If your campaign shows far more link clicks than opens or recipients, you're likely experiencing "ghost clicks" caused by email security software. This article explains why this happens and how to fix it.
What Are Ghost Clicks?
Ghost clicks occur when email security software (like Microsoft SafeLinks or Mimecast) automatically accesses links in your emails to verify they're safe. ContactMonkey counts each of these automated security checks as a click, which can result in multiple clicks per recipient before anyone actually opens the email.
This is a security feature designed to protect your organization from phishing attacks, not a ContactMonkey tracking error.
Who Needs to Fix This?
Important: Both solutions below require changes to your organization's security settings. You must involve your IT or Security team before proceeding.
Solution 1: Add ContactMonkey to Your Security Allowlist
Work with your IT team to add ContactMonkey domains to your security software's allowlist. This tells your security software to trust ContactMonkey links without clicking them for verification.
ContactMonkey Domains by Region
Add these domains based on where your ContactMonkey environment is located:
USA:
- contactmonkey.com
Australia:
- contactmonkey.au
- tkau.cmnky.co
Canada:
- contactmonkey.ca
- tkca.cmnky.co
Europe:
- contactmonkeyeu.com
- tk.cmnky.co
For Microsoft SafeLinks Users
Your IT administrator needs to adjust your SafeLinks policy to not rewrite ContactMonkey URLs. This prevents SafeLinks from clicking links to verify them.
Solution 2: Set Up a Custom URL
A custom URL replaces all ContactMonkey links in your emails with your own domain. Your IT team can then add your custom domain to the allowlist instead of ContactMonkey's domains.
How Custom URLs Work
- Your IT team creates a subdomain on your company domain (example: internalcomms.yourcompany.com)
- All tracking links in your emails now use your custom domain
- Your IT team adds your custom domain to the security allowlist
What to Expect After Implementing a Solution
Once your IT team implements either solution, ghost clicks should stop appearing in new campaigns. Historical data from previous campaigns will not change.
Still Seeing Excessive Clicks?
If ghost clicks continue after your IT team implements these changes:
- Verify that the correct ContactMonkey domains were added to the allowlist
- Check if your organization uses multiple email security tools that each need configuration
- Allow 24-48 hours for security policy changes to take full effect