How can honeypots be used in B2B emails to identify and filter out bot clicks effectively without impacting deliverability?

Summary

Using honeypots in B2B emails to identify and filter out bot clicks while maintaining deliverability involves a comprehensive approach. Several methods are suggested, including embedding nearly invisible links (like commas or 1x1 pixel GIFs), using hidden form fields, and analyzing user behavior for suspicious activity. A/B testing helps optimize these techniques. Maintaining a clean email list through confirmed opt-ins, regular cleaning, and avoiding purchased lists is crucial. Automation can segment users based on their interaction with honeypots. Sender reputation, adherence to SMTP standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and integrating URIBLs are vital for preventing bots and maintaining deliverability.

Key findings

  • Honeypot Techniques: Effective honeypot techniques include invisible links, hidden form fields, and behavioral analysis.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean, organically built email list is critical for minimizing bot intrusion.
  • A/B Testing Importance: A/B testing is essential for optimizing honeypot effectiveness and minimizing false positives.
  • Automation Benefits: Automation enables the segmentation and tagging of users interacting with honeypots.
  • Technical Standards: Adhering to SMTP standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) significantly improves deliverability.
  • External Resources: URIBLs provide a resource for identifying and blocking spam-associated domains.

Key considerations

  • Minimizing False Positives: Carefully design honeypots to minimize false positives and avoid penalizing legitimate users.
  • Deliverability Impact: Continuously monitor deliverability metrics to ensure honeypots do not negatively impact inbox placement.
  • Bot Evolution: Regularly update honeypot techniques to adapt to evolving bot behaviors and tactics.
  • User Experience: Ensure that honeypot implementation does not negatively affect the user experience of legitimate subscribers.
  • Data Privacy: Implement data privacy measures when handling bot-related data and avoid storing personal information unnecessarily.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

Several strategies can be employed to use honeypots effectively in B2B emails for bot detection without harming deliverability. These include utilizing nearly invisible links (like commas), hidden form fields, or analyzing user behavior such as click speed and email open rates. A/B testing is recommended to determine the most effective methods. Maintaining clean email lists, building them organically with double opt-in, and monitoring sender reputation are also crucial. Automation can tag and segment users interacting with honeypot links for further analysis and reporting. The central theme is to identify and isolate bot activity while ensuring legitimate user engagement remains unaffected, preserving sender reputation and email deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Honeypot Types: Various types of honeypots can be used, including invisible links, hidden form fields, and analyzing user behavior.
  • A/B Testing: A/B testing is crucial for determining the effectiveness of different honeypot methods.
  • Clean Lists: Maintaining a clean email list is essential to reduce bot activity and improve deliverability.
  • Automation: Automation can be used to tag and segment users based on their interaction with honeypot links.
  • Sender Reputation: Monitoring and maintaining a positive sender reputation is vital for ensuring emails reach the inbox.

Key considerations

  • Visibility: Honeypot links should be nearly invisible to humans to avoid accidental clicks.
  • Deliverability Impact: Ensure honeypot methods do not negatively impact email deliverability or trigger spam filters.
  • Behavior Analysis: User behavior analysis should be used in conjunction with honeypots for more accurate bot detection.
  • Organic List Building: Build email lists organically with double opt-in to minimize the risk of bots.
  • Regular Monitoring: Regularly monitor email metrics and sender reputation to identify and address potential issues.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus warns against using purchased email lists, as they often contain spam traps and bot addresses. Building your list organically and implementing double opt-in can help prevent bots from entering your subscriber base, reducing the need for extensive honeypot measures.

February 2023 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog suggests using a hidden form field in email signup forms or landing pages as a honeypot. If a bot fills this field, it's identified as spam. This method can be adapted for B2B emails by including a hidden link or form field that legitimate users wouldn't interact with.

May 2023 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit suggests adding a very small, nearly invisible link (e.g., a comma) at the top of the email. Bots tend to click everything, while humans usually won't notice or click such a small link. This helps identify bots without significantly impacting deliverability.

May 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that bots do not differentiate between visible and non-visible links. Advocates for A/B testing with a small campaign to determine if bots crawl both text and HTML versions of emails. The honeypot link can be placed at the bottom of the email or in/under the footer. A hidden form input can also be used.

February 2025 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email on Acid recommends A/B testing different honeypot methods to see which works best without affecting deliverability. They suggest experimenting with hidden links, invisible form fields, and analyzing click patterns to refine your bot detection strategy.

September 2022 - Email on Acid
Marketer view

Email marketer from MarketingProfs recommends analyzing user behavior to identify bots. Factors include how quickly an email is opened after delivery, the number of links clicked, and the speed at which links are clicked. Bots typically act faster and more predictably than human users.

October 2023 - MarketingProfs
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot encourages monitoring your sender reputation and domain health. While not directly a honeypot, maintaining a positive sender reputation helps ensure your emails reach the inbox. This involves avoiding spam-like practices and promptly addressing any deliverability issues.

