How do you test with and without tracking pixels?
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You're worried that tracking pixels might hurt your inbox placement. That's a fair concern. Let's talk about how to actually test whether your tracking pixel is the culprit or a red herring.
Create two identical emails: one with your tracking pixel, one without. Send both to the same seed network (those test inboxes your ESP or tool provides). Check where each version lands. Are they both in the inbox? Both in spam? Split differently? That's your answer.
Most reputable tracking domains don't tank placement. The real issue happens when the tracking domain itself is on a blocklist or has built up a bad reputation. So if your test shows placement problems, dig into your tracking domain's reputation instead of just ditching pixels entirely.
How do you check a tracking domain's reputation? Use a free blocklist checker or ask your ESP's support team. If it's clean, you're probably fine. If it's listed, that's your actual problem to solve.
Next step: If you're ready to run this test, grab your ESP's seed list feature or use a tool like GlockApps to set it up. Start with a small test batch today.
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