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Is SSL important for tracked links and images in email marketing sender reputation and deliverability?

Summary

While SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security) primarily focus on data encryption and integrity, their importance extends to email marketing, particularly for tracked links and images. Although a lack of SSL on these assets might not directly cause your emails to land in the spam folder due to a poor sender reputation (as primary email authentication mechanisms like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are more critical here), it significantly impacts user trust, engagement, and the overall deliverability experience.

What email marketers say

Email marketers generally agree that while the direct impact of SSL on tracked links and images on sender reputation and deliverability might not be as pronounced as core email authentication, it's still a critical component for ensuring a positive user experience and avoiding potential roadblocks. Many view it as a necessary cost for maintaining trust and professionalism.

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks states that their gut feeling strongly suggests SSL is important for tracked links and images regarding sender reputation and deliverability, even if concrete evidence is hard to pinpoint.

16 Sep 2020 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that they work with Marketing Cloud, which does not secure its links and images by default, requiring an additional SSL certificate purchase to lock them down.

16 Sep 2020 - Email Geeks

What the experts say

Email deliverability experts generally emphasize the nuanced role of SSL in email. While it is not a direct factor in mailbox provider spam filtering algorithms (unlike DMARC, SPF, and DKIM), it plays a crucial role in the overall user experience and perception of security, which can indirectly influence engagement and, by extension, sender reputation.

Expert view

Deliverability Engineer from SpamResource.com discusses how mixed content (HTTP assets on an HTTPS page) can lead to unexpected user experiences, emphasizing that while not a direct deliverability factor, it affects how recipients perceive email security.

18 Sep 2020 - SpamResource.com

Expert view

Expert from Wordtothewise.com states that a key aspect of email authentication is ensuring all components, including tracking domains, are secured with SSL/TLS to align with modern web security practices.

20 Jan 2023 - Wordtothewise.com

What the documentation says

Official documentation from major email service providers and industry standards bodies strongly recommends the use of HTTPS for all web resources, including those linked within emails. This aligns with a broader internet trend towards ubiquitous encryption to protect user data and ensure content integrity. While explicit rules penalizing HTTP content within emails for deliverability are rare, the emphasis is on providing a secure and consistent user experience.

Technical article

Documentation from Klaviyo Help Center states that email deliverability infrastructure refers to the various systems, tools, and domains used to deliver emails to recipients, implying the holistic nature of factors contributing to deliverability, including security.

10 Apr 2024 - Klaviyo Help Center

Technical article

CleverReach documentation highlights that SSL encryption is essential for protecting data from unauthorized access during transmission, ensuring third parties cannot manipulate email content or tracking data.

01 May 2025 - CleverReach

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