Your Click Data Is Lying To You

Now bots are doing the same thing to your click-through data.

There's been a massive influx of bots clicking on links in emails. Not just some links. Every link.

Which means the engagement metrics you're using to make list segmentation decisions are fundamentally corrupted.

You're looking at click data, thinking you've identified your most engaged subscribers. But some of those "engaged" contacts are automated systems methodically clicking through every URL in your emails.

Which can spiral into a larger strategic problem.

The Real Cost

When your click data is compromised, everything downstream breaks.

You can't accurately segment engaged versus unengaged subscribers. You can't trust your A/B test results. You can't identify your actual best customers based on engagement patterns.

And if you're running deliverability audits or list hygiene protocols based on engagement data, you're potentially removing real humans while keeping bot accounts.

The implications matter more than just simple annoyance. You could be making decisions about list management, content strategy, and customer segmentation based on false signals.

The Detection Method (Video at bottom)

There's a simple way to identify potential bot clicks without disrupting your actual subscriber experience.

Take any email you're about to send. Add a PS section with "cliffhanger content" that previews your next email or teases upcoming value.

In that PS section, hyperlink the period at the end of a sentence. Use the same destination URL as your primary call-to-action.

Make that period look like regular text. No underline, no color change, no visual indication that it's clickable.

Then tag anyone who clicks that microscopic period as a "potential bot click."

Real humans don't intentionally click periods. The click target is too small and there's no visual indication it's a link. But bots scanning your email for URLs will click it every time.

Pro Tip: You could also build this into each email as a footer instead of a PS message.

What This Tells You

The tag alone isn't actionable intelligence.

You need to export that segment and analyze their broader engagement patterns. Look at what emails they've opened, when they typically click links, whether their behavior patterns match human interaction.

Some people in that segment will be legitimate subscribers who accidentally tapped that period on mobile. You can't just blanket-remove everyone who triggers the tag.

But you can identify clusters of suspicious behavior. Accounts that click every link in every email within seconds of delivery. Contacts with perfect engagement rates that never convert. Patterns that don't match how real humans interact with email.

This gives you the data layer you need to make informed decisions about list hygiene without accidentally purging engaged subscribers.

The Bigger Picture

This is the second major data integrity crisis in email marketing in a few years.

First, Apple privacy protections made open rates unreliable.
Now, bot activity is corrupting click data.

The marketers who adapt fastest will have a competitive advantage. Not because they're using sophisticated detection methods, but because they're acknowledging the problem exists and building systems to account for it.

You can't fix what you don't measure. And you can't measure accurately if you don't account for bot interference.

Watch This

I recorded a detailed walkthrough of exactly how to implement this detection method in your email platform.

It covers the specific settings to use, how to mask the link properly, what tags to apply, and how to analyze the resulting data without accidentally removing real subscribers.

The video is 5 minutes and shows you the complete implementation process: Watch the bot walkthrough here.

If you think you’re having issues and want help setting up this system for your business… I’m just a reply away.

Tyler Cook