Email bounce rate

Learn how Email Bounce Rate affects your email deliverability and marketing success. Discover how to track, analyze, and reduce bounce rates to improve email campaign effectiveness.

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KPI Details

Category

Marketing
Type

Leading Indicator
Calculation

Measure

Tracks the percentage of emails that fail to reach recipients, helping marketers identify deliverability issues and improve list quality.
Data Sources:

Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, SendGrid, Klaviyo, Constant Contact.
Frequency

Tracked in real-time or after each email campaign to monitor deliverability trends.

Example target

Reduce email bounce rate to below 2% by cleaning the email list and using double opt-in verification.

Example Reports Use Case

An Email Marketing Manager monitors bounce rates to ensure successful campaign delivery. A spike in bounces may signal issues with list hygiene or sender reputation, prompting corrective actions such as removing invalid addresses or improving authentication protocols.

KPI Example

Best Practices for Email Bounce Rate

  • Monitor Bounce Trends

    Track email bounce rates over time to identify patterns and detect potential deliverability issues early.

  • Improve Email List Quality

    Regularly clean your email list by removing invalid addresses and implementing double opt-in verification.

  • Optimize Email Content & Formatting

    Ensure emails meet ISP requirements, avoid spam triggers, and use properly formatted HTML to prevent delivery failures.

  • Authenticate Your Sender Domain

     

    Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication to improve email credibility and reduce the chances of bounces.

What Is Email Bounce Rate?

Email Bounce Rate is the percentage of emails that fail to reach recipients’ inboxes due to delivery issues. It is categorized into two types: hard bounces (permanent failures, such as invalid email addresses) and soft bounces (temporary issues, such as full inboxes or server errors).

A high bounce rate can indicate problems with list quality, email authentication, or domain reputation. By tracking this KPI, businesses can improve their email deliverability, maintain sender credibility, and ensure marketing messages reach the intended audience.

Why Is Email Bounce Rate Important?

A low bounce rate is crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation and ensuring high email deliverability. Email service providers (ESPs) monitor bounce rates, and consistently high rates can lead to emails being flagged as spam or domains being blacklisted.

For email marketers, reducing bounce rates means improving open rates, engagement, and conversion potential. Sales teams also benefit from lower bounce rates, as it ensures outreach emails successfully reach prospects. By optimizing email hygiene, businesses can maximize the impact of their campaigns and maintain strong customer communication.

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