Ever wondered if that email you sent just fell into some great internet abyss? Take the mystery out of email delivery with this handy toolkit of email tracking tips.
Before fretting over whether your email made it to the inbox or junk folder, or whether the recipient opened it at all, there are tools to help ease these concerns.
Inbox space can be a busy and competitive spot but, with email tracking, you can boost email efficiency and productivity.
What is email tracking?
It’s adding a capability to your email sends that allows you to see information such as open rates, times and locations, as well as number of clicks on attachments and links. Email tracking works by inserting an unique, transparent image into every email you send. When the email is opened it sends tracking data back to you.
Why do I need email tracking?
With email tracking, you can discover how to be in touch with your customers the way they want it. Choose to track:
- Open rates (OR)
- Click-through rates (CTR)
- Bounce rates
- Unsubscribe rates
You can use tracking to see where a person stands in their buyer journey, it can help you understand why they clicked a certain area and where they went from there and it allows you to see the part an email send plays in your overall marketing funnel.
Knowing whether that customer is already engaged with your brand and what exactly piqued their interest can help you cater to that specific user’s needs to move that lead forward.
How do I do it?
There are hundreds of programs, plug-ins, add-ons and companies that can collect that data for you. Some require serious set-up, some are simple with a smaller set of results and some do the hard work on your behalf. We’ve compiled a few options below so you can discover your best fit.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free resource that allows you to build a custom URL that you can use in your outgoing emails to: track clicks, track the number and value of conversions and track traffic sources. It can collect a lot of helpful information as long as you’re prepared to complete all the steps and stages of an email set-up.
Get the set-up process started with Google.
Step 1: Get started with a Google Analytics account (you’ll need to prove you have access to your website to complete it).
Step 2: Create a trackable URL. Build the URL with parameters like where the user is located, when they opened the email and what program they opened it with.
Step 3: Add your URL inside your email.
Step 4: Log into your Google Analytics account to track your campaign data.
SalesHandy
SalesHandy is a popular choice, but only operates with Gmail and Outlook. You download the SaleHandy extension and will see the plugin when you compose an email in Gmail/Outlook.
Use the sliding buttons to track an email and track link clicks. Then head over to the SalesHandy website to view your dashboard to see the number of times your email has been opened, how often it has been replied to and how many link clicks you have received.
GMass
GMass is a mail merge service inside Gmail. You download GMass to add it as a tool to your Gmail composing. It has several helpful capabilities making it a popular choice for many online companies and social media giants.
GMass enables you to:
- Track several email campaigns accurately
- Send sales and marketing campaigns to many people
- Automatically personalize mass emails
- Schedule email sends in advance
Campaign reports show you total recipients, unique opens, the number of those that didn’t open, unique clicks, replies, unsubscribes, bounces, rejections and blocks. All this information is stored right inside your Gmail account.
GMass works with Gmail and Chrome only and has both a free option and two paid plans. It provides an extra button when composing that gives you a simple list of extra functions to select.
Bananatag
Bananatag allows you to track and schedule emails as well as create email templates in Gmail and Outlook. It produces advanced analytics and reports so you can track engagement.
The simple, user-friendly interface makes tracking easier, along with Bananatag’s handy key features:
- Schedule and snooze emails to manage your email
- Detailed email analytics and reports
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
- Attachment tracking to see how recipients interact with your email attachments
- Easy email scheduling
- Sync emails to your CRM software
However, it’s worth noting that the system doesn’t work with corporate emails and each notification comes through as a separate email, so make sure you’re on top of your inbox!
SMTP2GO
At SMTP2GO, we remove the head-spinning side of email tracking and show you the information you want and need to see. Avoid tricky set-ups and nerve-wracking sends, SMTP2GO takes the technical aspects out of email delivery. Email technology and standards are constantly evolving. You shouldn’t need to stay on top of them – we will.
You’ll have access to easy visual reports showing what is happening to every email you’ve sent, insights to track emails to their final destination as well as robust testing to test your emails against spam filters, seeing how they’ll appear in ALL major email software.
With SMTP2GO:
- Know your emails have been delivered AND seen with our open tracking feature
- Receive real time reports
- Have the benefit of APIs without the frustrating complexities. Our API is designed to be used with the minimum of mental effort from your developers
Plus, you won’t be alone when questions arise – our global support team is available via phone, live chat, and online help-desk, and our critical response team is available 24 hours a day to deal with any issues.
Keeping track of all these techniques can seem harder than keeping track of your emails – but with the right help and programs, your emails can become a powerful tool for your company. So go on, get tracking!
