Why would you need to block responses?
Double or multiple responses that appear at the exact same time or responses received not made by the recipient are due to a piece of security software at the recipient's end which analyses the links to ensure they are safe. Sometimes the software ends up clicking the links as part of the checking process and consequently submits what we call a 'false click'. To confirm a false click is not submitted by the recipient but the software itself and the recipient would not be aware that this has happened.
With an Email Thermometer, it would only log the first link (all other links are effectively then locked). When a recipient went to respond, they were told it had already been responded to.
With Embedded Thermometers, it might be possible to have all four responses (and any other links too) clicked and therefore logged within an account.
2) Stopping internal responses
Particularly for customers using Outlook Thermometers, it is possible for responses to be recorded by colleagues, either genuinely or, let’s say ‘over-enthusiastically'. So many of our customers bonus their staff around performance measured by Customer Thermometer, it’s vital that statistics are correct.
It is therefore helpful to be able to block responses from internal networks, ensuring all clicks are from external customers, as opposed to from staff.
We can block both of these types of responses using our ClickBlocker feature.
Using ClickBlocker
ClickBlocker enables you to block any responses that match a certain IP address and/or User Agent string combination from your reporting. Therefore, stopping specified responses automatically from displaying in your account and results. You are able to view those responses and then choose to remove them completely.
It’s simple to setup.
Step 1 – identify IP addresses & User agents
If you have spotted a response that doesn’t look genuine or a customer has reported an issue with a locked Thermometer, visit the relevant responses tab for the Blast associated with that response.
Click the magnifying glass icon at the end of the response to reveal the Recipient details popup:
Copy the IP address associated with the response. You may also need the User-agent string, shown underneath the IP address in the example above.
If your link scanning is being performed by a cloud-based provider, the IP address is likely to be all you need.
If you are simply blocking internal responses, again, the IP address is likely to be all you will need.
In some cases, link scanners are installed on internal networks, where responses from internal networks are legitimate and need to be captured correctly. Blocking an IP address generically wouldn’t, therefore, work correctly, as ALL responses would be blocked.
By identifying the ‘User agent’, you can effectively filter the Click Blocking right down to a specific type of device scanning the inbound email links.
Step 2 – implement click blocking
ClickBlocker can be accessed from your settings area by going to the drop-down on the top right and selecting Settings > ClickBlocker:
Enter the IP address (range or otherwise) into the relevant box and then click ‘save’.
Immediately, all responses which have originated from that IP address (range) will be removed from your account – so don’t be surprised, as your metrics will change immediately. Those responses are still associated with your account, however, they have been blocked from your reporting.
You will also notice the number of responses that have been blocked are now showing besides that IP address. You can delete those responses permanently, by clicking the “Delete responses” button next to the rule.
Removing the rule will unblock the blocked responses and they will then show again in your account.
Advanced click blocking options
You can add as many rules as you wish by clicking “add new rule”
- You can block single IP addresses (as shown above).
- You can block entire IP address ranges – (use the format X.X.X.X-Y.Y.Y.Y)
- You can block IP address ranges, using wildcards – (use the format X.X.*.*)
- You can also block a user agent, regardless of its IP address – (enter * in the IP address box and then add the user agent string).
You will also notice the ‘Add User Agent string’ area. This is to further customize the blocking as we’ve described above. If you need to add this additional blocking filter, paste the entire user-agent string, previously discussed into the relevant box, alongside the IP address.
Ensure you click ‘save’ to finish.
Exports
When exporting responses, any response that is blocked by Clickblocker will not appear within the export. However, blocked responses can be exported from the Clickblocker settings page.