Why are email open rates low despite high IP reputation and engagement, and what could be causing inaccurate open tracking?

Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that while sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and a good IP reputation are important, they aren't the only factors. Content quality, engagement, and list hygiene play critical roles in determining inbox placement and open rates.

Marketers from Email Geeks suggest there might be issues with pre-fetched opens or the mechanisms that trigger such opens. They note that ESP's "real opens" seem fine and it is speculatated that some external issue is preventing accurate open tracking.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that proper audience segmentation is crucial. Sending highly relevant emails to specific segments can significantly increase open rates compared to sending generic emails to the entire list.

Email marketer from GMass Blog suggests that 'list fatigue,' where subscribers become unresponsive due to over-mailing or irrelevant content, can lead to low open rates. Even with a good reputation, sending to unengaged subscribers can hurt deliverability.

Email marketer from HubSpot recommends A/B testing subject lines, sender names, and content to identify what resonates best with the audience and improve open rates, even when facing deliverability challenges.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor notes that sending too many emails or sending irrelevant content can lead to email fatigue, resulting in subscribers ignoring or deleting emails without opening them. Adjusting frequency and improving content relevance can help.

Marketer from Email Geeks questions if open rates are being tracked correctly, considering the click rates seem fine.

Email marketer from Email on Acid highlights the importance of ensuring emails render correctly across different devices and email clients. Rendering issues can deter users from opening or engaging with the content.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests focusing on authentication and alignment. He also recommends an "intra-day warmup" strategy, sending emails to highly engaged users first to establish a positive reputation before sending to a broader audience.

Marketer from Email Geeks recommends sending a whitelisting campaign, encouraging contacts to add the sender's address to their address books or contact lists.

Email marketer from Reddit suggests that the tracking pixel used to measure opens might be blocked by browser extensions or email clients, leading to underreporting of actual opens.

Email marketer from EmailGeek Community shares that low engagement signals to mailbox providers that the content might not be valuable, leading to emails being filtered into spam or promotions folders, even with a good IP reputation.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains incorrect DMARC implementation may lead to deliverability problems that eventually impact open rates despite a solid IP reputation, because it can cause legitimate emails to be rejected or sent to spam if authentication fails.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that seed testing provides a general direction for email delivery but doesn't guarantee consistent behavior for all subscribers. He suggests emails may be undergoing reputation changes and being sampled for user interaction analysis.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, responds by highlighting the limitations of relying solely on open rates as a key performance indicator (KPI). She suggests that open rates are increasingly unreliable due to privacy changes and email client behavior, and that marketers should focus on alternative metrics like clicks and conversions to gauge engagement more accurately.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that high list churn, where a significant portion of the email list becomes inactive or abandons their email addresses, can lead to low open rates despite a good IP reputation. This is because the overall engagement metrics are diluted by the inactive addresses.

Documentation from Mailchimp highlights that various factors can affect email deliverability, including sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, and content. Low engagement can be a signal to mailbox providers that emails are not relevant, leading to decreased inbox placement.

Documentation from SparkPost explains that if emails are consistently landing in the Promotions or Updates tab in Gmail, it can lead to lower open rates, even if deliverability is good. Google's algorithm determines tab placement based on content and user behavior.

Documentation from Litmus explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates by pre-loading email content, including tracking pixels, for users who have opted into the feature. This makes it difficult to accurately measure engagement and identify deliverability issues.

Documentation from Google Workspace Updates explains that Gmail caches images to improve user privacy and security, which can affect open rate tracking. This caching can lead to inaccurate open rates as images are loaded even if the user doesn't actually open the email.

Documentation from Validity ReturnPath shares that high complaint rates (spam reports) can negatively impact sender reputation, leading to lower inbox placement and open rates. Even with good IP reputation, excessive complaints can trigger filtering.