Why are my SendGrid links broken and how do I fix it?
Summary
What email marketers say8Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Marketing Forum suggests that a potential issue could be related to the encryption (HTTPS) of the landing page. They propose ensuring that the destination website supports HTTPS and that there are no mixed content warnings, as these can sometimes cause issues with redirected links.
Email marketer from Reddit mentions that issues can arise if the tracking domain or sending domain are newly created and haven't built up enough reputation. The user suggests warming up the domain by sending low volumes initially and gradually increasing the sending volume to establish a good sending reputation.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that the issue might be due to aggressive spam filters interpreting the rewritten links as suspicious. The user recommends checking your domain reputation and ensuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are properly configured to improve deliverability and avoid links being flagged.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that link validation is crucial before sending emails. They recommend using link checker tools to identify broken or redirected links before deployment. These tools can catch issues with SendGrid's rewritten links and prevent sending emails with broken links.
Email marketer from Quora advises checking the raw email headers to examine how the links are being rewritten and whether there are any unusual redirects or encoding issues. Analysing the headers can provide clues about where the link is breaking.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks Forum points out that caching issues on the client-side or server-side can sometimes cause broken links. They suggest clearing browser cache and ensuring that any server-side caching mechanisms are not interfering with the link redirection process.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Tips suggests that issues could arise from incorrect handling of internationalized domain names (IDNs) in the link rewriting process. They advise testing with non-ASCII characters and ensuring SendGrid supports these characters in link tracking.
Email marketer from Twilio indicates that broken links can occur if link tracking is enabled without proper setup of branded links. They advise users to ensure the branded links are correctly configured or to temporarily disable link tracking to see if that resolves the issue. They share a link to the setup documentation.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks says that you can also disable link rewriting in the SendGrid interface using this link: <https://sendgrid.com/docs/ui/account-and-settings/tracking/#click-tracking>
Expert from Email Geeks suggests adding a DNS entry for the Sendgrid domain to redirect it correctly to the right place.
Expert from Spam Resource suggests that one potential reason for broken SendGrid links is the use of a URL shortening service in conjunction with SendGrid's link tracking. Combining these services can sometimes lead to conflicts or misinterpretation of the links by email clients or spam filters. They recommend avoiding URL shorteners when using SendGrid's link tracking.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that the ESP (SendGrid) likely enabled link-tracking without proper DNS setup and recommends contacting ESP support to resolve the issue.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a damaged link reputation can cause links to be seen as broken or lead to deliverability issues. They recommend actively monitoring your sending domain and link reputation using tools like Google Search Console and SendGrid's reputation dashboard, and taking steps to address any identified issues.
What the documentation says6Technical articles
Documentation from SendGrid Support shares that if your account has multiple subusers with different settings, conflicting settings can affect link rewriting. Ensure that the link tracking settings are consistent across the main account and all subusers.
Documentation from SendGrid explains that broken links due to click tracking often stem from DNS configuration issues. Specifically, the custom domain for link branding might not be correctly set up, causing links to redirect incorrectly or fail. They recommend verifying the CNAME records in your DNS settings to point to SendGrid's servers.
Documentation from MXToolbox explains that incorrect DNS propagation can cause intermittent link failures. They recommend using MXToolbox's DNS lookup tools to verify that the CNAME records for link tracking are correctly propagated across different DNS servers. Inconsistent propagation can lead to some users experiencing broken links while others do not.
Documentation from SendGrid explains the need to verify your branded domain for link tracking. Ensure the domain has been verified within your SendGrid account. Unverified domains can cause tracking issues and broken links.
Documentation from Stack Overflow shares that an incorrect or missing CNAME record for the branded link domain is a common cause. The user explains how to check DNS records using tools like `dig` or `nslookup` to confirm the CNAME is correctly pointing to `sendgrid.net` or the appropriate SendGrid endpoint.
Documentation from DNS Checker recommends ensuring that the root domain of the branded links is resolving correctly. Use their tool to verify that the A records for the root domain are pointing to the correct IP addresses. If the root domain isn't resolving, the rewritten links will fail.