Is using 'tracker' in a subdomain spammy?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit shares that spam filters primarily focus on content, sender reputation, and engagement metrics. While a subdomain name like 'tracker' might slightly increase scrutiny, it's unlikely to be the sole factor determining whether an email lands in the spam folder.
Email marketer from Digital Marketing Forum shares that they prefer to use a shorter, branded subdomain for tracking links because it looks cleaner and can improve click-through rates. However, they don't see a huge issue with using 'tracker' unless it directly impacts your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that excessive tracking parameters could potentially raise spam scores, but that the word tracker in a subdomain itself is not necessarily an issue.
Email marketer from Marketing Over Coffee podcast suggests that the increasing privacy consciousness amongst consumers requires email marketers to rethink tracking methods. A 'tracker' subdomain isn't necessarily bad, but they advocate for complete transparency with subscribers.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that while 'tracker' isn't inherently spammy, it might raise eyebrows among more tech-savvy recipients. He suggests opting for more neutral or descriptive terms for subdomains to avoid potential negative perceptions.
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that the term 'tracker' can have negative connotations for some users, potentially leading to increased spam reports. Opting for a more neutral subdomain name can help mitigate this risk.
Email marketer from Quora shares that while the term 'tracker' itself isn't the problem, it's the *perception* that matters. If your audience is technically savvy and distrustful of tracking, it might be better to use a more neutral term.
Email marketer from SendGrid's blog indicates that using a dedicated link tracking subdomain is generally a good practice. While not explicitly stating 'tracker' is bad, they suggest that it's crucial to maintain a good reputation for that subdomain and ensure best practices are followed.
Email marketer from Mailchimp states that subdomains have their own reputation and are considered a separate entity by mailbox providers. Using 'tracker' will not inherently make emails spammy, but bad practices on the tracker domain will negatively impact deliverability.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks Forum responds that while it may be technically fine, some users might be put off by the explicit nature of a 'tracker' subdomain. This can potentially lead to lower engagement and higher unsubscribe rates.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that if you’re using it for click tracking then click.domain.com is one they see fairly often that’s neutral and descriptive.
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes the importance of transparency with recipients regarding email tracking. While using 'tracker' in a subdomain isn't inherently negative, it's crucial to ensure recipients understand what is being tracked and why. If the intention is to be transparent, then using the word 'tracker' is fine.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that they prefer names like link (lnk, lk), image (img, im), click (clk, ck,), etc... to be descriptive enough, but not too stalker like Tracking (trk, tk), etc... even pixel (pix, px) might be a viable alternative.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that for SFMC, unless you change it, they use click.sub.domain.com (and image, view, and a few others). Mailbox Providers are more interested in whether people are engaging (and if the final destination of the click is a spammy site or not) and humans aren't looking at the URLs generally since they're almost always a 40+ character hash anyway.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor details technical specifications for email systems, but doesn't directly comment on the impact of naming conventions such as 'tracker'. RFCs focus on the technical aspects of email delivery protocols and standards, not on marketing best practices.
Documentation from Google Search Central explains that subdomains are treated as separate entities from a reputation standpoint. Therefore, using 'tracker' in a subdomain will likely not affect the overall domain's reputation unless the tracker subdomain itself is sending spam or engaging in activities marked as spammy.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that domain reputation is crucial for deliverability. Using the term 'tracker' in a subdomain, in isolation, is unlikely to flag emails as spam but they should follow email best practices.
Documentation from AWS explains that when using Amazon SES, subdomains are treated as separate entities from the main domain for reputation purposes. AWS does not specifically advise against using 'tracker' as a subdomain, but emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good sending reputation on any domain used for sending email.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that using a dedicated subdomain for tracking is a common practice. While 'tracker' is a direct term, the actual impact on deliverability depends more on the reputation of the subdomain and the sending practices associated with it.