Why is Checking Links Important in Email Marketing?
Ensuring that all
links in your email campaigns are functional and direct recipients to the correct destination is crucial for several reasons. Broken links can lead to a poor user experience, reduced
conversion rates, and even tarnish your
brand's reputation. Moreover, some email providers may flag emails with broken links as spam, which can negatively impact your
deliverability rate.
How to Check Links Before Sending an Email Campaign?
Before hitting the send button, here are a few steps to make sure all links are in working order: Preview the email in various email clients and devices to ensure each link works as intended.
Use an
email testing tool that can automatically scan your email for broken links.
Manually click on each link in a test email sent to yourself or a team member.
Check for
tracking parameters that might break the URL if not properly formatted.
What Tools Can Be Used for Checking Links?
Several tools can help you verify the links in your emails: Litmus and
Email on Acid offer comprehensive email testing, including link checking.
Google Analytics can help you ensure your UTM parameters are correctly formatted.
Browser extensions like
Check My Links can be used to quickly scan and identify broken links in your email templates.
Common Issues with Links in Emails
Several common issues can affect the functionality of links in your email campaigns: Incorrect URL formatting, such as missing "http://" or "https://".
Links that are too long and get truncated.
Tracking parameters that break the URL if not properly encoded.
Links leading to outdated or removed pages.
Best Practices for Including Links in Email Campaigns
Here are some best practices to ensure your links are effective and functional: Use
short URLs to minimize the risk of truncation.
Always include "http://" or "https://" to ensure the links are clickable.
Test links in multiple email clients and devices to ensure consistency.
Use clear and descriptive anchor text to improve
click-through rates.
What to Do if You Find a Broken Link?
If you discover a broken link in your email campaign, take immediate action: Correct the URL and send a follow-up email with the correct link, if necessary.
Consider using a
link shortener with tracking capabilities to make future corrections easier.
Analyze your
email analytics to understand the impact of the broken link and adjust your strategy accordingly.