Why you shouldn't use a URL as link text

Using a URL as link text in an email can trigger phishing filters. Here is why it happens and what to use instead.

Using a URL as the visible text of a link — for example, writing www.company.com as the caption — can cause your email to be flagged as phishing by security filters.

How link tracking works

eMarketeer replaces every link in your email with a tracking URL before the email is sent. This lets eMarketeer record which contacts clicked a link and when. The recipient's browser is redirected through the tracking URL to your intended destination.

The tracking URL lives on eMarketeer's domain, not yours.

Why the mismatch is a problem

When you write a link like this:

[www.company.com](https://www.company.com)

the recipient sees www.company.com as the link text. But the actual destination — after tracking wraps it — is on the eMarketeer domain.

Email clients and security tools inspect links for exactly this pattern: a URL displayed as text that does not match the real destination domain. It is the defining signature of a phishing email, where an attacker shows a trusted URL while pointing to a malicious site.

Security filters cannot tell whether the mismatch is intentional or accidental. When in doubt, they block or quarantine the email.

What to use instead

Use descriptive link text that does not make a domain promise:

Instead of	Use
[www.company.com](https://www.company.com)	[Visit our website](https://www.company.com)
[https://register.event.com/signup](https://register.event.com/signup)	[Register for the event](https://register.event.com/signup)
[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])	[Contact support](mailto:[e-mail])

Descriptive text describes the action, not the destination domain. There is no mismatch for filters to flag.