Does clicking a link in an email reading pane count as a click with ESP tracking?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 4 Jul 2025
Updated 18 Aug 2025
7 min read
One common question that arises in the world of email marketing and deliverability is whether interacting with an email in a reading pane, specifically clicking a link, registers as a tracked click by your Email Service Provider (ESP). It's a nuanced area, as different email clients and security features can influence how these interactions are recorded.
Understanding how ESPs track clicks is crucial for accurately assessing your campaign performance and overall email engagement. While opens were historically measured by a tracking pixel loading, clicks are generally more reliable as an indicator of recipient interest.
How ESP click tracking works
ESPs typically employ a technique called link wrapping to track clicks. When you send an email through an ESP, all the links in your message are rewritten (wrapped) with a unique URL that redirects through the ESP's tracking server before going to the original destination. This allows the ESP to record the click event.
When a recipient clicks a wrapped link, their browser first makes a request to the ESP's tracking server, which then immediately redirects them to the intended URL. This initial request to the tracking server is what allows your ESP to log the click, identifying the recipient and the specific link clicked. This process happens regardless of whether the email was opened in a full window or within a reading pane.
From a technical standpoint, the location where the email is displayed, such as a reading pane, does not alter the fundamental mechanism of click tracking. If a user clicks a link, an HTTPS request is initiated, and that request is intercepted and recorded by the ESP. Therefore, clicking a link within an email reading pane does count as a click with ESP tracking, assuming the link tracking is properly set up.
Understanding the tracking mechanism
Your ESP uses unique URLs for each link in your email campaign. When a recipient clicks a link, they are first routed through your ESP's tracking server. This server records the click and then redirects the recipient to the final destination URL.
Example tracking link
Wrapped link examplehttp
Original Link: https://yourdomain.com/landing-page
Wrapped Link: https://track.esp.com/click?u=recipientID&m=messageID&url=https%3A%2F%2Fyourdomain.com%2Flanding-page
Understanding inflated click metrics and bot activity
A common concern among email marketers is the potential for inflated click metrics, often attributed to non-human interaction (NHI) or bot activity. These are not typically related to how the email is displayed, such as a reading pane, but rather to automated systems that scan emails for security or content analysis.
Email security software, antivirus programs, and spam filters often scan email content and click links to check for malicious content or phishing attempts. This automated process can trigger a click on every link in an email, leading to artificially high click counts that don't represent actual human engagement. Some ESPs try to filter these out, but it is not always perfect. This phenomenon is often referred to as email bot clicks.
The issue of numerous clicks from a single recipient, like 57 clicks per person, is a strong indicator of bot activity rather than genuine human interaction. These clicks are recorded by your ESP's tracking mechanisms, but they don't reflect a human's interest in your content. Mailbox providers such as Gmail and Yahoo don't artificially inflate these numbers; rather, their security systems might be the source of these automated clicks.
Impact on metrics
Bot clicks can severely skew your email marketing metrics, making it difficult to accurately assess campaign performance. High click rates from bots can falsely indicate strong engagement, leading to misinformed strategic decisions.
Mailbox providers (MBPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) don't directly record the clicks on your links. Instead, they observe user engagement signals. When a user clicks a link in your email, the resulting HTTP request from their browser is what matters. This signal, combined with other interactions like replying or marking as not spam, contributes to your sender reputation.
For deliverability, an MBP is more interested in whether a human recipient genuinely engaged with your email by clicking a link and potentially visiting your website. Automated clicks from security scanners, while recorded by your ESP, are typically disregarded by MBPs when evaluating your sender reputation. They are smart enough to differentiate these interactions. A high volume of legitimate clicks indicates positive engagement and can positively influence your domain reputation and future inbox placement.
If your ESP's click tracking links are being flagged or blocked as dangerous, this indicates a separate issue. It could be due to your ESP's shared IP reputation, or your domain potentially being listed on a real-time blacklist (RBL). If links are being blocked, the click will naturally not be recorded.
Human clicks
Engagement signal: Genuine interest in the email content, leading to a visit to your landing page or website.
Deliverability impact: Positive influence on sender reputation. Higher rates of legitimate clicks improve inbox placement over time.
Measurement: ESPs track these as valid clicks. Supplement with website analytics for a complete view of post-click behavior.
Bot clicks
Engagement signal: Automated scanning by security software or filters, not actual human interaction.
Deliverability impact: Generally disregarded by MBPs for reputation scoring, but can impact spam trap detection.
Measurement: Can inflate ESP click metrics, making it hard to see true human engagement.
Accurate measurement of email engagement
To effectively measure email campaign success, it's important to look beyond raw click numbers. Consider the quality of those clicks and how they translate into desired actions. Analyzing your click-through rate (CTR) in conjunction with conversion metrics from your website or landing pages will give you a more accurate picture.
While ESPs provide valuable data, integrating that data with other analytics platforms (like Google Analytics) can help you get a holistic view of user engagement. This allows you to differentiate between a click that simply loads a page and one that leads to a meaningful interaction, such as a purchase or a sign-up.
Focus on improving the overall quality of your email campaigns to encourage genuine human interaction. This includes segmenting your audience, personalizing content, and ensuring your emails provide value. By doing so, you'll naturally see an increase in meaningful clicks, which ultimately contributes to better deliverability and campaign success.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Implement robust recipient segmentation to ensure your content is relevant to each subscriber group.
Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and known spam traps.
A/B test your subject lines, content, and calls to action to optimize engagement rates.
Monitor your domain and IP reputation using tools like Google Postmaster to identify issues early.
Use clear and concise email copy that provides immediate value, encouraging genuine clicks.
Common pitfalls
Over-reliance on open rates as a sole success metric, especially with changes in privacy features.
Ignoring high click-through rates that are not accompanied by similar website engagement, indicating bot activity.
Not aligning ESP click data with website analytics to verify human interaction and conversion.
Sending emails to unengaged segments, which can lead to spam complaints and blocklisting.
Failing to adapt email content and strategy based on actual human engagement data.
Expert tips
Validate all links in your emails before sending to avoid broken or malicious redirects.
Ensure your ESP's tracking domain is properly configured and not on any public blocklists.
Consider using UTM parameters on your links for more granular tracking in web analytics.
Educate your team on what constitutes a genuine click versus automated scanning.
Prioritize building trust with your audience through consistent, valuable content.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks says that how an email is displayed or where the link appears is irrelevant. Once a link is clicked, an HTTP(s) request occurs and is recorded by the server hosting the link, regardless of the email client.
2024-02-15 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says that high click counts for a single person, like 57 clicks, usually point to non-human interaction or bot clicks rather than actual human engagement.
2024-03-20 - Email Geeks
Key takeaways for email click tracking
In summary, a click on a link within an email reading pane does indeed count as a click with ESP tracking. The method of opening the email, whether in a preview pane or a full window, does not change the underlying technical mechanism of link wrapping and redirection that ESPs use to record these interactions. The primary factor influencing click counts, especially inflated ones, is often automated bot activity from security scanners and spam filters, rather than the display method.
For email marketers, understanding the distinction between human clicks and bot clicks is vital for accurate performance measurement. While your ESP will record all clicks, focusing on the quality of engagement and integrating your ESP data with broader analytics will provide a more meaningful insight into your campaign effectiveness. This comprehensive approach helps you to improve your email deliverability and achieve your marketing goals.
