The searches that reveal the most common email mistakes


It’s known as an ohnosecond -- that moment just after you realize that you’ve made a mistake. Something that happens frequently with emails when you press send too soon, do reply all when you didn’t meant to, or just send a message to the wrong person.
A new study from ZeroBounce has analyzed search data from Google Keyword Planner to determine which email mistakes UK residents commonly make and need help fixing.
It identifies Outlook as the email platform where Brits most frequently need to recall messages, with 'how to unsend email outlook' generating 4,200 average monthly searches, that’s almost 28 times more searches than Gmail for the same function.
Indeed searches for ways to unsend emails are significantly higher than queries about other email mistakes. Generic searches for 'how to unsend email' reached 4,075 monthly queries, making it the second most common search related to email errors.
Gmail users also often search for ways to take back sent messages, though at much lower volumes than Outlook users. 'How to unsend email gmail' generates 150 searches monthly, placing it third in the rankings.
The study also finds that searching for 'sent email to wrong person' occurs nearly 100 times monthly, indicating a common mishap in UK email communications.
Liviu Tanase, CEO of ZeroBounce, says:
These statistics highlight how common email mistakes are and the urgent need people feel to correct them. The high volume of searches about unsending emails shows that many users regret pressing the send button too quickly.
Email remains one of our primary communication tools, and simple mistakes can have serious consequences in both professional and personal contexts. Understanding which features to use in your email platform, like delayed sending or confirmation screens, can save you from these common mishaps.
You can read more on the Zero Bounce blog.
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