How to Identify Unlinked Click Zones in Your Email Campaigns (and Fix Them)

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How to Identify Unlinked Click Zones in Your Email Campaigns (and Fix Them)

10 Aug 2025

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Every click in your email matters — but what if some of those clicks are going nowhere?


In many campaigns, subscribers unintentionally click on areas that aren’t linked, such as product images, decorative graphics, or headlines without hyperlinks. These unlinked click zones represent lost opportunities for engagement and conversions.


With CRMx heatmaps inside Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC), you can find these missed opportunities instantly and fix them before your next send.




🔍 What Are Unlinked Click Zones?


Unlinked click zones are non-clickable areas of your email that still attract clicks.
Examples include:




  • Product images without hyperlinks




  • Headline text without links




  • Brand logos not linked to the homepage




  • Decorative banners without any action




When subscribers click these areas and nothing happens, it can lead to:




  • Frustration and reduced trust




  • Missed website visits




  • Lower conversions






📊 Why Unlinked Click Zones Matter


Even if your CTR looks good, unlinked click zones mean:




  • You’re losing potential traffic to relevant landing pages




  • You can’t fully track customer intent




  • You might misread click data because some clicks never lead anywhere






🚀 How to Identify Unlinked Click Zones with CRMx


CRMx integrates with SFMC to produce visual click heatmaps for every send. Here’s how to find unlinked click zones:




  1. Open the Campaign Heatmap in CRMx
    Your email will appear with color-coded click intensity overlays.




  2. Look for Hotspots in Non-Linked Areas
    If an image, headline, or decorative element has clicks but no hyperlink, that’s a missed opportunity.




  3. Check Click Percentage Rankings
    CRMx ranks clickable elements by click percentage — if you see a “zone” with clicks but no tracked link, it’s unlinked.






🛠 How to Fix Unlinked Click Zones


1. Link Product Images


If subscribers are clicking images, make sure they link to the product or relevant category page.




2. Make Headlines Clickable


If a headline draws attention, link it to the same destination as the adjacent CTA.




3. Link the Logo


Always link your brand logo to your homepage — it’s an expected behavior for users.




4. Add Links to Promotional Banners


Even decorative banners can drive traffic if linked to a relevant page.




5. Test Before Sending


Send yourself a test email and click on likely hotspots to confirm they’re linked.




🎯 Example: Quick Fix, Big Gain


A retailer using CRMx found that 18% of clicks were on unlinked product images. After adding links in the next send:




  • Traffic to the product page increased by 26%




  • Conversions from that audience grew by 14%






✅ Final Thoughts


Unlinked click zones are invisible in traditional SFMC reports, but CRMx heatmaps make them impossible to miss.


By identifying and fixing these missed opportunities, you can:




  • Capture more website visits




  • Improve the customer journey




  • Increase conversions without sending more emails




📬 Don’t let valuable clicks go to waste — link every hotspot.