{"id":122835,"date":"2026-02-12T08:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=122835"},"modified":"2026-02-12T08:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:36:16","slug":"email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","title":{"rendered":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<div id=\"simple-text-block-block_92e15ba91fdc008782658674dae6be72\" class=\"block-simple-text-block alignfull \" style=\"background-color:\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n  \t<div class=\"row\">\n  \t\t<div class=\"col\">\n  \t\t\t<div class=\"copy\">\n  \t\t\t\t<table style=\"background-color: #f2f3f6;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"block-1\" style=\"padding: 20px;\">\n<h3>Key takeaways \u2728<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>This is a recap from a Validity webinar<\/strong> in December 2025. You can <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/resource-center\/inbox-insiders-email-metrics-that-matter\/\">watch the full recording here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Email issues require a clear diagnosis<\/strong> so you can determine exactly where to start and what steps to take next.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make sure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are squeaky clean<\/strong> and line up with the domain in your \u2018From\u2019 address to avoid getting blocked or flagged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last year was packed with big shifts in the world of\u00a0email;\u00a0it was tough to keep up!\u00a0My colleagues and I\u00a0recently\u00a0put together a\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/resource-center\/episode-70-state-of-email-live-2026-email-marketing-predictions\/\">detailed recap with predictions<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a02026\u00a0to help make sense of everything.<\/p>\n<p>But with\u00a0the rise of\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.google\/products-and-platforms\/products\/gmail\/gmail-is-entering-the-gemini-era\/\">Inbox AI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0no sign of\u00a0new innovations\u00a0slowing down,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0clear that just setting goals for the new year\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0cut it anymore.\u00a0To stay ahead, you need success metrics that give you a full view of your program\u2019s\u00a0business impact,\u00a0engagement, and\u00a0deliverability.<\/p>\n<p>These metrics help you see if your audience is taking meaningful steps toward your\u00a0business\u00a0goals\u2014whether that\u2019s direct conversions for B2C brands or nurturing leads and moving them through the evaluation process for B2B.<\/p>\n<p>I hosted a webinar that covered exactly that, which I invite you to\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/resource-center\/inbox-insiders-email-metrics-that-matter\/\">watch here<\/a>.\u00a0In this\u00a0post,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0keeping things\u00a0short and sweet\u00a0while also answering some of the questions I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have time to tackle live about the metrics that matter most.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"3\">Table of contents<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#business-impact\">Business impact metrics<\/a><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#engagement\">Engagement metrics<\/a><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#deliverability-reputation\">Deliverability and reputation metrics<\/a><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#diagnosing\">Diagnosing problems\u00a0with\u00a0the metrics that matter<\/a><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"#questions\">Additional\u00a0questions from\u00a0webinar\u00a0attendees<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s\u00a0dive in,\u00a0starting with a\u00a0breakdown\u00a0of each category of metrics\u00a0you should care about.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-122844\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/impact-engagement-foundation-1024x537.png\" alt=\"upside-down pyramid of the agenda: metrics providing worth to stakeholders, behaviors driving revenue, and deliverability and reputation foundation\" width=\"1024\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/impact-engagement-foundation-1024x537.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/impact-engagement-foundation-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/impact-engagement-foundation-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/impact-engagement-foundation.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\n<h2 id=\"business-impact\" aria-level=\"1\">Business\u00a0impact\u00a0metrics<\/h2>\n<p>First up is business impact metrics.\u00a0These are the\u00a0insights\u00a0that\u00a0show how your email program contributes to revenue, growth, and ROI. In other words, the numbers your key stakeholders and your boss really care about.<\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-striped\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Metric and Formula<\/th>\n<th>Benchmark \/ Goal<\/th>\n<th>Strategic Significance<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Conversion Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Conversions \/ Delivered Emails) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Campaigns: 0.5% \u2013 1%<br \/>\n          Automations: 1% \u2013 5%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The \u201cultimate source of truth\u201d for revenue potential. High clicks with low conversions indicate a landing page\/offer issue.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>List Growth Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          [(New Subscribers \u2212 (Unsubscribes + Hard Bounces)) \/ Total List Size] \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          2.5% net growth month-over-month\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Counters \u201cnatural decay\u201d (approx. 25% yearly). Focus on net growth rather than just top-of-funnel signups.