Learn how to monitor your email performance, understand key deliverability metrics, and benchmark your results against industry standards to improve inbox placement and engagement.
Before you begin
Before analyzing performance metrics, make sure you understand the fundamentals of deliverability.
Start with Email Deliverability Best Practices to ensure your sending foundation is strong.
Also, review Understanding Email Authentication to confirm your domain is properly verified.
These metrics are most meaningful after your domain and infrastructure are correctly set up and warmed (see Understanding Ramping vs. Warming).
Why monitoring deliverability matters
Email deliverability is not just about sending emails—it’s about consistently reaching the inbox and driving engagement.
Your performance is influenced by:
Sender reputation (see Understanding Sender Reputation)
Domain and infrastructure setup (see What is a Branded Sending Subdomain?)
Subscriber engagement behavior
Tracking the right metrics helps you identify issues early and maintain strong performance over time.
Key metrics to monitor
These core metrics determine your deliverability health:
Open rate → Are people seeing your emails?
Click rate → Are they engaging with your content?
Bounce rate → Are emails failing to deliver?
Unsubscribe rate → Are users opting out?
Spam complaint rate → Are emails being marked as spam?
Together, these metrics indicate how inbox providers perceive your emails.
Healthy benchmark ranges
While performance varies by industry, here are general benchmarks to aim for:
Campaign benchmarks (average across industries)
Open rate → ~40–45%
Click rate → ~1–2%
Flow benchmarks (higher due to targeting)
Open rate → ~50–56%
Click rate → ~4–6%
Flows typically outperform campaigns because they are triggered based on user behavior.
Negative engagement thresholds
It’s critical to keep negative signals low:
Metric | Needs attention | Improving | Healthy |
Bounce rate | > 2% | 1–2% | < 1% |
Unsubscribe rate | > 1% | 0.3–1% | < 0.3% |
Spam complaints | > 0.05% | 0.01–0.05% | < 0.01% |
High negative engagement can damage your sender reputation and inbox placement.
What to evaluate regularly
When monitoring performance, ask:
Are spam complaints increasing?
Are open or click rates dropping?
Are unsubscribe rates rising?
Are bounce rates exceeding healthy limits?
Always analyze trends over at least 30 days, not just a single campaign.
Common signs of deliverability issues
Watch for these warning signals:
Sudden drop in opens or clicks
Increase in spam complaints
Increase in bounce rates
Decline in conversions or revenue
Emails landing in spam
If you notice these, refer to Troubleshooting Declining KPIs for step-by-step fixes.
Understanding how metrics are calculated
Open rate = unique opens ÷ delivered emails
Click rate = unique clicks ÷ delivered emails
Bounce rate = bounced emails ÷ total sent
Unsubscribe rate = unsubscribes ÷ delivered emails
Spam complaint rate = spam reports ÷ delivered emails
These metrics work together—not in isolation.
Monitoring performance in Birdeye
To track deliverability effectively in Birdeye:
1. Campaign performance
Monitor:
Opens, clicks, bounces, spam rates
Trends over time
Look for consistent patterns—not one-off fluctuations.
2. Deliverability insights
Use reporting tools to:
Identify underperforming segments
Analyze performance by domain or provider
Detect issues early
3. Benchmark comparisons
Compare your performance against:
Industry averages
Peer groups
Historical performance
This helps you understand whether a dip is normal or a real issue.
How to monitor over time
Follow a structured monitoring cadence:
Daily
Campaign performance
Engagement trends
Weekly
Domain and IP reputation
Spam complaints
Use tools like Google Postmaster (covered in Third-Party Deliverability Monitoring Tools)
Monthly
Inbox placement testing
Content performance review
Quarterly
Full deliverability audit
Strategy optimization
Impact of Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP)
With Apple’s privacy updates, open rates may be inflated.
What to do:
Focus more on clicks and conversions
Expand your definition of engagement
Avoid relying solely on open rates
This ties directly into maintaining a strong sender reputation.
Best practices to maintain strong performance
Send to engaged audiences only
Maintain consistent sending frequency
Regularly clean your lists
Avoid sudden spikes in volume
Ensure proper authentication setup
If needed, review:
Key takeaway
Deliverability monitoring is an ongoing process—not a one-time check.
Track the right metrics
Compare against benchmarks
Identify trends early
Take corrective action quickly
Strong monitoring leads to better inbox placement, higher engagement, and more consistent revenue.