In B2B marketing, you aren’t just sending emails to contacts that use the big 3 domains (Outlook, Gmail, and Apple). You likely have a list full of corporate addresses, each with its own firewalls and data privacy protocols.
In a way, this is a good sign: An @gmail address is far less valuable in our lead pipeline than an @companyname email. But, it does cause some CTR fuzziness. Many corporate inbox systems filter out emails they consider spam by pre-clicking on every link to filter out malicious content. Your data will still show a click, even though it came from a robot.
Fortunately, there are a few practical tactics to filter out bad data and boost engagement.
Focus on Deliverability: You can’t open an email that never arrives. And inbox providers are getting smarter–automatically weeding out spam. To avoid the junk folder, you need to 1) Write content that your users want and 2) Ensure you have a solid, and compliant, technical foundation.
Maintain Quality Contacts: You should conduct regular list cleaning, removing dormant accounts at least once a year. This won’t just boost open rates and click-thru rates. It tells inbox providers that you are providing useful content.
Optimize Your Delivery Time: Start testing different days and times for your sends. A general rule of thumb for B2B lists–never send on weekends or after 4 p.m. If you have a global audience, see if you can segment your send based on geographic regions.
A/B Test Everything: From subject lines to buttons, most ESPs allow you to send multiple versions to refine and optimize your strategy. Just make sure you only test one element per send.
Use UTM Link Tracking: When a user clicks on a link in your email, they return to an ecosystem you control. Properly using UTM links (read a complete guide here) gives you deep knowledge about their behavior. Combine that with the bounce rate (the percentage of users who leave your site after a single visit), and you will get a reasonably accurate idea of who is a human and who is a robot.