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV)<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Monthly Revenue from Email \/ Total Subscribers) \u00d7 Average Lifespan (Months)\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          3:1 LTV-to-CPA Ratio\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Defines the ceiling for acquisition costs. Helps justify retention and personalization budgets.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Return on Investment (ROI)<\/strong><br \/>\n          [(Revenue \u2212 Cost) \/ Cost] \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Positive ROI (variable)\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Measures macro-efficiency of the email program yearly or micro-efficiency of specific campaigns.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Revenue Per Email (RPE)<\/strong><br \/>\n          Total Revenue (Campaign) \/ Delivered Emails (Campaign)\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Beat your historic average\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Measures efficiency regardless of list size. Useful for comparing newsletters vs. promotions.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)<\/strong><br \/>\n          Total Spend (Month) \/ New Subscribers (Month)\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Align with budget cycles\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Tracks cost to acquire new subscribers. Must be balanced against LTV for profitability.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Weighted Value (B2B)<\/strong><br \/>\n          Total Campaign Revenue \/ Delivered Emails\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Example: 10% of $10k = $1,000\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Assigns dollar value to non-revenue actions (whitepapers, webinars) based on pipeline contribution.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"engagement\" aria-level=\"1\">Engagement\u00a0metrics<\/h2>\n<p>Engagement metrics\u00a0reveal\u00a0how people\u00a0interact\u00a0with your email program.\u00a0These actions\u00a0ultimately drive\u00a0the\u00a0business impact metrics\u00a0above. The table below summarizes the key engagement metrics that tell you how your audience is consuming your email content.<\/p>\n<p>Here is your content converted into a clean plain striped Bootstrap table:<\/p>\n<div class=\"table-responsive\">\n<table class=\"table table-striped\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Metric<\/th>\n<th>Benchmark \/ Goal<\/th>\n<th>Strategic Significance<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Open Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Opens \/ Delivered Emails) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Directional trend\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Effectively \u201cbroken\u201d due to Apple MPP. Use for trendlines only \u2014 never for absolute truth or hard segmentation.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Click-Through Rate (CTR)<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Clicks \/ Delivered Emails) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Global Average: ~2.3%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Your high-level \u201cNorth Star\u201d for campaign performance. High CTR indicates strong alignment between subject line and content.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Clicks \/ Unique Opens) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Target: 10% \u2013 15%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The \u201ccontent auditor.\u201d Measures how effectively your copy drives action after someone opens the email.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Read Rate \/ Dwell Time<\/strong><br \/>\n          % of emails viewed for 8+ seconds\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Target: &gt; 60% Read Rate\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The only way to know if your copy is being read vs. deleted. Signals when to shorten content or improve design hierarchy.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Unsubscribe Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Unsubscribes \/ Delivered Emails) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Target: &lt; 0.5%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The \u201cGood Goodbye.\u201d Spikes may indicate list fatigue (over-emailing) or a breach of trust from the original signup promise.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 id=\"deliverability-reputation\" aria-level=\"1\">Deliverability\u00a0and\u00a0reputation\u00a0metrics<\/h2>\n<p>Call it\u00a0\u201cconsultant\u00a0bias,\u201d\u00a0but after 12 years in the industry,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0found that these metrics are the true make-or-break factors for a successful email strategy.\u00a0If your\u00a0messages\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0reaching the inbox,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0never going to be seen by your carefully targeted audience.<\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-striped\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Metric<\/th>\n<th>Benchmark \/ Danger Zone<\/th>\n<th>Strategic Significance<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Bounce Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Bounced Emails \/ Total Sent Emails) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: &lt; 2%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Measures list hygiene. High bounces indicate invalid addresses or blocking at the receiving server.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Inbox Placement Rate (IPR)<\/strong><br \/>\n          [(Total Sent \u2212 Total Bounced) \/ Total Sent] \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Confirm visibility via third-party tools\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The only metric that confirms whether your email landed in the inbox versus the spam folder.