Engagement metrics measure how recipients interact with mail: opens, clicks, replies, forwards, unsubscribes, and complaints. Providers use similar signals to judge sender quality.
What good looks like#
- Done: Track clicks and replies as primary metrics; opens are unreliable after Mail Privacy Protection.
- Done: Set benchmarks per segment and channel rather than industry averages.
- Done: Watch unsubscribe rate (aim under 0.5%) and complaint rate (under 0.1%).
- Done: Feed engagement back into segmentation and sunset policies.
What bad looks like#
- Seen in audits: Reporting opens as success when Apple inflates them by prefetching.
- Seen in audits: Ignoring the complaint rate until Postmaster Tools flags it.
How to move from bad to good#
Work through the good list in order and re-verify after each change. Most teams find one or two items from the bad list already present; fixing those usually produces the largest improvement.
Frequently asked questions#
What is a good click-through rate?
2 to 5% for marketing email is common; transactional mail often exceeds 10%.