In an official Google Plus update earlier last week, Google unveiled a new “unsubscribe” button for Gmail users. According to the post, the aim is to decrease the likelihood of emails being marked as spam and to simplify the unsubscribing process; putting an end to, “sifting through an entire message for that one pesky link.”
Essentially, if Gmail detects an unsubscribe link in a message it will copy that link next to the sender’s address in the email header.
Talk of this feature has circulated around the Web since as early as February. Now that it’s live, will this new feature disrupt email marketing or displace the channel? “Absolutely not,” says Spencer Kollas, director of deliverability at Experian Marketing Services. “It’s something we’re going to monitor and keep our eyes on, but much like the Promotions Tab, it won’t change the way most marketers create email campaigns.”
Kollas notes that Gmail will only apply the button for senders it considers “good.” This is, of course, contingent on the mailer’s reputation within Google’s system. “[The feature] is a positive. There’s nothing bad about it,” Kollas says. “Will it change the way people interact with email? Probably not.”
It’s great to facilitate DEM unsubscribe rather than risking for a customer to mark your email as spam. Thanks @gmail http://t.co/sXhMCp1gr8
— Francesco Federico (@frandrake) August 9, 2014
Email marketers will have to be very focused due to the unsubscribe button in gmail. 1 click & conversation is over.
https://t.co/h0Yn54PTdI
— ?l???s ?? ?l?? (@kylecsteele) August 10, 2014
The greatest thing that google has done for gmail & g-Apps users in a decade is native “Unsubscribe” button.
Thank you google.
— Emmanuel Amberber (@EmmanuelAmber) August 11, 2014
@MarkRaganCEO as a user, love the unsubscribe feature by @google but that’s going to disrupt email marketing a bit.
— Ken Burbary (@kenburbary) August 9, 2014