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Spam Complaint Rate<\/strong><br \/>\n          (Total Complaints \/ Total Delivered to Inbox) \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: &lt; 0.1%<br \/>\n          Danger: 0.3%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The \u201creputation killer.\u201d Exceeding 0.1% (1 in 1,000) can cause Google and Yahoo to route messages to spam.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>SRD Rate (Outlook)<\/strong><br \/>\n          [Total Junk Votes \/ (Total Junk Votes + Total Not Junk Votes)] \u00d7 100\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: &lt; 40%\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          A polling system where Microsoft users vote on whether they wanted your email.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Sender Score<\/strong><br \/>\n          A 0\u2013100 \u201cCredit Score\u201d for your IP\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: Above 80\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Provides a consolidated view of sending health. Below 80 indicates reputation issues that need repair.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Spam Traps<\/strong><br \/>\n          Decoy addresses used to catch spammers\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: Zero hits\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Hitting spam traps suggests list purchasing or failure to clean old, inactive data.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Google Postmaster Tools<\/strong><br \/>\n          Google Compliance Status\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: All \u201cGreen\u201d\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          The single source of truth for Gmail delivery, tracking requirements such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n          <strong>Microsoft SNDS<\/strong><br \/>\n          SNDS Filter Result\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Goal: Green (&lt; 10% to Spam)<br \/>\n          Danger: Red (&gt; 90% to Spam)\n        <\/td>\n<td>\n          Provides a \u201ctraffic light\u201d signal for IP health within Microsoft\/Outlook.\n        <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<div class=\"container pt-3 pb-5\">\n\t<div class=\"row blog-cta-blue  p-4\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col-12 mx-auto\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"bold fs-4\">Deliverability from every angle <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Get the insights and tools to improve inbox placement, sender reputation, and email performance. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"button-blue arrow\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/email-deliverability\" class=\"text-white text-decoration-none\">Explore Litmus Deliverability <\/a><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-6 d-none d-lg-block\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/blog-cta-12172024.svg\" width=\"208\" height=\"171\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!--row-->\n\t\t<\/div><!--col-12-->\n\t<\/div><!--row-->\n<\/div><!--container-->\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n<h2 id=\"diagnosing\" aria-level=\"1\">Diagnosing problems\u00a0with\u00a0the metrics that matter<\/h2>\n<p>In today\u2019s landscape,\u00a0guessing\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0cut it\u2014you need a clear diagnosis\u00a0of any email issues\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0dealing with. The visual below breaks down four common \u201csomething\u2019s wrong\u201d scenarios, like low open rates, weak click-to-open rates, high clicks with no conversions, or scary bounce spikes. For each one,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0show\u00a0you\u00a0where to look first\u2014whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0inbox placement, creative, content alignment, landing pages, or data hygiene\u2014and what steps to take next.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-122845\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/diagnosing-problems-with-metrics-1024x544.jpeg\" alt=\"Break down of four common email \u201csomething\u2019s wrong\u201d scenarios\" width=\"1024\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/diagnosing-problems-with-metrics-1024x544.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/diagnosing-problems-with-metrics-300x159.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/diagnosing-problems-with-metrics-768x408.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/diagnosing-problems-with-metrics.jpeg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\n<p>Here\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0transcript\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0image:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenario\u00a01:\u00a0low\u00a0open rates (&lt;15%)<br \/>\n<\/strong>Check your inbox placement rate (IPR). If\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0low, or less than 80%,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0deliverability\u00a0issue.\u00a0You\u2019re\u00a0likely in\u00a0the spam folder.\u00a0It\u00a0your IPR is high, or above 90%,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0probably a\u00a0creative issue, like a weak or non-relevant subject line.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenario 2:\u00a0low\u00a0click-to-open-rates (CTOR &lt;10%)<br \/>\n<\/strong>Your content is mismatched. Your subject line made a promise your email body\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0keey. Improve your copy\u00a0alignment\u00a0or CTA placement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenario\u00a03: high clicks,\u00a0low\u00a0conversions<\/strong><br \/>\nYour email did its job, but your landing page is failing. Check your\u00a0website\u00a0load times, form friction, or the offer clarity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenario\u00a04: High\u00a0bounce\u00a0or\u00a0blocklisting<br \/>\n<\/strong>Your data\u00a0hygiene\u00a0is failing. To fix this, stop sending. Screen your list for spam traps and invalid offers\u00a0immediately\u00a0before sending again.