Does using redirected URLs in email CTAs impact deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Gmass shares that tracking links are used in almost all marketing emails. As long as you use a reputable service, these redirects will be fine.
Email marketer from HubSpot shares that using redirects to track click performance is standard practice. Just make sure that the link domain is the same as the 'From' domain.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that shortening URLs too much (many redirects) has the potential to trigger spam filters. Avoid unnecessary redirects.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that using tracking links (which are technically redirects) is common practice. However, they advise monitoring your sender reputation and making sure that the final destination is safe and relevant to avoid issues.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital explains that using too many redirects can harm your SEO and potentially impact deliverability, especially if the redirects are broken or lead to irrelevant content. Consistent branding between your sending domain and the redirect destination is important.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that while redirects themselves don't directly impact deliverability, the *destination* of those redirects does. If the destination is a shady website or gets flagged, it will hurt your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that redirects aren't bad on their own. However, if the redirect links to a known 'bad' website, it could hurt reputation. Checking redirect targets is important.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow answers that 'cloaking' using redirects can be seen negatively and cause emails to be marked as SPAM, especially if the redirect leads to irrelevant content or affiliate links.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that link shorteners (which use redirects) can sometimes trigger spam filters, especially if they're from untrusted services. It is better to use the full URL or a branded short link.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks responds that mailboxes generally do not check links for their final destinations, although some filters may click through occasionally to look for malware and phishing.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that if the ESP rewrites the links, consistent domain usage might not matter. The rewritten link is the same whether it redirects to the customer's website or their Facebook page.
Expert from Wordtothewise.com (Laura Atkins) shares that redirects can be a problem if the link target has a bad reputation. She suggests tools such as Sender Score to help see if the final destination of the redirect is on any blacklists or has a bad reputation for spam.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that using a URL for the CTA that redirects to a social page should be harmless. Most ESPs rewrite links for click-tracking, so the domain seen by the MX and client isn't the original one.
Expert from Spamresource.com explains that using URL shorteners, which inherently use redirects, can negatively impact deliverability, especially if the shortened URLs are associated with spam or phishing. They recommend caution and advise using full URLs when possible. URL shorteners also mask the destination of the url from the user, leading to distrust.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from IETF shares that the domain used in the redirect URL should align with the SPF. Mismatched domains can lead to authentication failures and impact deliverability.
Documentation from IETF shares that to achieve DKIM alignment in the context of redirects, the domain used in the redirect URL should align with the DKIM signature. Mismatched domains can lead to authentication failures and impact deliverability.
Documentation from IETF explains that HTTP redirects (3xx status codes) are a standard mechanism for forwarding a user from one URL to another. While the RFC doesn't directly address deliverability, it provides the technical basis for understanding how redirects work.
Documentation from Google Search Central answers shares best practices for using redirects for SEO. While focused on web pages, the principles of avoiding redirect chains and ensuring the destination is relevant apply to email as well. Poor redirect practices can negatively impact ranking, and potentially reputation.