Have you ever noticed that your email campaign reports show an unusually high number of opens from the same subscriber, or that one link within your email seems to have been clicked multiple times by the same person?
This may be due to email security systems that automatically click links to check for malicious content.
Why do some email servers click links automatically?
Some email servers and security systems preemptively click links to verify their safety and protect recipients from potential threats like phishing or malware.
While beneficial for security, this automatic link clicking can occasionally trigger unintended actions, such as unsubscribing the recipient from a newsletter.
This can happen if you use our Unsubscribe immediately setting to allow people to unsubscribe from your content by simply clicking the link in the email.
It's important to note that these occurrences are rare, and will not significantly affect sender reputation or campaign effectiveness. However, being aware that this can happen and understanding how to manage it can help you minimize unwanted unsubscribes and link clicks.
Best practices for managing email links
You can adopt several best practices to structure your emails and links in a way that minimizes the risk of triggering automatic security measures.
Confirmation steps
MailerLite offers the option to add a confirmation step for actions like unsubscribing. This prevents any automatic process from completing the action without explicit subscriber intent.
💡To learn more about how to add a confirmation step to your unsubscribe page, check out our guide on How to edit the unsubscribe page.
Use descriptive link text
Avoid using generic or misleading link text like "Click Here". Instead, use descriptive, contextual link text that clearly explains what the link is about, such as "Visit our Help Center" or "Update Subscription Preferences". This helps with user experience and gives context to security filters that look for misleading or non-descriptive link text often used in phishing attempts.
Avoid shortened URLs
While URL shorteners can make links appear cleaner or help you to track clicks, they can also obscure the destination URL, raising red flags with security software. Using full URLs that clearly show the domain can help ensure that security systems recognize the legitimacy of the links.
Limit the number of links
An email with too many links can look like spam to email filters. Limit the number of links you include in your emails and make sure they are relevant to the content. This helps you to avoid spam filters ando improves the overall user experience by not overwhelming subscribers with too many choices.
Use reliable domains for hosting content
Links that direct to well-known and trusted domains, especially domains that you own, are less likely to be flagged by security systems. Make sure any linked content (like images, landing pages, and downloadable files) is hosted on domains with a good reputation.
📩 Need to know more about improving email deliverability? Check our blog article on Best practices to improve email deliverability.