What are common SendGrid unsubscribe and tracking issues and how are they resolved?

Key findings

• Software bugs: Bugs can directly impact unsubscribe functionality, causing subscription tracking to fail or update incorrectly, leading to non-compliant sending to opted-out users.
• Automated interactions: Spam filters and security scanners may click links within emails, including unsubscribe links, artificially inflating click counts or causing unintended unsubscribes without actual user interaction. This can also apply to other elements of an email such as links, affecting email link testing by providers like Oath.
• Tracking discrepancies: Users may observe inexplicable spikes in overall clicks that do not correlate with website traffic or bounce rates, suggesting tracking errors rather than genuine engagement.
• Compliance risk: Sending emails to unsubscribed individuals due to tracking failures poses a significant compliance risk and can damage sender reputation.
• Limited ESP solutions: Sometimes, direct support from the Email Service Provider (ESP) may not offer immediate or complete solutions for complex tracking and unsubscribe anomalies.

Key considerations

• Monitor unique metrics: Focus on unique opens and clicks to gain a more accurate understanding of user engagement, as total clicks can be skewed by bot or spam filter activity. Learn more about what could cause unusual clicks and unsubscribes in SendGrid.
• Proactive unsubscribe management: Ensure your unsubscribe mechanisms are robust and comply with modern standards, including SendGrid's group unsubscribe functionality, to mitigate accidental or non-human triggered events.
• Regular data validation: Periodically cross-reference SendGrid's reported unsubscribe data with your internal records and website analytics to identify inconsistencies early.
• Custom link tracking review: If you use custom link tracking or branded links, be aware that updates or bugs can specifically impact these configurations, requiring vigilant monitoring and testing.

Key opinions

• Unsubscribe bug impact: A significant concern among marketers is when a bug impacts unsubscribe tracking, causing emails to be sent to opted-out subscribers, which is a major compliance violation.
• Inaccurate click data: Many marketers report unusual spikes in overall clicks that don't correspond to real engagement, often suspecting tracking errors or bot activity.
• Spam filter interference: Clients sometimes report opens for emails they never interacted with or unsubscribes without clicking, which SendGrid often attributes to spam filter activity checking links.
• Support limitations: Some marketers express disappointment with SendGrid's support, finding that even premium assistance doesn't always provide definitive solutions for complex tracking issues. This highlights the importance of understanding why your emails fail.

Key considerations

• Focus on unique metrics: Marketers mitigate the effect of inflated numbers by focusing on unique opens and clicks, providing a more reliable view of engagement.
• Proactive monitoring: It is crucial for marketers managing multiple accounts to regularly monitor for discrepancies in unsubscribe and click data across all clients. Unexpected clicks or unsubscribes could be caused by email testing by providers or bot activity, so it is important to follow unsubscribe link best practices.
• Investigate significant anomalies: Any significant increase in clicks without corresponding website activity should prompt an immediate investigation into potential tracking errors.
• Understand technical configurations: Awareness that custom link tracking and branded links can be particularly susceptible to bugs during platform updates is important for troubleshooting.
• Address underlying deliverability issues: If emails consistently go to spam or face deliverability issues, it may indicate a lack of proper suppression mechanisms. Twilio details common causes of email delivery failures including high complaint rates and infrastructure issues on their blog.

Key opinions

• Bot clicks and scanning: Experts agree that inflated click rates or unintended unsubscribes are frequently caused by automated security scanners and bots clicking links within emails, rather than human interaction.
• Data accuracy is key: It is critical to validate reported metrics (like unique opens vs. total clicks) against independent data to truly understand campaign performance and identify tracking anomalies. Google Postmaster Tools can be a valuable resource here.
• List hygiene importance: Maintaining a clean and accurate suppression list is paramount for compliance and preventing damage to sender reputation, especially if tracking issues cause re-sends to opted-out users.
• Authentication impact: Strong email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can improve trust with MBPs, potentially reducing the likelihood of emails being subjected to aggressive scanning that might trigger false clicks or unsubscribes. Consider how the List-Unsubscribe header affects email reputation.

Key considerations

• Implement one-click unsubscribe: With new requirements from major mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo, ensuring your emails support one-click unsubscribe functionality via the List-Unsubscribe header is critical for deliverability and user experience.
• Verify tracking domain SSL: Experts recommend setting up SSL for custom click tracking domains to prevent certificate errors that can break links or deter user engagement. This aligns with SendGrid's best practices detailed in their Deliverability Guide.
• Segment automated clicks: If possible, identify and filter out clicks generated by security scanners or bots from your analytical reporting to get a clearer picture of true engagement.
• Understand suppression lists: Recognize that ESPs maintain their own suppression lists, which might not always perfectly sync with your records, necessitating careful reconciliation to avoid re-sending to unsubscribed users.

Key findings

• Automatic unsubscribe functionality: SendGrid's Subscription Tracking feature automatically inserts an unsubscribe link and maintains the unsubscribe list to aid compliance.
• Group unsubscribe benefits: SendGrid offers Group Unsubscribe functionality to help reduce unintended or automated unsubscribe events.
• Suppressions explained: Suppression lists are created when recipient addresses are added to unsubscribe groups, preventing further email delivery to those addresses. This directly impacts tracking URL subdomain alignment and overall deliverability.
• Multiple unsubscribe methods: There are various ways to implement unsubscribe options, including native modules within SendGrid's email editor.
• Common delivery failure causes: High complaint rates, email infrastructure issues, and lack of permission-based sending are identified as primary causes of email delivery failures.

Key considerations

• SSL for click tracking: To resolve common errors like ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID, SendGrid documentation suggests either disabling click tracking or, preferably, setting up SSL for your custom click tracking domain. This prevents broken SendGrid links.
• Track suppression activity: Ensure that suppression tracking is correctly configured in your SendGrid settings to accurately manage unsubscribed recipients. Refer to your ESP's specific guides, such as MoEngage's instructions for tracking email unsubscribes with SendGrid.
• Compliance with new requirements: Keep up to date with evolving email provider requirements, such as Google and Yahoo's emphasis on one-click unsubscribe, to ensure ongoing compliance and prevent deliverability issues.