Summary
A drop in email click-through rates (CTR) in Gmail can be attributed to a complex interplay of factors encompassing list hygiene, authentication, content, design, reputation, and technical elements. Poor list quality and hygiene, combined with unengaging subject lines and ineffective email design (especially on mobile), can deter clicks. Gmail's placement of emails in the Promotions tab rather than the Primary tab further reduces visibility. Technical issues, such as rendering problems, broken links, and Microsoft SafeLinks redirections, degrade user experience. High spam complaint rates and authentication failures negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability, potentially leading to email rejection or throttling. Ensuring proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration is critical. Reviewing Google Postmaster Tools can give insight to authentication issues and domain reputation. Regularly cleaning your list, optimizing content and design, and actively monitoring reputation are crucial for maintaining and improving CTR.
Key findings
- List Quality & Hygiene: Poor list quality and lack of hygiene (inactive subscribers) directly reduce engagement and CTR.
- Subject Line Engagement: Unengaging subject lines lead to lower open rates and subsequent reduction in CTR.
- Mobile-First Design: Poorly designed emails, particularly on mobile devices, deter clicks and reduce engagement.
- Promotions Tab Placement: Consistent placement in the Promotions tab significantly reduces email visibility and CTR.
- Technical Rendering Issues: Rendering problems, broken links, and other technical glitches negatively affect user experience and CTR.
- Sender Reputation and Deliverability: High spam complaint rates and authentication failures significantly impact sender reputation and deliverability.
- Email Authentication: Improper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can lead to email filtering or rejection.
- Google Postmaster Tools: Google Postmaster Tools provides valuable insights into deliverability issues, spam rates and domain reputation.
- SafeLinks Redirection: Microsoft SafeLinks adds redirection hops that delay the user's journey.
Key considerations
- Implement Regular List Cleaning: Clean your email lists regularly by removing inactive or disengaged subscribers.
- Optimize Subject Lines and Content: Refine email subject lines to enhance engagement and focus content on relevance to the recipient.
- Prioritize Mobile-First Design: Design your emails with mobile devices as a primary consideration to ensure optimal display and user experience.
- Review Gmail Placement: Audit email content and formatting to mitigate placement in the Promotions tab.
- Test Across Email Clients: Thoroughly test emails across various email clients and devices to catch and resolve technical issues.
- Authenticate Email: Make sure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are properly configured to make sure that email isn't blocked.
- Monitor Spam Complaints: Monitor sender reputation in Google Postmaster Tools and quickly solve issues.
- Review DMARC reports: DMARC reports can highlight email authentication problems.
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
A drop in email click-through rates (CTR) in Gmail can stem from various factors, with deliverability issues and engagement being primary concerns. Poor list quality, unengaging subject lines, and ineffective email design, particularly on mobile devices, can significantly deter clicks. Additionally, landing in the Promotions tab instead of the Primary tab can reduce visibility. Technical issues such as rendering problems and broken links also negatively impact CTR. Segmentation and relevant content are essential for maintaining engagement. External factors like Cookiebot can also affect tracking. Regular A/B testing and optimization of email elements is crucial for sustained performance. Finally, Google Postmaster Tools and ensuring correct DKIM setup are essential.
Key opinions
- List Quality: Declining email list quality leads to lower engagement. Clean your list regularly to remove inactive subscribers.
- Subject Lines: Unengaging subject lines impact open rates and, consequently, CTR. Test different subject lines to improve performance.
- Email Design: Poor email design, especially on mobile, deters clicks. Ensure responsive design and clear calls-to-action.
- Promotions Tab: Emails consistently landing in the Promotions tab receive less attention. Make emails more personal and less promotional.
- Rendering Issues: Rendering problems and broken links negatively affect CTR. Test emails across different clients.
- Segmentation: Irrelevant content causes disengagement. Segment your list and tailor content to specific groups.
- Cookiebot: Cookiebot on client's website can affect deliverability and CTR.
- Google Postmaster Tools: Use Google Postmaster Tools to see domain's reputation and DKIM success rate.
Key considerations
- Regular Optimization: Continuously test and optimize email subject lines, body copy, design, and calls-to-action. Test one thing at a time.
- Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure your email designs are fully responsive and optimized for mobile viewing to prevent deterring clicks.
- Content Relevance: Focus on delivering relevant, valuable content to subscribers based on their interests and behavior.
- DKIM setup: Ensuring DKIM is setup correctly.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email on Acid says that rendering issues can affect the display of your email, and if links aren't working correctly or are broken, or the message is not readable then this could affect the CTR. Test your emails across different email clients.
15 Nov 2022 - Email on Acid
Marketer view
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that a less engaging subject line can lead to lower open rates, thus impacting click-through rates. Testing different subject lines is recommended.
25 May 2023 - Sendinblue
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
A drop in email click-through rates (CTR) in Gmail can be attributed to several factors, including list hygiene, email authentication, and content filtering. Maintaining good list hygiene by removing unengaged subscribers is essential as Gmail considers recipient engagement. Authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can lead to deliverability problems, causing Gmail to filter or reject emails. Email content, especially promotional language and suspicious links, can trigger spam filters, reducing CTR. Thoroughly reviewing and improving list hygiene, authentication settings, and email content can improve deliverability and CTR.
Key opinions
- List Hygiene: Poor list hygiene lowers engagement and CTR. Remove inactive subscribers.
- Authentication Issues: Misconfigured or failing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) leads to deliverability problems.
- Content Filtering: Overly promotional content and suspicious links trigger spam filters.
Key considerations
- Review List: Regularly review and clean your email list to maintain high engagement rates.
- Check Authentication: Ensure proper configuration and functionality of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Improve Content: Optimize email content to avoid spam triggers and promotional language.
- Domain Details: Provide actual domain and current DKIM selector for further investigation of issues.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can lead to deliverability problems with Gmail. If email authentication is misconfigured or failing, Gmail may filter those emails as spam or reject them outright, resulting in a decrease in CTR. Ensure proper authentication setup to improve deliverability.
28 Mar 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that maintaining good list hygiene is crucial for engagement. She emphasizes removing inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged recently, as Gmail considers recipient engagement when filtering emails. Lower engagement can lead to emails landing in the spam folder or promotions tab, reducing click-through rates.
1 Jan 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
A decline in email click-through rates (CTR) in Gmail can be attributed to technical factors impacting deliverability and user experience. High spam complaint rates can negatively affect sender reputation and inbox placement. DMARC policies set to reject emails that fail authentication, coupled with improper SPF/DKIM setup, can lead to email rejection. Changes in IP or domain reputation can also cause decreased engagement. Gmail may throttle senders with low engagement, further reducing reach. Additionally, Microsoft SafeLinks replacing original URLs can delay users and potentially lower CTR. Monitoring spam complaint rates, sender reputation, and ensuring correct authentication are crucial. Optimizing engagement and being mindful of SafeLinks configurations are also important considerations.
Key findings
- Spam Complaints: High spam complaint rates negatively impact sender reputation and inbox placement.
- DMARC Policy: Strict DMARC policies combined with authentication failures can lead to email rejection.
- Sender Reputation: Changes in IP or domain reputation can decrease engagement.
- Throttling: Low engagement can cause Gmail to throttle emails.
- SafeLinks: Microsoft SafeLinks can delay users by redirecting through safelink domain.
Key considerations
- Monitor Spam Rates: Regularly monitor spam complaint rates and address any underlying issues.
- Ensure Authentication: Verify the correct configuration of SPF and DKIM to align with your DMARC policy.
- Check Reputation: Monitor your sender reputation in Google Postmaster Tools.
- Improve Engagement: Focus on improving overall engagement metrics to avoid throttling.
- SafeLinks Awareness: Be aware of the impact of Microsoft SafeLinks on the user experience and click-through rates.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Bulk Sender Guidelines shares that a sudden decrease in engagement, if you're sending a large number of emails, could be related to a change in IP or domain reputation. Monitor your sender reputation in Google Postmaster Tools.
5 Nov 2024 - Google
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost explains that ISPs like Gmail may temporarily throttle emails from senders with low engagement. Improving overall engagement metrics can help alleviate throttling.
26 Nov 2024 - SparkPost
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