Do I need to warm up a new tracking link when switching to a subdomain?
Summary
What email marketers say7Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailVendorSelection shares the concept of warming up your IP and domain. They explain that ISPs establish your reputation based on your IP and domain. If you do not warm up your domain correctly, you could be flagged as a spammer. They advise that you gradually increase the number of emails you send.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that warming up a new subdomain for tracking links is similar to warming up a new IP address. It involves gradually increasing the volume of traffic to build a positive reputation and avoid being flagged as spam. Start with a small percentage of your email volume and slowly increase it over time.
Email marketer from Mailjet states that warming up a tracking subdomain is a best practice to establish trust with ISPs. This involves sending a limited number of emails through the new subdomain and gradually increasing the volume over several weeks to build a positive sender reputation. Monitor your deliverability metrics closely during the warmup period.
Email marketer from Reddit says in the r/emailmarketing subreddit shares that they always warm up new subdomains, even for tracking links. It's a precaution that helps prevent deliverability issues down the line. Start with low volume and monitor your sender reputation tools.
Email marketer from Sendinblue recommends that you should warm up your tracking domain to protect your sender reputation. They share that you should start with your most engaged contacts. Warm up the domain gradually over several weeks, monitor your stats to check your domain health and increase traffic slowly as you start to establish trust.
Email marketer from StackExchange recommends warming up the new subdomain. It involves gradually increasing the volume of emails sent using the new subdomain, monitoring deliverability metrics, and adjusting the sending schedule as needed.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if flows are naturally throttled, it helps. If switching is hard, she doesn’t imagine you’ll have a problem, especially since it aligns with what you are sending. Just make sure it’s secured with https.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that most places don’t content scan and reject after DATA (Yahoo being the obvious exception), so rejections due to a new domain inside the message are unlikely.
Expert from Email Geeks advises not to worry too much about warming up tracking links, but if it’s not too painful, it won’t hurt. If it is painful, just switch it. Problems will be obvious on the first send.
Expert from Spam Resource (Laura Atkins) states that it is important to consider how the change in tracking links could impact spam filtering. Warming up a new subdomain might be a good practice. It could improve sender reputation. Monitoring your results carefully is key to success with a new tracking domain.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains the importance of IP and Domain Warmup, they advise that a proper warm-up strategy gives filters more information about your email sending. If you don't warm-up your new domain correctly, then you risk damaging your reputation
Expert from Email Geeks explains that most places don’t content filter during the SMTP transaction (consumer domains, business filters are different). You will be able to see the bouncing immediately if it’s going to happen, and warmup isn’t going to really help with bouncing. There’s no real need to be concerned, especially if you’re aligned already.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft 365 Defender mentions that sender reputation, including the reputation of domains and subdomains, is a critical factor in email deliverability. New subdomains should be warmed up gradually to establish a positive reputation and avoid being blocked by spam filters. Monitor your reputation using the Microsoft SNDS program.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that ensure your new tracking subdomain is properly configured with SPF records that authorize your sending servers to send email on behalf of that subdomain. Incorrect or missing SPF records can negatively impact deliverability. It is also important to set up DKIM.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help highlights the importance of establishing a positive reputation for any new subdomains used for sending email. It advises that you should gradually increase the volume of email sent through the subdomain to avoid being flagged as spam. Monitor your sender reputation in Postmaster Tools.