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"questions\" aria-level=\"1\">Additional\u00a0questions from\u00a0webinar\u00a0attendees<\/h2>\n<p>Now that\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0covered the three\u00a0primary\u00a0types of\u00a0email\u00a0metrics and how to diagnose issues,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0dig\u00a0into some of the specific questions and scenarios that came up during our\u00a0webinar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> \u201cWe noticed our domain reputation is low even though our IP reputation looks good \u2014 what could be causing that, and how should we approach a warmup plan?\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>A:<\/strong> If your IP reputation looksfine, but your domain is struggling, it usually means mailbox providers trust the infrastructure but are still on the fence about your brand. That can come from <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/blog\/what-are-the-advantages-of-a-shared-ip-address-vs-a-dedicated-ip-address\/\">shared IPs<\/a>,\u00a0inconsistent\u00a0practices across tools using the same domain, or weaker engagement and complaint history tied to your domain.<\/p>\n<p>The fix is to\u00a0gradually rebuild trust.\u00a0Start\u00a0by targeting\u00a0your\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/blog\/why-email-list-quality-matters\/\">most engaged audience<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/briteverify\/\">clean up risky or old data<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0ramp up volume slowly and predictably with helpful, relevant messages. Over time, consider splitting traffic by subdomain or moving key programs to a dedicated IP to give your best-behaving mail a cleaner reputation path.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> \u201cWith MPP and bot clicks inflating engagement, how are we supposed to trust CTOR or run meaningful A\/B tests now?\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>A:<\/strong> It\u2019s true\u2014MPP and security tools have made opens and clicks noisier. But that doesn\u2019t mean testing is useless; you just need to shift your focus closer to actual business outcomes. One way to tackle this is by splitting reporting between Apple MPP users (a good starting point is identifying addresses with @icloud.com) and non-MPP audiences. Treat opens as a rough signal\u2014not as a precise metric you can rely on.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to A\/B testing, aim for metrics that really matter, like qualified clicks, conversions, or revenue per send.\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0forget to use\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/blog\/are-these-clicks-for-real-the-rise-of-bot-clicks-and-what-marketers-can-do-about-it\/\">bot\u00a0filtering<\/a>\u00a0or custom rules to strip out the most obvious fake activity. Instead of obsessing over tiny\u00a0open rate\u00a0changes, test bigger ideas and pick winners\u00a0based on how they\u00a0impact\u00a0key results further down the funnel.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"container pt-3 pb-5 px-1\">\n\t<div class=\"row blog-cta-green rounded-5 p-4\">\n\t\t<div class=\"mx-auto col-12\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"bold fs-4\">Hitting \u201csend\u201d doesn\u2019t have to be stressful<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>See what your emails look like in 100+ email clients and shave hours off your QA process, with Litmus email testing. <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/email-testing\" class=\"bold\">Learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"button-blue arrow\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/pricing-litmus\" class=\"text-white text-decoration-none\">Book a demo<\/a><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-6 d-none d-lg-block\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/test.svg\" width=\"210\" height=\"130\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!--row-->\n\t\t<\/div><!--col-12-->\n\t<\/div><!--row-->\n<\/div><!--container-->\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> \u201cFor those of us sending to B2B, especiallyOffice 365\u00a0and Google Workspace addresses,\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0the best way to avoid getting blocked or flagged?\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>A:<\/strong> B2B environments arenotoriously picky, so you need to be rock solid from both a security and data quality angle. Start with ensuring your <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/blog\/deliverability-101-the-true-story-of-email-authentication\/\">SPF, DKIM, and DMARC<\/a>\u00a0records\u00a0are squeaky clean and\u00a0all line up with the domain in your\u00a0From\u00a0address. Using a\u00a0dedicated marketing subdomain that people recognize\u00a0can also go a long way.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, stick to permission-based lists, and warm up corporate domains gradually\u2014no sudden spikes in volume that could raise red flags. And, of course, your content matters. Focus on sending emails that feel genuinely useful in a work inbox, not spammy blasts full of attachments.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"1\">Keeping up with changes and deliverability best practices with insights<\/h2>\n<p>The last question of the\u00a0webinar\u00a0was one\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0always excited to\u00a0answer;\u00a0it means people are ready to take their metrics\u00a0to the next level!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cDo you have recommendations for tools that can help identify spam traps, clean lists, or keep up with deliverability best practices?\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>A:<\/strong>\u00a0The good\u00a0news? You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to troubleshoot on your own. Tools like\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/litmus.com\/\">Litmus from Validity<\/a>\u00a0help you test both creative and deliverability before you hit send. From subject line and content variants to inbox previews and spam filter checks,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0easy to pinpoint whether the problem is \u201cyour message isn\u2019t compelling enough\u201d or \u201cyour message isn\u2019t even making it to the inbox\u201d\u2014so you can fix the right issue first.