Links in Emails: How to Use Them to Avoid Poor Deliverability

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Email is one of the most effective ways to communicate today. You can be sharing a business update, sending out a marketing campaign, or just writing a personal note, but adding links to your emails is always important, because they add value for your recipients. However, it’s crucial to use them carefully to make sure your emails are clear, professional, and trusted.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how to use links in your emails safely, covering the best practices, mistakes to avoid, and tips to make your email links more effective.

Why Do Links Matter in Emails?

Links in emails help you:

• Direct recipients to important content: To a website, blog, product page, or landing page. Links in your emails guide recipients to information or offers you want them to see.
• Enhance engagement: A well-placed link encourages recipients to take action (clicking to read more or making a purchase).
• Increase conversion rates: By strategically adding links, you can drive traffic and generate leads or sales.

However, as important as links are, they can also be risky if not used appropriately. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use them wisely.

How to Send a Link in Email Safely

When it comes to sending links through email, the goal is to make sure your recipient feels comfortable clicking on them. Here are key steps to safely incorporate links into your emails:

1. Use Descriptive Anchor Text.

Instead of using generic phrases like “click here” or “learn more,” use descriptive, action-oriented (it is also often called verb-oriented) text that informs the recipient about what they will find by clicking the link. For example:

• “Download the PDF report here”
• “Visit our website for more details”

This improves the clarity, user experience, and trustworthiness of your email. Descriptive anchor text is much more likely to make the recipient feel safe clicking the link.

2. Check Your Links Before Sending.

Before hitting “send” always check your links. Broken links or links that lead to irrelevant or untrustworthy websites can damage your credibility. You should also make sure that all links point to the correct page or offer.

3. Avoid Overloading Your Email with Too Many Links.

While including links is important, too many links in one email can make it feel cluttered and we don’t want to overwhelm our customers, do we? Plus, it could potentially send your email to spam. A good rule of thumb is to limit the number of links in each email to around 3-5, depending on the context.

4. Use HTTPS Links for Security.

Always use secure links starting with HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to ensure your recipients feel safe when clicking. These secure URLs encrypt data and protect users from security threats, such as phishing attacks. Emails with links that start with HTTP (instead of HTTPS) may trigger security warnings. That, in turn, potentially causes your email to be marked as spam.

5. Shorten Your Links When Necessary.

Long, cluttered URLs are not only visually unappealing but may also look way too suspicious to email recipients. To improve the aesthetics and trustworthiness of your email, consider using a URL shortener for long links. However, make sure the shortener is reputable and not linked to spammy behavior.

6. Don’t Use Too Many Links in the Email Signature.

Your email signature is a very important part of your overall branding, but too many links can detract from the message you’re sending. Avoid overloading the signature with links to social media, promotions, and personal sites. A simple, clean signature with relevant links is far more effective.

7. Test Your Links.

Before sending a link in an email, test it across multiple devices (desktop, mobile) to see if the recipient’s experience will be smooth. Mobile users in particular may struggle with links that don’t format well. It usually leads to poor user experience and lower click-through rates. There are tools available that can automatically check if your links are broken or misdirecting. These tools save time and ensure accuracy, especially when sending out bulk emails. One of the best tools for that matter is GlockApps. GlockApps offers a Link Checker that analyzes the link’s status, response time, size, and more!

How to Test Your Links with GlockApps

As we’ve already established, testing your email links is extremely important to ensure that your message lands in your recipients’ inboxes and not in the spam folder. One powerful tool for testing your links and checking the overall deliverability of your email is GlockApps and its Inbox Insight, which now includes smarter content analysis with enhanced link checking.

Here’s how you can test your email links with GlockApps:

1.Create an Account on GlockApps: First, create a GlockApps account for free with 2 spam tests to experience all the benefits of the service.

2. Compose Your Email: Write your email and include all the links you intend to use.

3. Set Up a New Test: Select the “Start Spam Test” option from your GlockApps dashboard to start a new manual or automatic test. Select spam filters, email providers, and the folder to save your test and report to. 

4. Don’t Forget to Enable the Link Checker.

5. Send the Test Email to the Seed List: GlockApps will ask you to send a test email to a provided addresses, which will then be analyzed for potential issues.

6. Review the Report: GlockApps will provide detailed insights in Content Analysis.

The links section includes the status of each link, showing you whether any links are broken.

The service now offers several key updates, such as:

• Fully Displayed Links: Links are now shown as text with tooltips for easy clicking, copying, and viewing redirection details all in one step.
• Sorting by Location: Links are categorized by their location — header, HTML, or plain text — helping you focus on critical areas and find problematic links more efficiently.
• Match Counts: If you have repeated links or images, GlockApps will highlight them, ensuring there are no mismatched alt text or anchors.
• Flagging Inline Images: Inline images missing response time, status, or URL data will now be flagged, making it easier to identify and fix these issues.

The images in your email content also often include links, you can find information on that in the images section:

7. Fix Any Issues: If GlockApps finds issues, like broken or flagged links, you can easily make corrections before sending the email to your full list.

By using GlockApps and its enhanced link-checking capabilities, you can ensure your email is free of errors, broken links, or inconsistencies. This improves email deliverability and increases trust with your recipients.

How to Add Links to Your Email

Incorporating links into your emails is relatively simple, but it’s essential to understand the proper method for doing so.

How to Add a Link to an Email (Manually)

If you’re using a standard email client like Gmail or Outlook, adding a hyperlink is usually pretty easy:

1. Highlight the Text: Select the text or image you want to turn into a link.

2. Insert the Link: Click on the link icon (it typically looks like a chain) in your email editor.

3. Paste the URL: Paste the URL you wish to link to in the provided field.

4. Save and Send: Once the link is inserted, save the changes and proceed to send your email.

By following these simple steps, you can easily create hyperlinks for your emails.

How to Link a Website in an Email

When including a website link in your email, make sure to format it correctly. You can either hyperlink the text as described above, or you can paste the full URL directly into the body of your email. For example:

• Hyperlink to Email: “Visit our website for more information” (where “website” is a clickable link).
• Plain Link: “www.example.com” (this is less professional but still works).

For better click-through rates, it’s usually better to use a hyperlink to an email, as it makes the email look cleaner.

How Many Links Should Be in an Email?

As mentioned earlier, it’s essential to avoid overwhelming your recipients with too many links. While there’s no one-size-fits-all rule, it’s generally recommended to keep the number of links to a reasonable amount, typically no more than 3-5 in an email. This keeps your message clear.

Emails with excessive links may appear spammy, causing the email to end up in the spam folder or triggering email security filters. Keep your emails focused on a few well-chosen links because it increases the chances of successful engagement and, more importantly, delivery.

Do Emails with Links Go to Spam?

Yes, emails with links can be flagged as spam, especially if:

• The links are suspicious or lead to dangerous sites.
• The email contains too many links.
• The email is not properly formatted (for instance, if it lacks personalization).

To prevent your emails from going to spam:

• Avoid using too many links.
• Always ensure your links lead to reputable websites.
• Use clear and concise language with proper formatting.
• Avoid using all caps, excessive punctuation, or too many exclamation marks, as these can trigger spam filters.

Conclusion

Using links in emails can significantly improve your communication and help you achieve your goals. By following best practices like using descriptive text, keeping links secure, and not overwhelming your audience, you can ensure that your emails are effective, professional, and deliverable. Test your email deliverability with GlockApps today!

Now that you know how to send a link in an email safely, remember to always test your links, check for broken URLs, and limit the number of links in your emails. By doing so, you’ll improve your chances of reaching your audience and boosting engagement while maintaining your email’s credibility.

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