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Troubleshooting broken test links

Overview

This article explains common reasons for broken links in test emails and offers solutions to ensure they work in both test and live campaigns.

When sending test emails, a default UTM parameter apcid=000000000000000000000000 is included as a placeholder. Some websites may not support this placeholder, causing links to break in test sends.

Why does this happen?

Some websites may reject placeholder values like the apcid=000000000000000000000000 UTM used in test sends. This is usually due to their URL handling rules, which may block long strings of identical characters or unexpected formats.

This issue won’t affect live campaigns, as a unique apcid value is generated during live sends.

How to resolve it

If you encounter this issue during a test send, you can either edit the placeholder UTM parameter or test the link in a live campaign.

Edit the placeholder In the test email, click the link and update the apcid value in the URL to see how it will appear with a different value.

Example original test link: https://www.placeholdersite.com/?apcid=000000000000000000000000&utm_campaign=test&utm_medium=email&utm_source=example

Example updated test link: https://www.placeholdersite.com/?apcid=01234567890123&utm_campaign=test&utm_medium=email&utm_source=example

This change allows you to test the link successfully.

Test in a live campaign To test links in a live environment, duplicate the original campaign and set your email address as the recipient.

Send the live email to yourself and check that all links work as expected. Live campaigns will include a unique apcid value that most websites support.

If a link doesn't load in either the editor preview or test emails, check the following factors:

  • Special characters: URLs with special characters may be encoded in ASCII, which can alter the link. Make sure the URL uses safe characters supported for links.
  • Spaces in the URL: Spaces in a URL will break the link. Ensure there are no spaces in the URL.
  • Merge tags: If you're using merge tags in the URL, ensure the test profile has a value, or include a default value for contacts without one.