Got a 'How do I' question? Join 'Ask a Trainer' Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm ET for instant help and pro tips!

Auto Email Opens/Clicks

SherryF2
Rookie
0 Votes

Hey Constant Contact,

It would be extremely helpful if you could remove the auto opens/clicks from our reporting. When I send an email and the person receiving it opens and clicks on EVERY link in the email at exactly the time I sent it - I know they didn't really do that. It's the security feature of their corporate email system.  It's very difficult to wade through the data to find the REAL opens and clicks.

 

Is this on your roadmap?

2 REPLIES 2
William_A
Administrator
0 Votes

Hello @SherryF2 ,

 

If their network or email program uses some kind of security tool that "opens" emails and "clicks" their links to check for malware, it can result in that kind of data. You can try setting up your account for self-authentication. This can show the security algorithms that emails being sent through us by you are effectively coming directly from you, and avoid triggering the clicks/opens from bots, but it's unfortunately not a guarantee as some security programs are simply built to function like this.

 

If these contacts' networks / security programs are using bots to scan for malware, or they're distribution lists / auto-forwarding to larger groups of people, then the numbers are going to be skewed regardless, and those contacts will simply never provide consistently viable reporting info.

__________

If you're wanting to keep the contacts but separate them for the sake for your reporting, then I'd advise isolating them to a new list (or lists) meant for contacts that auto-forward or use bot security checks. You can then send copies of your emails meant for those bot-types to the corresponding lists. That way your main emails to your direct, human contacts will have more accurate reporting. 

 

If you'd like the step-by-step process of what I'm describing:

  1. Identify the contacts that are causing these bloated open and click statistics. Consider tagging them for quick referral when you identify them, as this can quicken the list creation.
  2. Create a new list, call it something obvious like "Suspected Bot / Auto-Forward Contacts," then add the suspected contacts to that list. If you need to be particularly granular with the list memberships, then I'd advise instead making "suspected..." copies of each of your lists, and applying these suspected contacts to the applicable copied lists.
    • Consider making a note in the suspect contacts of what lists they were previously on, or use the tags mentioned earlier, in case you decide later you don't like this setup and want to put the suspect contacts back into the main lists.
  3. Once the suspect contacts are on the suspect list(s), remove them from the normal list(s) they're on.
  4. From here on, you'll need to send two versions of the emails you'd normally be sending to these lists - one for the seemingly normal contacts, and a copy that you send to the suspect lists.

__________

Beyond that, there's not much else you can do from your end. Our devs are constantly trying to identify the various programs that utilize this functionality, so they can set our system to ignore the behavior and triggers from these particular programs. If, after setting your account up for self-auth, the click rates continue to be inflated or worsen, then it may be worth calling in. That way our general support or higher level technical team can see if there's any further info that can be gleamed from the content of the emails with you live on the phone, or to see if the domains of the contacts that are seeming to bot-click them show any other particular consistencies we can track.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William A
Community & Social Media Support
SherryF724
Campaign Collaborator
0 Votes

Not really the answer I was hoping for. I think this is something we (your customers) would like Constant Contact to do for us. It's pretty easy to spot an Email that is opened with EVERY link clicked a minute or two after sending. Perhaps you could flag it in the list and we could select "filter out suspected bot open/clicks" to see what's left.  It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

 

 

  • Avatar

    Featured Article

    Use Sections to Build Email Campaigns Faster and Improve Engagement Rates

    Using Sections while designing your marketing email not only increases your own efficiency but helps you to deliver a more friendly, organized message. Check out some of the key benefits of using sections in email.

    See Article
  • Avatar

    Featured Thread

    Casual Conversations: What's your go-to playlist?

    If you listen to music while you work, share your playlist below so we can be inspired and maybe find some new music!

    View thread
  • Avatar

    Featured Thread

    Ready, Set, Send Reflections

    The Ready, Set, Send Challenge has finished! Let's reflect on the wins and accomplishments over the last six weeks.

    Join challenge
Updates
Just Getting Started?

We’re here to help you grow. With how-to tutorials, courses, getting-started guides, videos and step-by-step instructions to start and succeed with Constant Contact.

Start Here

73% of SMBs express doubt that their marketing strategy is effective. Does this sound familiar? Read our Small Business Now Report to learn how you can tweak your strategy to see better results.

Go read our article
Upcoming Webinars
NOV 14
'Tis the Season for Last-Minute Holiday Marketing
2PM - 3PM EST