Deliverability Metrics That Matter: Beyond Open Rates in a Privacy-First World

If there’s one thing to say about the landscape of email metrics, it’s that it’s constantly changing.

The email marketing industry now measures success using a variety of metrics—from deliverability, which depends on reliable and consistent inbox placement, to engagement signals like open rates and click-to-open rates (CTOR).

The evolving landscape of email metrics

Traditional email metrics were upended with the launch of Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection in 2021. The user privacy feature pre-loads images and makes pixel-based open tracking unreliable—throwing traditional engagement metrics off balance.

Apple doubled down on its commitment to protecting user privacy with the introduction of Link Tracking Protection in 2023.

As email marketers moved away from using open rates to gauge campaign success, they turned to alternative metrics such as click-through rates, time spent on landing pages, and conversions. This shift highlighted a bigger insight: the need for a more comprehensive approach to measuring email performance, particularly as MBPs continue to prioritize user privacy.

Core deliverability and performance metrics for 2025

In email marketing, reputation, engagement, and deliverability are vital to every campaign’s success. Brands rely on these benchmarks to get their messages across to subscribers and prompt their audience to convert.

Key email deliverability metrics for 2025, as well as engagement and performance indicators, include:

• Inbox placement and delivery rate: Email delivery rate is the number of emails sent from your email service provider to the recipient’s email server, whereas inbox placement rate is the number of emails that actually make it to their primary inbox instead of the spam or junk folder. Inbox placement is far more reliable for measuring true email deliverability.
• Click-to-open ratios: This data measures how effective your email is in encouraging a recipient to click a link from an email they opened. A high CTOR means engaging content.
• Spam complaint rates: Indicate how often users mark your email as spam. A high spam complaint rate impacts your sender reputation and affects inbox placement rates.

Advanced engagement metrics

Email performance tracking would not be complete without measuring engagement. While deliverability is important, engagement is also crucial to understanding how users interact with your content. Advanced engagement metrics include:

• Read rate and read time analysis: Analyzing read rate and time determines how much of your emails are actually consumed by the audience and how much time they spend reading the content.
• Reply rate: Email reply rate reflects how effectively your content resonates with recipients, prompting them to take part in the conversation.
• Forward and sharing metrics: These rates indicate how your content resonates with the audience, making them want to advocate for your cause.
• List growth rate and list health indicators: Your list growth rate is the expansion speed of your subscriber base, while list health can be measured by analyzing your bounce and unsubscribe rates. Both metrics serve as indicators of your content’s quality and engagement level.

Benchmarking your performance

Measuring success using different deliverability and engagement metrics helps you assess your campaign’s overall performance. It’s useful in developing a strategy that can help you work around challenges, like user privacy protection. A few ways you can do it are:

• Industry-specific benchmarks for key metrics
• Setting realistic goals based on your vertical
• Competitive analysis frameworks for email performance
• Creating custom benchmark calculations for your unique business model

For example, you can use tools like Validity’s Sender Score or Barracuda BRBL lookups to benchmark sender reputation against peers.

For region and industry-specific benchmarks for deliverability, spam complaint rates, and more, read Validity’s 2025 Email Deliverability Benchmark report.

Why users trust Validity for email deliverability tools

Validity combines expertise, innovation, and dedicated support in helping customers achieve best-in-class email deliverability and advanced engagement metrics. Our selection of reliable and industry-leading solutions guides users on the path to success, leveraging our:

• Proven track record
• Advanced technology and automation
• Commitment to compliance and security
• Continuous innovation

Begin your journey to success with Validity

Validity empowers marketers to thrive in a digital environment that prioritizes user privacy. We provide tools, data, and actionable insights to optimize email deliverability and drive user engagement while maintaining compliance. With Validity, it’s easier to realize there’s more to email analytics beyond open rates. Schedule a demo today to find out how.