Why does my campaign show an unusually high number of clicks from a single contact?

Overview

It’s common for an Opensense campaign to show a high number of clicks from one contact. This usually happens for one of two reasons: the email was forwarded, or an email security tool clicked the links.

Why it happens

Forwarding and engagement attribution

Opensense tracks engagement by the original recipient of the email. If the email is forwarded or replied to and a new recipient joins the conversation, the new contact's clicks count as the original recipient's engagement. It can look as if the original contact clicked the banner many times.

Vanity clicks from email security tools

Many organizations use email security tools, such as Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda, to scan incoming email for threats. As part of the scan, these tools sometimes "click" links or banners in the email, and Opensense records the click as engagement. These automated clicks, called vanity clicks, inflate the click count without real user engagement. See How does Opensense handle vanity clicks from email security tools?

Getting more accurate engagement data

To see authentic engagement numbers:

1. Download and export your campaign data. See Exporting click data.
2. Filter out duplicate clicks, and clicks that look like they came from an automated security tool.
3. Review your click logs for unusually high activity from one contact or site, and adjust your reporting.

Filtering the click data and looking for patterns gives you a more accurate report of real banner engagement.

What’s next

• How does Opensense handle vanity clicks from email security tools?: how security scans affect click data.
• Banner campaigns and marketing FAQ: answers to other campaign reporting questions.