January 2023 - HubSpot
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that a honeypot doesn't need to be literally invisible; it can be a comma or similar hyperlink that humans are unlikely to click, but bots will. This avoids being a maliciously hidden link that would be flagged.

January 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp advises regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive or suspicious subscribers. While not directly a honeypot, removing bots reduces the noise in your email metrics and improves overall deliverability. They suggest monitoring bounce rates and engagement metrics to identify potential bots.

September 2022 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign highlights using automation to tag and segment users based on their interaction with honeypot links. If a user clicks a hidden honeypot link, they are automatically tagged as a potential bot and segmented into a separate reporting group.

August 2023 - ActiveCampaign

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

Using honeypots in B2B emails to identify and filter out bot clicks without impacting deliverability involves a multi-faceted approach. One method employs hidden 1x1 pixel transparent GIFs, tracked to identify bots and place them in a "clickbot jail" for reporting purposes. Another focuses on maintaining clean email lists through confirmed opt-ins and regular list cleaning to avoid spam traps. Additionally, leveraging URIBLs to identify and block clicks from spam-associated domains can enhance filtering efforts. These strategies emphasize proactive bot identification and prevention while safeguarding deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Hidden Pixels: Using hidden 1x1 pixel GIFs can effectively identify clickbots without harming deliverability.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining clean email lists with confirmed opt-ins prevents bots and spam traps.
  • URIBLs: URIBLs can identify and block bot clicks originating from domains associated with spam.

Key considerations

  • Clickbot Jail: Implementing a system to isolate identified clickbots (e.g., a "clickbot jail") for reporting.
  • Opt-in Process: Ensuring a confirmed opt-in process to verify subscribers are genuine.
  • URIBL Integration: Integrating URIBLs into your email filtering system for enhanced bot detection.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains URIBLs (Uniform Resource Identifier Blacklists) can act as honeypots by identifying domains and URLs frequently associated with spam. While not directly implemented within an email, they can be integrated into your filtering system to identify and block bot clicks originating from known spam sources.

February 2025 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, emphasizes the importance of maintaining clean email lists to avoid spam traps, which act as honeypots. She suggests using confirmed opt-in to ensure subscribers are genuine and engaged, reducing the likelihood of bots entering your list. Regular list cleaning by removing inactive subscribers also improves deliverability and reduces the impact of any bot activity.

February 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares how one organization sends over a billion emails a quarter, using 1x1 pixel transparent gifs hidden by CSS at the top of the email to identify clickbots without adverse deliverability. Clicks are monitored to identify bots, which are then placed in a temporary "clickbot jail" for reporting purposes.

September 2023 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Honeypots are effective for identifying spambots by attracting them with fake links and form fields within B2B emails. These traps are designed to be invisible to humans but easily crawled by bots. Server-side validation is crucial to confirm that honeypot fields remain empty for legitimate users, thereby filtering out bots without affecting genuine engagement. While network-level honeypots offer insights into bot behavior, adhering to SMTP standards, configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records improves deliverability and reduces spam flags.

Key findings

  • Attraction: Honeypots attract spambots with fake links and form fields.
  • Invisibility: Honeypots are designed to be invisible to human users.
  • Server-Side Validation: Server-side validation confirms that honeypot fields remain empty for legitimate users.
  • Network Insights: Network-level honeypots provide insights into bot behavior.
  • SMTP Standards: Adhering to SMTP standards improves deliverability and reduces spam flags.

Key considerations

  • False Positives: Ensure server-side validation accurately identifies bots to avoid false positives.
  • Maintenance: Regularly update and maintain honeypot strategies to adapt to evolving bot tactics.
  • Configuration: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate emails and prevent spoofing.
  • Ethical Use: Use honeypots ethically, ensuring they don't create unintended harm or violate privacy.
  • Holistic Approach: Combine honeypot strategies with other security measures for a comprehensive approach to spam prevention.
Technical article

Documentation from Project Honeypot explains that honeypots can identify spambots by attracting them with fake links and form fields. In the context of B2B emails, a honeypot could be a link that's not visible to humans but is easily crawled by bots. Clicking this link marks the visitor as a bot.

March 2023 - Project Honeypot
Technical article

Documentation from IETF defines the standards for SMTP and email protocols. Adhering to these standards helps improve deliverability and reduces the likelihood of being flagged as spam. This includes correctly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, which authenticate your emails and prevent spoofing.

October 2021 - IETF
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus details using honeypots to identify and block spammers at the network level. While more technical, this approach can inform your email honeypot strategy by providing insights into how spammers and bots operate, helping you create more effective traps.

November 2023 - Spamhaus
Technical article

Documentation from Stop Forum Spam details using honeypot fields in forms to detect automated submissions. They suggest including hidden fields that bots will fill out but humans won't see. Adapting this to B2B emails would involve including a hidden link or element that only bots would interact with.

August 2022 - Stop Forum Spam
Technical article

Documentation from OWASP outlines various bot detection techniques, including honeypots. They recommend using server-side validation to confirm that honeypot fields remain empty for legitimate users. This helps filter out bots without penalizing genuine engagement.

October 2023 - OWASP