Why do my email analytics show multiple links being clicked almost simultaneously, and how can I prevent this from accidentally unsubscribing users?

If you observe a rapid succession of clicks on multiple links within your emails, this is typically caused by automated security systems, not human users. Here’s an explanation of why this happens and how you can address the consequences.

What Causes the Rapid Clicks?

These "click storms" are generated by anti-spam and anti-malware scanners used by email service providers (like Gmail, Outlook) and corporate security systems. Before delivering an email to a recipient's inbox, these automated bots proactively "visit" every link to check for phishing, malware, or other security threats. This is a common industry practice to protect end-users.

How to Prevent Accidental Unsubscribes

Since these bots click every link, they can trigger your unsubscribe link without the user's intent. The most effective way to prevent this is to implement a two-step or confirmed unsubscribe process:

1. Initial Click: The unsubscribe link in your email should not immediately remove the user from your list.
2. Confirmation Page: Instead, the link should direct the user to a landing page that asks them to confirm their choice.
3. Final Action: The user must click a button on this page (e.g., "Yes, unsubscribe me") to finalize the action.

Automated scanners typically do not interact with web pages or click confirmation buttons, ensuring that only a real person can complete the unsubscribe process.

Why Might This Scanning Be Happening Aggressively?

While some scanning is normal, aggressive or frequent scanning can be a sign of a poor sender reputation. Email providers are more likely to heavily scrutinize emails from domains they don't fully trust. A poor reputation can be caused by:

• Incorrect DNS Records: Misconfigurations in your sending domain's DNS records (like SPF, CNAME) can damage your reputation. For example, a subdomain with a CNAME record pointing to a domain associated with spam can negatively impact your main domain's reputation.
• Shared IP Reputation: If you share a sending IP address with other domains, any issues with their reputation can also affect your deliverability.

To improve your sender reputation and potentially reduce the intensity of this scanning, it is crucial to regularly audit your DNS settings for all your sending domains and subdomains to ensure they are correctly configured and not associated with any untrustworthy sources.