When measuring the success of an email campaign, it is a general assumption that the higher the open rate and click through rate (CTR), the better the results. But that is not always the case. Over the past several months, HealthLink Dimensions noticed that some of our clients were
reporting lower open rates and less clicks on their email deployment campaigns, so naturally we wanted to know why. Through analysis and implementation of our improved deployment software, we concluded that there is more to the metrics than meets the eye. Here’s why:
What is a bot?
While there are many types of bots that can distort metrics, bots in email campaigns are designed to open and click on links within the email. This can make tracking the campaign’s true performance very difficult because bot activity looks like a real person took an action. As a result, the open rate and CTR will be inflated due to the bot behavior. So, what does this mean for our clients?
Every marketer who has deployed an email campaign has likely been affected by a bot at some point in time, and email bots are much more common in B2B marketing and within healthcare according to HubSpot. Unfortunately, there is no way to actually get rid of bots, but they can be identified by algorithms and removed from metric reporting. This new smart filtering process used by HealthLink Dimensions provides more accurate reporting and will improve deliverability and engagement over time.
A sign of the times
Bot interference hasn’t been the only reason to reevaluate email metrics this year. The influx of email volume surrounding the pandemic has also been a cause of lower open rates and clicks, with spam filters blocking emails with certain buzzwords and subject lines and users ignoring them all together. In April, it was reported that Google was blocking 18 million email scams tied to COVID-19 per day. In addition, many users who were experiencing COVID email fatigue created rules to filter emails with certain COVID keywords out of their inboxes, resulting in an increased number of unread emails.
Get in touch with HealthLink Dimensions
Are you struggling with your ability to separate real email engagement from bot traffic and overcrowded inboxes? Do you create great content and emails but continually face poor deliverability rates? Whether you are a current client or just getting started with your email deployment campaigns, our sales, client experience, and email deployment teams are here to get you the best and most targeted results. To get in touch or learn more about how our email deployment solutions are making healthcare easier, feel free to fill out the form or contact us!