What could cause unusual clicks and unsubscribes in SendGrid, and how can I troubleshoot it?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog shares that poor IP reputation can cause deliverability problems. Suggestions include warming up IP addresses, monitoring sender scores, and adhering to best practices.
Email marketer from Gmass explains that google postmaster tools allows you to monitor the health of your domain, which can help identify if you have any deliverability issues.
Marketer from Email Geeks asks about the method of connecting to Sendgrid (API usage) and whether there have been any changes to corporate mailbox providers or the addition of spam filters, to identify the cause of the issue.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog explains that poor email list quality can result in high bounce rates, spam complaints, and ultimately, deliverability issues. Suggests validating email addresses and removing inactive subscribers.
Email marketer from SendGrid Help Center explains that suspicious activity can result from compromised credentials, unengaged recipients, or list bombing, and suggests taking steps to secure accounts, clean up lists, and monitor reputation.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that bot traffic can inflate click rates and lead to inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of using bot detection tools and cleaning email lists to filter out invalid activity.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests the unusual click and unsubscribe activity could be due to bot activity, potentially from an over-zealous cloud security vendor like Barracuda, and that it is unlikely to be caused by SendGrid itself.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog explains that hitting spam traps can damage sender reputation and cause deliverability issues. Suggests practicing proper list hygiene, using double opt-in, and regularly cleaning the email list.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends analyzing the unsubscribes to see if they originate from a specific provider or via a particular method like a HTTP post in the list-unsubscribe header. Suggests using a manual unsubscribe group in Sendgrid for testing and contacting the account manager for more data.
Email marketer from StackOverflow responds that incorrect email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can cause emails to be flagged as spam. Verify DNS records and ensure proper setup.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that SendGrid may not be suppressing obvious bot activity and suggests submitting a feature request through support.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that compromised accounts can send spam, leading to blacklisting and deliverability issues. Check for unusual login activity and enable two-factor authentication.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum answers that a sudden increase in subscriptions followed by unsubscribes may indicate a list bombing attack. Monitor signup sources and implement CAPTCHAs.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends setting up SendGrid's event webhook and storing all event data to get user agent and remote IP address information, which would help in determining if SendGrid is the cause of the unusual activity.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource shares that compromised accounts or email spoofing where spammers send email that appears to originate from your domain but doesn't, can generate automated responses such as out-of-office replies or unsubscribe requests. Regularly audit email authentication and user permissions to prevent spoofing and protect against unauthorized access.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a sudden spike in unsubscriptions often comes from spambot or scraper activity. You can investigate the unsubscribes, looking for patterns. Are they all from the same IP address? Are they all using the same user agent? If so, they are likely a scraper, using the unsubscribe link as a convenient way to validate email addresses. The best approach is to block the offending IPs or user agents from accessing the unsubscribe links.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains that utilizing feedback loops (FBLs) helps identify and remove subscribers who mark emails as spam, thus improving sender reputation and reducing deliverability issues.
Documentation from SparkPost Documentation answers that low engagement rates can lead to ISPs filtering emails as spam. SparkPost recommends regularly engaging with subscribers and segmenting lists based on activity.
Documentation from SendGrid Documentation states that abnormal or suspicious activity may be due to compromised credentials, which can lead to unauthorized use. SendGrid recommends setting up 2FA to prevent this.