<\/p>\n<p>You can also take advantage of postmaster portals like\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/postmaster.google.com\/\">Google Postmaster Tools<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sendersupport.olc.protection.outlook.com\/snds\/Index\">Microsoft SNDS<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/senders.yahooinc.com\/\">Yahoo Sender Hub<\/a>\u00a0can\u00a0help\u00a0you keep a close eye on how mailbox providers see your traffic over time.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/briteverify\/\">BriteVerify\u00a0from\u00a0Validity<\/a>\u00a0is also a\u00a0great tool helping you\u00a0keep bad addresses and recycled traps out of your list.<\/p>\n<p>Looking for more information on\u00a0the best metrics for your email program? Check out the\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/resource-center\/inbox-insiders-email-metrics-that-matter\/\">full\u00a0webinar\u00a0session<\/a>\u00a0here.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"container pt-3 pb-5\">\n\t<div class=\"row blog-cta-blue  p-4\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col-12 mx-auto\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"bold fs-4\">Don\u2019t let bad data cost you<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Validity BriteVerify helps you remove invalid emails before you send\u2014saving money and improving deliverability.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"button-blue arrow\"><a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/briteverify\/\" class=\"text-white text-decoration-none\">Clean your list<\/a><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-6 d-none d-lg-block\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/blog-cta-12172024.svg\" width=\"208\" height=\"171\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!--row-->\n\t\t<\/div><!--col-12-->\n\t<\/div><!--row-->\n<\/div><!--container-->\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n  \t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t<\/div>\n  \t<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Metrics help you see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael Viana tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":122849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[10274,10247],"blog_category":[53],"class_list":["post-122835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-email-analytics","tag-performance-metrics","blog_category-tips-resources"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0 - Litmus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Metrics help see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Metrics help you see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Litmus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/litmusapp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T13:36:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T13:36:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@litmusapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@litmusapp\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0 - Litmus","description":"Metrics help see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0","og_description":"Metrics help you see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","og_site_name":"Litmus","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/litmusapp","article_published_time":"2026-02-12T13:36:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-12T13:36:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1380,"height":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@litmusapp","twitter_site":"@litmusapp","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure"},"author":{"name":"Lindsey","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8b6e4299624ea0fd0f7525574ecb9036"},"headline":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-02-12T13:36:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-12T13:36:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure"},"wordCount":8,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png","keywords":["Email Analytics","Performance Metrics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure","name":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0 - Litmus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png","datePublished":"2026-02-12T13:36:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-12T13:36:16+00:00","description":"Metrics help see if your audience is moving toward your business goals. Rafael tackles questions about the email metrics that matter most.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Email-Metrics-That-Matter-blog-.png","width":1380,"height":725,"caption":"Email Metrics That Matter blog cover"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-metrics-that-matter-what-to-measure#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Email Metrics That Matter: What to Measure in 2026\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/","name":"Litmus","description":"Are you getting the most out of your email marketing?","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#organization","name":"Litmus Software","url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/featured-image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/featured-image.png","width":600,"height":314,"caption":"Litmus Software"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/litmusapp","https:\/\/x.com\/litmusapp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8b6e4299624ea0fd0f7525574ecb9036","name":"Lindsey"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122835"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122869,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122835\/revisions\/122869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122835"},{"taxonomy":"blog_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_category?post=122835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}