CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Litmus, provider of web-based email rendering, email analytics and spam testing tools, reports on what email marketers can learn from one of Google’s recent updates to Gmail – and why optimized image viewing is critical to their success.
One of the largest problems that email campaigns face is image blocking. Usually due to their email client’s default setting or a personal preference, images are blocked automatically for many subscribers, leading to campaigns that lack the ability to immediately communicate and make an impact, even looking broken.
But new research gives marketers insights to better deal with this issue.
“In December, Google announced that images in emails will now show automatically,” said Justine Jordan, Litmus marketing director. “We’ve kept a close eye on the increased open counts in Gmail—automatic image downloads have given us a unique opportunity to examine the impact that image blocking has had on email marketing for years. What we’ve learned is fascinating, and unveils a critical metric unknown to email designers before now:”
43% of Gmail users read email without turning images on.
As a result, it’s extremely important to optimize emails for images-off viewing. It’s more important than ever to make sure emails are legible and actionable, especially when images can’t be seen.
Comparing open rates before and after Gmail’s switch to automatic image downloads shows how many people view emails without displaying images. When Gmail still blocked image downloads, 57% of Gmail users turned images on.
Defensive design for image blocking
Businesses can use a Litmus account to preview how their email looks in email clients that still block images. After viewing how emails look with images disabled, they can consider using “defensive design” techniques to combat the effects of image blocking:
- Using clear and appropriate ALT text on images. Ensure your email is readable and gets the point across, even without images.
- Don’t put key copy in images—nearly half of your readers will not see it.
- Adding background colors throughout your email allows for hierarchy and, to an extent, design to be present in an images-off environment.
Find out more on how to boost email marketing success with images in The Ultimate Guide to Email Image Blocking by Litmus. Then put these techniques to work for your business with a free Litmus trial.
About Litmus
Agencies, designers and marketing teams worldwide use Litmus email preview and analytics solutions to test, target and optimize their campaigns. View compatibility in major desktop, webmail and mobile email clients; identify mobile users; scan content and reputation against server-side and ISP filters; and save valuable time troubleshooting and verifying campaigns. http://litmus.com/
