What causes increased bot clicks and spam rates in email marketing, and how can they be identified and mitigated?

Email marketer from Reddit r/emailmarketing suggests using honeypot traps (hidden links only bots will click) to identify and filter out bot traffic. They also advise monitoring click patterns for suspicious activity, such as rapid or simultaneous clicks on multiple links.

Marketer from Email Geeks observed a spike in bot activity mostly from Icloud.com starting around the end of March, which is suspected to be privacy measures testing links, and uses a pixel to vet them out.

Email marketer from Warrior Forum explains that monitoring and managing bounce rates is essential for maintaining a healthy sender reputation. High bounce rates can indicate outdated or invalid email addresses. Removing hard bounces promptly and identifying the causes of soft bounces can improve deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares a method for identifying potential bots by adding a new PS section to emails and hyperlinking the period (.) in the PS, masking the link by matching the text color. Clicks on this hidden link indicate a potential bot, allowing for list cleanup.

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that to reduce spam complaints, marketers should ensure subscribers have genuinely opted in, send relevant and valuable content, and make it easy for subscribers to unsubscribe. Also, segmenting email lists to send targeted content can decrease spam reports.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains NHI on .edu accounts would be expected, as many educational institutions utilize more custom anti-spam third-party systems. He also suggests considering recent increases in reputation as a possible factor in increased spam complaint rates, where increased inbox rates may lead to increased spam complaint rates.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that email segmentation allows marketers to send more targeted and relevant content to subscribers. By segmenting lists based on demographics, behavior, or preferences, the risk of spam complaints is lowered because recipients are more likely to find the emails valuable.

Email marketer from HubSpot recommends using double opt-in to ensure subscribers genuinely want to receive emails. Double opt-in helps build a cleaner list and reduce the likelihood of spam complaints, improving overall deliverability.

Email marketer from Constant Contact advises that adhering to CAN-SPAM Act requirements is critical for legal compliance and maintaining deliverability. This includes providing a clear unsubscribe link, including a physical postal address, and promptly honoring unsubscribe requests.

Email marketer from Email on Acid says prevent spam triggers by avoiding excessive use of spam trigger words, using proper HTML formatting, and ensuring your sender reputation is high. Email on Acid recommends testing your emails with spam filters before sending to catch any potential issues.

Email marketer from Litmus recommends regularly cleaning email lists to remove inactive subscribers and potential spam traps. They suggest using sunset policies to identify and remove unengaged users. Additionally, validating email addresses before adding them to your list can help prevent issues.

Marketer from Email Geeks reports seeing a huge increase in bot activity from Outlook.com Office 365 accounts starting from late March across multiple clients and ESP products.

Email marketer from Gmass advises to properly setting up email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is vital for improving deliverability and reducing spam rates. Gmass says that these protocols help verify the sender's identity and prevent spoofing, ultimately building trust with email providers.

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that bot clicks often come from automated systems that scan emails for various purposes. Spam traps are email addresses created solely to identify spammers. Neil Patel advises monitoring sender reputation, using double opt-in, and regularly cleaning email lists to avoid these issues.

Expert from Spamresource explains that creating 'honeypot' traps can effectively identify bot clicks. These are hidden links or form fields only bots are likely to interact with. Monitoring these interactions can reveal bot activity within your email campaigns.

Expert from Email Geeks confirms seeing increased bot activity from January/February and continuing.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests that tracking the filters behind the addresses showing the NHI can make the pattern much clearer.

Expert from Word to the Wise details that a poor sender reputation significantly increases spam rates. Factors contributing to a bad reputation include high complaint rates, sending to spam traps, and lacking proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for deliverability.

Documentation from Mailchimp explains that several factors affect email deliverability, including sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and content. They advise focusing on building a clean and engaged list, avoiding spam trigger words, and authenticating your email to improve deliverability and reduce spam rates.

Documentation from SparkPost shares using click tracking and analyzing user-agent data helps identify bots. They also note unusual traffic patterns, such as clicks originating from data centers or VPNs, are indicators. Mitigating actions include implementing CAPTCHAs and rate limiting to prevent automated abuse.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that sender reputation is a crucial factor in deliverability. Google emphasizes that a poor sender reputation can lead to emails being marked as spam or blocked entirely. Monitoring and maintaining a good reputation requires consistently following email best practices and providing value to recipients.

Documentation from Microsoft details Outlook.com's policies against spam and unwanted emails, including specific filtering practices and guidelines for bulk senders. Microsoft recommends following their best practices for sending emails to avoid being flagged as spam and to maintain a positive sending reputation.