We have a subject line AB test going right now that is testing a champion subject line against two challenging subject lines. Marketo is stating that the open rates for all of the subject lines are above 50%. However when I manually divide the amount of opens by the amount of delivered emails for each subject line I get very different open rates (below 25%). Does anyone know exactly how Marketo is calculating open rate or "proportion of opens (%)"?
Hi @kristenstangelo,
Marketo calculates the open rate (or "proportion of opens (%)") by dividing the number of opens by the number of delivered emails and then multiplying by 100 to get the percentage. However, discrepancies between Marketo's reported open rates and manually calculated open rates can arise due to several factors:
- Unique Opens vs. Total Opens: Marketo typically reports unique opens, where each recipient is only counted once even if they open the email multiple times. If you're manually counting total opens (including multiple opens by the same recipient), your calculation might differ.
- Delivery Time Lag: There might be a delay between when the emails are delivered and when the opens are recorded, leading to discrepancies if you're checking stats too soon.
- Spam Filters and Image Blocking: If recipients' email clients block images or if the email lands in the spam folder, the tracking pixel may not load, leading to lower open rates being reported.
- Bot Activity: Sometimes, email opens can be inflated by bot activity, which Marketo may attempt to filter out, resulting in a discrepancy.
To verify how Marketo calculates open rates, you can cross-check the exact metrics they use for the calculations. Here’s the typical way to manually calculate open rates:
- Retrieve the Number of Opens and Deliveries: Ensure you're using the same definitions Marketo uses.
- Opens: Unique opens (counting each recipient once).
- Delivered Emails: Total emails successfully delivered.
Formula:
Checking Marketo's Calculations -
- Access Detailed Reports: In Marketo, go to the detailed report of the email campaign and verify the opens and delivered counts for each subject line.
- Compare Values: Compare these values to your manual calculations
Potential Marketo Factors -
- A/B Test Settings: Ensure the A/B test settings in Marketo are correctly configured and that the metrics are accurately reflected.
- Time of Calculation: Check if Marketo's calculation includes all the delivered emails and opens up to the current time.
If after these checks you still find discrepancies, it might be beneficial to reach out to Marketo support for clarification on their calculation methods and to ensure there are no reporting issues on their end.
Thanks!
Jasbir
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