How does excluding bot clicks in Klaviyo affect email click rates and segmentation?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 15 Jul 2025
Updated 17 Aug 2025
11 min read
Email marketing relies heavily on accurate metrics to gauge campaign success and inform strategic decisions. However, the rise of bot activity presents a significant challenge, often inflating reported click rates and skewing data. When platforms like Klaviyo implement features to exclude these bot clicks, it naturally leads to a noticeable drop in reported click-through rates. This can be alarming at first glance, but it often reflects a more accurate picture of human engagement.
The key question then becomes, how does this exclusion truly impact your email marketing strategy, especially regarding segmentation? Understanding the nuances of bot clicks and how they are handled is crucial for maintaining effective campaigns and making data-driven decisions that foster real customer relationships.
Understanding bot clicks in Klaviyo
Bot clicks, also known as Non-Human Initiated (NHI) clicks, are interactions with email links performed by automated systems rather than actual human recipients. These bots can originate from various sources, including spam filters, security scanners, or malicious entities attempting to validate email addresses or trigger automated responses. They often click on every link in an email to assess its safety or to generate link previews. These clicks inflate metrics and distort real engagement data. Klaviyo's bot click detection aims to filter out these automated interactions, providing a cleaner dataset for marketers.
The process involves sophisticated algorithms that analyze various signals, such as IP addresses, user-agent strings, and click speed, to distinguish between human and bot activity. For instance, a click occurring milliseconds after an email is sent, especially from an IP address known to be associated with a data center or security service, is a strong indicator of bot activity. While these detection mechanisms are generally effective, they are not infallible and can sometimes incorrectly categorize human clicks as bot activity.
A critical point to understand about Klaviyo's NHI detection is that it is per event. This means if a bot clicks a link and then a human also clicks the same link, the human click will still be recorded and counted in your campaign metrics. However, if your segmentation relies on a strict Bot Clicks equals false filter, you risk excluding real, engaged subscribers who might have had initial bot interaction before their genuine click. This distinction is vital when assessing actual engagement and avoiding the suppression of valuable contacts.
Ultimately, the goal is to obtain accurate data that reflects genuine user behavior. While bot clicks can inflate your numbers, they don't contribute to conversions or true engagement. Filtering them out helps ensure that your metrics are based on human interaction, allowing for more reliable analysis and better optimization of your email campaigns. This is a key step to prevent bot clicks from hurting email reputation.
Impact on email click rates
Turning off bot click tracking in Klaviyo will almost certainly lead to a decrease in your reported email click rates. For example, if your click rate was previously 5% and a significant portion was bot-driven, filtering these out might drop your rate to 0.4% or similar. This sharp decline can be concerning, but it's important to understand that this new, lower figure is likely a more accurate representation of your actual human engagement. The inflated numbers previously masked the true performance of your campaigns. Ignoring bots is a common reason why email click rates are inflated.
The primary impact of excluding bot clicks on your click rates is the transition from misleading vanity metrics to actionable insights. A lower, more realistic click rate, while initially discouraging, provides a clearer view of how many actual subscribers are interested enough to click through your emails. This allows you to better assess the effectiveness of your subject lines, content, and calls to action (CTAs). If your content isn't optimized for clicks, a high open rate combined with a low click-through rate often indicates a need to refine your messaging or design.
The danger lies in over-aggressive filtering. Some Email Service Providers (ESPs) might employ heuristics that unintentionally filter out genuine human clicks if they occur too quickly after delivery, for example. If Klaviyo's bot detection marks a significant fraction of your legitimate clicks as bot, you could be underestimating your true engagement. This is particularly relevant for B2C emails, where high NHI click rates are less common than in B2B contexts where security scanners are more prevalent. Robot clicks can severely impact metrics if not managed correctly.
Ultimately, the shift to a lower, more accurate click rate compels you to focus on the quality of your engagement rather than inflated numbers. It highlights areas for content optimization and encourages a deeper analysis of subscriber behavior beyond just a click. This aligns with the broader goal of improving overall email engagement measurement and conversion.
Impact on segmentation
One of the most significant effects of excluding bot clicks is the impact on your segmentation strategies within Klaviyo. If your segments are built on raw click data that includes bot interactions, you might be making decisions based on misleading information. For instance, a segment of highly engaged users might include a disproportionate number of bot clicks, leading you to believe that a certain campaign or product is more popular than it actually is. This can lead to misallocated marketing efforts and inefficient spending.
By filtering out bot clicks, you gain a cleaner dataset that allows for more precise segmentation. You can create segments based on genuine human engagement, identifying truly active and interested subscribers. This enables you to tailor your campaigns more effectively, sending targeted messages to audiences who are genuinely responsive. For example, you can create a segment for users who have clicked an email in the last 30 days where Bot Clicks equals false. This ensures that only confirmed human interactions are used to define engagement for your segments, helping to detect and segment bot clicks accurately.
However, a potential pitfall is being overly aggressive with exclusions, which could inadvertently remove real customers from your segments. If Klaviyo's heuristics incorrectly flag human clicks as bot activity, and you use this data to suppress sends, you might be missing opportunities to engage with your most enthusiastic subscribers, those who click immediately upon receipt. This highlights the importance of understanding the underlying mechanism of bot detection and not blindly relying on raw filtered data for critical segmentation decisions. If you are excluding anyone with bot clicks from your segment, you are likely excluding some real individuals, particularly if the bot detection logic is too broad.
