Filtering Email Bot Activity

Sometimes, email bot activity can erroneously inflate your email opens and clicks data. Follow the steps below to fix that.

We use three separate methods to confirm bot activity:

  • Match with Interactive Advertising Bureau bot list: Activities that match with anything on the IAB UA/IP (User Agent/IP address) list will be marked as bots.
  • Match with proximity pattern: When more than two activities happen at the same time (in under a second), they’re identified as bots. Attributes considered during comparison are:
    • Lead ID (should be the same)
    • Email asset (should be the same)
    • Link click or email open
    • Time difference (should be less than one second)

Against email link click and email open activity, new attributes will be populated with the values below:

  • Activities that are identified as bots will have “Bot Activity” as “True” and “Bot Activity Pattern” as the identified pattern/method
  • Activities that are identified as not bots will have “Bot Activity” as “False” and “Bot Activity Pattern” as “N/A”
  • Activities that happened before we introduced these attributes will have “Bot Activity” as " " (empty) and “Bot Activity Pattern” as " " (empty)

Select Filter Type

  1. Click Admin.

  2. Click Email.

  3. Click the Bot Activity tab.

  4. Choose to Match with IAB List, Match with Proximity Pattern, or both. Choose whether to log bot activity or filter bot activity.

NOTE

If you choose Filter Bot Activity, you may see a drop in email opens and clicks as false activities are weeded out.

OPTIONAL STEP: To disable this feature, simply deselect the slider(s). If you disable, the data does not reset.

TIP

Leverage bot activity data in Smart Lists via “Is Bot Activity” boolean (yes/no) and “Bot Activity Pattern” in the “Clicked Link in Email” and “Open Email” filters, and “Clicks Link in Email” and “Opens Email” triggers.

IP Blocklist

We’ve compiled a list of IP addresses that are responsible for generating millions of fake engagements, as such engagement received from any of the following IPs is automatically filtered out and not added to your Marketo Engage Instance. This may result in a reduction in email opens, clicks, and other related activities. The list below may be updated periodically.

  • 40.94.34.52
  • 40.94.34.86
  • 52.34.76.65
  • 54.70.53.60
  • 54.71.187.124
  • 60.28.2.248
  • 64.235.150.252
  • 64.235.153.10
  • 64.235.153.2
  • 64.235.154.105
  • 64.235.154.109
  • 64.235.154.140
  • 64.74.215.1
  • 64.74.215.100
  • 64.74.215.138
  • 64.74.215.139
  • 64.74.215.142
  • 64.74.215.146
  • 64.74.215.150
  • 64.74.215.154
  • 64.74.215.158
  • 64.74.215.162
  • 64.74.215.164
  • 64.74.215.166
  • 64.74.215.170
  • 64.74.215.174
  • 64.74.215.176
  • 64.74.215.178
  • 64.74.215.51
  • 64.74.215.56
  • 64.74.215.58
  • 64.74.215.59
  • 64.74.215.86
  • 64.74.215.98
  • 65.154.226.101
  • 66.249.91.149
  • 70.42.131.106
  • 74.125.217.116
  • 74.217.90.250
  • 104.129.41.4
  • 104.47.55.126
  • 104.47.58.126
  • 104.47.70.126
  • 104.47.73.126
  • 104.47.73.254
  • 104.47.74.126
  • 128.220.160.1
  • 155.70.39.101
  • 162.129.251.14
  • 162.129.251.42
  • 208.52.157.204
  • 209.222.82.126
  • 209.222.82.127
  • 209.222.82.128
  • 209.222.82.129
  • 209.222.82.138
  • 209.222.82.139
  • 209.222.82.140
  • 209.222.82.141
  • 209.222.82.228
  • 209.222.82.229
  • 209.222.82.230
  • 209.222.82.231
  • 209.222.82.232
  • 209.222.82.233
  • 209.222.82.234
  • 209.222.82.235
NOTE

We meticulously analyze and scrutinize every IP address before adding it to this list, ensuring only the most critical and harmful IPs are blocked.

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