Should marketing email subdomains redirect to the main website and why?

Key findings

• User experience: Redirecting the email subdomain to the main website significantly improves the user experience. If a recipient types the subdomain into their browser, they are led to a familiar brand environment instead of a 404 error.
• Brand legitimacy: A live, redirecting subdomain reinforces the legitimacy of your emails, reducing the likelihood of recipients perceiving them as non-legitimate or spam. This is crucial for sender reputation.
• Deliverability impact: Some internet service providers (ISPs) and spam filters prefer to see A records and HTTPS-secured pages behind domains used for sending, which a redirect helps achieve. This can positively influence how your emails are treated, as discussed in our guide on how redirects affect deliverability.
• Reputation isolation: Using a dedicated subdomain for marketing separates its sending reputation from your main domain's reputation. If issues arise, the impact is confined to the subdomain, as explored by Selzy in their guide to email subdomains.
• SEO considerations: While email subdomains are distinct from website SEO subdomains, preventing a 404 on an active domain (even if only used for email) contributes to overall domain health and user trust, indirectly supporting your brand's online presence.

Key considerations

• Implementation: Setting up a redirect (e.g., a 301 redirect) from your marketing email subdomain to your main website is generally a straightforward technical task that should be considered standard practice.
• Brand perception: A redirect signals to recipients that the subdomain is an official part of your brand, fostering consistency and reducing potential confusion, which is vital for maintaining a strong email domain reputation.
• Avoiding 404s: An unresponsive or 404'ing subdomain can erode trust, making your emails appear less professional or even suspicious, potentially increasing spam complaints.
• Transparency: Transparent domain usage, where all brand-related domains lead to a coherent online presence, contributes to a positive perception by both recipients and email filters.

Key opinions

• Improved user experience: Redirecting provides a better experience for users who might type the email sending domain into their browser, reducing confusion and the likelihood of them marking emails as spam.
• Brand reinforcement: It reinforces brand legitimacy, especially for those who might verify the sender by visiting the domain, as discussed in our article on inconsistent branding impacts.
• Avoiding 404 errors: A 404 (page not found) error on an email subdomain can appear unprofessional and may lead recipients to question the legitimacy of your emails.
• Common practice: While some major companies might not redirect, many marketers are advised that it's a best practice, even if the precise technical reasoning isn't always clear to them.
• SEO benefits (indirect): Some believe that redirecting can consolidate SEO efforts, preventing search engine data from being split between the main domain and a non-content subdomain.

Key considerations

• Recipient trust: A transparent and functional subdomain helps build trust, making recipients less likely to report emails as spam if they are curious about the sending domain.
• Brand perception: Even if users don't frequently visit the subdomain, its functionality contributes to a polished and professional brand image. As FluentSMTP points out, setting up redirects is key to preventing user confusion.
• Simplicity for users: It streamlines the user journey if they happen to type the subdomain, guiding them directly to relevant brand information without dead ends.
• Avoiding incremental distrust: Each small negative experience, like a broken link or non-functional domain, can cumulatively lead a recipient to doubt the sender's legitimacy.

Key opinions

• Transparency and legitimacy: Experts emphasize that a redirect or a simple landing page increases transparency and reinforces the legitimate connection between the email and the brand. This aids human reviewers and automated systems in evaluating sender trustworthiness.
• Spam filter preference: Some mail providers and filters favor domains that have proper A records and are HTTPS-secured, as this indicates a more controlled and legitimate web presence, which directly impacts email deliverability. This is why it's important to understand when to implement email subdomains.
• Reduced misclassification: If a domain used for email marketing leads to a 404 error, it can incrementally increase the likelihood of the email being perceived as non-legitimate, potentially leading to incorrect blocklist or blacklist classifications.
• Subdomain reputation: While subdomains can have independent reputations, linking them to the main website through a redirect can subtly borrow from the main domain's established trust. Spam Resource highlights that ISPs track various types of traffic, including web interactions with your domains.

Key considerations

• Trivial implementation, significant gain: Given that setting up a redirect is technically simple, the benefits it provides in terms of user trust and deliverability hygiene make it a worthwhile effort with minimal cost.
• Holistic brand presence: Even for domains primarily used for email, a functional web presence that aligns with the main brand reinforces professionalism and trust across all digital touchpoints.
• Error reduction: Minimizing any potential 'dead ends' or 404 pages within your domain infrastructure contributes positively to the user's perception and indirectly to how filters might view your sending practices.
• ISP investigation support: During an ISP investigation (e.g., if an email is blocked incorrectly), a clear connection between the email subdomain and the main brand via a redirect can help decision-makers side with the legitimate sender.

Key findings

• Reputation separation: Documentation frequently advises using a dedicated subdomain for marketing emails to isolate its reputation from the main domain. This way, any issues with marketing campaigns do not harm the primary website's standing.
• Brand integrity: Maintaining a consistent brand identity across all digital touchpoints, including subdomains used for email, is a best practice. A redirect supports this by ensuring users land on a branded page.
• Technical configuration: Proper DNS records (like A records) and HTTPS security for any web-facing domain are generally recommended. Redirecting helps ensure these are in place for the email subdomain, as highlighted by FluentSMTP on setting up redirects.
• User trust signals: While not always explicit, the underlying principle is that a functional domain builds trust. A non-functional subdomain could be a red flag to recipients and potentially to automated filters.
• Deliverability hygiene: Documentation often implies that any domain associated with email sending should appear legitimate and well-maintained to contribute positively to overall deliverability, aligning with the importance of fixing emails going to spam.

Key considerations

• Security best practices: Ensuring the redirect uses HTTPS is important for security and trust. This is part of broader best practices for domain health.
• Domain alignment: While specific redirect instructions are rare, the general advice to maintain domain alignment for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) suggests that all associated domains should be properly managed and linked to the brand.
• Preventing confusion: Documentation often hints at the need to avoid anything that could confuse recipients or appear suspicious, and a non-functional domain can fall into this category.
• Overall reputation management: A redirect contributes to a holistic approach to domain and sender reputation, ensuring that all aspects of your online presence reinforce trust and legitimacy.