Ultimately, the cleaner data from excluding bot clicks allows you to build more meaningful segments based on genuine user interest. This leads to more relevant messaging, better engagement rates, and improved return on investment from your email marketing efforts. It shifts the focus from perceived activity to actual, measurable human behavior, which is essential for long-term subscriber list health and campaign performance. The issue of inflated click rates is a common concern among marketers, making accurate segmentation vital.
Accurate segmentation example
When building segments in Klaviyo, using the Bot Clicks equals false condition helps ensure your segments are based on human engagement.
Engaged users: Create a segment for profiles who have Clicked Email in the last X days, adding a condition where Bot Clicks equals false. This provides a list of genuinely interactive subscribers.
Re-engagement flows: Identify subscribers who haven't shown human engagement (e.g., no clicks with Bot Clicks equals false) for a certain period. Target these with specific re-engagement campaigns.
Strategies for accurate measurement and segmentation
Beyond simply turning off bot click exclusions, there are several strategies you can employ to gain a clearer understanding of your email performance and improve deliverability. One crucial approach is to compare your metrics both with and without bot click exclusions. This A/B testing can reveal the true impact of bot activity on your reported data and help you calibrate your expectations for genuine engagement rates. If you can track conversions, compare the revenue generated from segments with and without bot click exclusions. If the segments including bot clicks (but still containing human interaction) generate revenue, then total exclusion might not be the best approach for sending.
Focusing on metrics beyond just clicks is also vital. While clicks are an important indicator, ultimate success lies in conversions and revenue. Analyze your conversion rates, average order value, and customer lifetime value in relation to your email campaigns. These metrics offer a more holistic view of performance and are less susceptible to bot manipulation. For example, if you see high opens but low conversions after excluding bots, it points to content or offer issues, not just a click rate problem. You should also analyze deliverability reports to ensure emails are not landing in the spam folder, which would naturally affect engagement. Understanding how anti-spam click bots affect deliverability is important.
Furthermore, segmenting your audience based on acquisition source and analyzing performance by individual domains can provide deeper insights. Different acquisition channels might bring in subscribers with varying levels of engagement and bot activity. Similarly, some mailbox providers (MBPs) or domains might have more stringent security scanners, leading to higher bot clicks. By analyzing these breakdowns, you can identify patterns and adjust your strategies accordingly. For a deeper dive into understanding NHI traffic, an informative resource can be found on deliveries, opens, and clicks.
Finally, regular content review and optimization are paramount. Even with accurate click data, a low click rate indicates that your email content or call to action isn't compelling enough. Ensure your content is optimized for clicks, with clear CTAs positioned prominently (e.g., above the scroll). Continuously test different subject lines, preview text, email designs, and offers to improve actual human engagement. Focusing on these elements ensures that your messages resonate with your audience and drive desired actions, irrespective of bot activity. This also helps when considering why emails are going to spam.
Navigating accurate email engagement
Excluding bot clicks in Klaviyo can dramatically alter your reported click rates, often revealing a lower but more accurate picture of human engagement. While this initial drop might seem concerning, it provides a foundation for more effective email marketing. By focusing on true human interactions, you can refine your segmentation, optimize your content, and ultimately drive better conversions. Remember to test different approaches and consider a holistic view of your metrics to ensure your strategies are based on genuine subscriber behavior.
A low click rate, coupled with healthy open rates and low spam complaints, indicates that your emails are reaching the inbox, but the content or offer isn't compelling enough to drive clicks. This is an opportunity to fine-tune your messaging, design, and calls to action to resonate more deeply with your audience, leading to truly engaged subscribers.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always A/B test sending to audiences with and without bot click exclusions.
Prioritize conversion and revenue metrics over just click rates for true performance evaluation.
Segment your audience based on genuine human clicks by using 'Bot Clicks equals false' conditions.
Regularly review your email content and CTAs for optimal engagement.
Common pitfalls
Blindly relying on inflated click rates for segmentation, leading to misinformed strategies.
Over-excluding subscribers based on bot detection that might be too aggressive, suppressing real users.
Not connecting website activity with email recipients, missing valuable cross-channel insights.
Neglecting content optimization when open rates are high but click rates are low.
Expert tips
NHI (Non-Human Initiated) detection is typically per event. If a bot clicks, then a human clicks, the human click is recorded.
Never suppress individuals or exclude them from sending just because of NHI activity. Use bot filtering solely for analytics.
If Klaviyo's bot click detection is marking a significant portion of clicks as 'bot' on B2C streams, investigate their heuristics.
Just because there's an NHI click doesn't mean a human doesn't also see and react to the mail.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they are managing emails for a skincare brand and have observed very low click rates around 0.4% after turning off bot clicks in Klaviyo, despite sending to a tight segment.
2024-10-09 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says their open rate is around 50% or higher, and spam complaints and unsubscribes are low, indicating good deliverability.
Klaviyo implement features to exclude these bot clicks, it naturally leads to a noticeable drop in reported click-through rates. This can be alarming at first glance, but it often reflects a more accurate picture of human engagement. 
