Dealing with Email Spam Bots: A Guide for Today

If you've recently noticed an unusual spike in clicks and opens in your email campaigns, you might be dealing with spam bots. These clicks, often characterised by someone clicking on every link in an email, are not genuine and are increasingly common, particularly in industries with strict email security protocols like finance, healthcare, government, and security.

Why is This Happening?

The primary reason behind these inflated metrics is aggressive spam filters on devices and email servers. Email service providers (ESPs) like Google and Yahoo constantly update their security protocols to combat spam, though they rarely disclose specific changes. Recent updates have included requirements for:

• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
• An Unsubscribe Button
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) Record

These measures are designed to enhance security, but they can also increase false positives in your email engagement metrics.

What Can Be Done?

Software teams, including those at Constant Contact (our chosen email marketing service), are actively working on improving click and delivery reports to filter out bot activity more accurately. However, due to the widespread nature of this issue, there isn't a completely fail-safe solution yet. In the meantime, here are some actionable steps you can take:

Build a Rules-Based List

Create a list using the rule "visits from the email." This will help you identify contacts who actually visited your site, providing more accurate engagement metrics.

Shift Focus to Actual Outcomes

Given the prevalence of bot clicks and inaccurate open data, it’s beneficial to prioritise real outcomes over click/open metrics. For example, measure success by the number of actual sign-ups instead of just tracking how many people opened your webinar invitation email.

By adopting these strategies, you can mitigate the impact of spam bots on your email metrics and focus on more meaningful indicators of success.

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