracking. For example, if you send from example.com, a click tracking domain like clicks.example.com is better than a completely unrelated domain, as explored in does tracking URL subdomain alignment affect email deliverability?.
- ESP limitations: If your ESP has limitations on click tracking domains, assess the trade-off. Often, the benefits of using that ESP (features, cost) outweigh the minor perceived risk of differing domains, especially with reputable ESPs.
- Monitoring: Continuously monitor your deliverability metrics and sender reputation for all domains used in your email sending, including the click tracking domain, to quickly identify and address any issues.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often face practical constraints when setting up their email infrastructure, particularly concerning domain alignment for sending and tracking. While perfect alignment is frequently cited as a best practice, many marketers find that it's not always feasible or strictly necessary. Their experiences suggest that good domain reputation and transparent communication are far more critical than exact domain matching between sending and click tracking.
Key opinions
- Minimal impact: Many marketers report that having different sending and click tracking domains has little to no real effect on deliverability, provided both domains have good reputations.
- Common practice: It's a widespread practice, particularly when using third-party ESPs. Most recipients and spam filters are used to seeing this setup.
- Sender reputation: The reputation of the domains involved is far more important than their alignment. A bad reputation for either domain will cause more issues than a misalignment.
- User suspicion: The main concern might be a slight increase in recipient suspicion, rather than automatic spam flagging by filters.
Key considerations
- Prioritize reputation: If forced to choose, prioritize maintaining a pristine reputation for your primary sending domain and ensure the click tracking domain (even if different) also has a solid reputation. This is more critical than aligning them.
- ESP features: Consider if the ESP's other features (e.g., analytics, automation) outweigh the minor perceived deliverability risk of domain non-alignment. Many ESPs, like Mailchimp, frequently use separate tracking domains. Also, understand how link shorteners impact deliverability.
- Brand consistency: While technical impact may be low, consider the visual consistency for your brand. A mismatched domain in the link preview might look less professional to some users. For more, read why tracking domains are essential for email automation.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that having sending and click tracking domains differ typically has no real negative effect on deliverability. The primary factor is that both domains need to maintain good reputations. This means that as long as your sending domain is trusted and the tracking domain is not associated with malicious activity, deliverability should remain unaffected.
Marketer view
A marketer from Nutshell indicates that email deliverability is heavily influenced by user engagement metrics like opens and clicks. If there's a significant disparity between these numbers, it can negatively impact sender reputation. Therefore, while domain alignment isn't the sole factor, overall engagement is crucial for inbox placement.
What the experts say
Experts in email deliverability generally concur that while domain alignment is a recognized best practice, it's not a hard rule that dictates inbox placement. Their insights highlight that the underlying reputation of each domain is the overriding factor. Misalignment becomes a concern primarily if it contributes to a perception of deception or if one of the domains has a poor history.
Key opinions
- Reputation over alignment: Experts consistently emphasize that the individual reputation of the sending domain and the click tracking domain is far more critical than their alignment. A good reputation for both bypasses most issues.
- Not a spam flag: Differing domains for sending and click tracking do not, by themselves, automatically trigger spam filters. This setup is common and understood by most mailbox providers.
- Common industry practice: Many major ESPs utilize different tracking domains, validating this as a standard and acceptable practice within the email ecosystem. Users and mail servers are generally accustomed to this behavior.
Key considerations
- Consistency: While not strictly required, using a subdomain of your main sending domain for tracking (e.g., track.yourdomain.com) provides better perceived consistency and can build trust, as highlighted in the basics of email subdomains.
- Authentication: Ensure both your sending domain and any tracking domains are properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This is crucial for establishing trust, regardless of alignment. Learn more about DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
- Blocklist status: Actively monitor both domains to ensure neither ends up on a major email blocklist (or blacklist), which would significantly impact deliverability irrespective of alignment.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks confirmed that while it would be better to have sending and click tracking domains aligned, it has no real detrimental effect as long as both domains maintain good reputations. They explain that alignment simply makes it easier for receivers to perform checks, but non-alignment isn't an automatic red flag.
Expert view
An expert from SpamResource frequently advises clients that domain reputation is paramount. They suggest that a different tracking domain is acceptable if it too has a clean sending history and is not associated with suspicious activities. The key is to manage all domains involved in the email flow carefully.
What the documentation says
Official documentation from various email service providers and industry bodies often emphasizes domain alignment as a best practice, but typically with caveats. They explain that the goal of alignment is primarily to simplify reputation checks for receiving mail servers and to present a consistent, trustworthy brand identity to recipients. However, the documentation also acknowledges that technical configurations often necessitate different domains for specific functions like click tracking.
Key findings
- Best practice for alignment: Many ESPs recommend aligning sending, DKIM, and click tracking domains for optimal deliverability and reputation management, as stated by Klaviyo Help Center.
- Improved deliverability: Custom domain tracking can improve deliverability by helping to bypass email filters that might flag generic tracking links as spam, ensuring better inbox placement.
- Infrastructure consideration: The entire sending infrastructure, including the sending domain, click tracking domain, and IP address, collectively influences email deliverability.
- Domain reputation: Domain reputation is consistently cited as one of the main factors affecting email deliverability, irrespective of specific domain alignment. This includes the reputation of the tracking domain.
Key considerations
- Consistent branding: Aligning domains ensures brand consistency and helps maintain recipient trust, as they see a single, familiar domain throughout the email and its links.
- Subdomain strategy: If full alignment isn't possible, utilizing subdomains for tracking (e.g., track.yourdomain.com) is often recommended over completely unrelated domains, providing a degree of visual and technical association.
- Bypassing filters: Generic tracking links from shared domains can be more susceptible to spam filtering. Using a custom tracking domain, even if different from the sending domain, can help bypass these filters effectively.
- Local domain association: For links displayed in emails sent by ESPs, the local domain serves as the primary identifier for tracking. Its setup and reputation are crucial, as described by NotifyVisitors Support.
Technical article
Documentation from Klaviyo Help Center states that it is best practice to align all domains if possible, including sending and DKIM domains, alongside the click tracking domain. This alignment aims to create a cohesive and trustworthy sending identity, which can simplify verification processes for receiving servers and enhance overall deliverability.
Technical article
Acoustic's blog on email deliverability experts suggests that custom domain tracking improves deliverability by helping to bypass email filters that frequently flag generic tracking links as spam. This practice ensures that legitimate emails are less likely to be mistakenly identified as malicious, supporting inbox placement even if the domains aren't perfectly aligned.
Related resources
15 resources
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