Open rates used to be the gold standard for email performance. In 2026, they're essentially meaningless for cold email.
Why Open Rates Are Unreliable
Apple Mail Privacy Protection
Apple pre-loads tracking pixels for all Apple Mail users, making every email appear "opened" regardless of whether the recipient actually read it.
Corporate Proxies
Enterprise email systems (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace) increasingly proxy images, triggering false opens.
Security Scanners
Corporate security tools open and scan emails automatically, inflating open rates.
Bot Traffic
Some email providers use bots to check links and images, generating fake engagement.
The Result
Your "60% open rate" might actually be 20% real opens and 40% bots/proxies. You can't make decisions on unreliable data.
What to Track Instead
Reply Rate
The only metric that proves a human read your email and cared enough to respond. Aim for 3-8% for cold outreach.
Bounce Rate
Keep it under 5%. High bounce rates damage sender reputation. Clean your list regularly.
Sequence Completion Rate
What percentage of contacts receive all steps? Low completion might indicate aggressive auto-stop triggers or sending issues.
Pipeline Conversion
Ultimately, how many replies turn into meetings, and how many meetings turn into deals?
ClickReach's Approach
ClickReach doesn't use tracking pixels. We monitor replies via IMAP — which gives you the most reliable engagement signal possible. No inflated numbers, no false confidence.
