What is Email Tracking?
In essence, email tracking has to do with keeping tabs on the emails with the purpose of gathering helpful data with regard to their performance. Such information includes whether or not an email has been opened, at what time, and if links within the email are clicked. Countless businesses use email tracking as one of the best means to enhance their marketing strategies and engage their customers more effectively.
How Does Email Tracking Work?
E-mail tracking works at the help of small tracking pixels and unique links. The process goes somewhat in this way: Tracking Pixels: The idea Bulk Email Data is that when an e-mail is sent, a very tiny image, usually invisible, gets embedded inside, 1x1 pixel in size. This image, upon opening of the e-mail by the receiving party, gets downloaded from the server, signaling that the e-mail has been opened.
Link Tracking:
This allows a user to add tracking parameters to any links they have in an email. Each time a recipient clicks on one of those links, the click is logged before being forwarded on to its actual destination. This can be taken a step further by allowing the sender to know how many links and which ones are clicked.
Aggregation and Analysis: Data obtained from the tracking pixels and link clicks is aggregated and analyzed. The data gathered can be used to comprehend the effectiveness of email campaign recipient behavior and preferences, as well.
Benefits of Email Tracking
Following are some of the benefits of email tracking:
Better Engagement: By knowing the open rates and click-through rates, marketers can create content that would better fit into the needs of their audience.
Follow-up timing: Knowing the exact time when someone opened their email will definitely help make follow-ups more targeted and, hence, increase the possibility of converting them. Performance metrics: Tracking would give them access to a lot of useful metrics that could be used in modifying and adjusting further email marketing activities in ways which should improve campaign performance. Privacy Concerns
While email tracking does a lot of good businesswise, most do not contemplate the privacy issues it too creates. Most recipients may not realize that anyone is monitoring how they interact with emails.
Businesses should therefore:
Be transparent: Through making sure that they always inform recipients that their interactions may be tracked.
Opt-outs: Allow users to "opt out" from being tracked in order to retain their choice for privacy.
Among the modern digital marketer's toolbox, email tracking is perhaps one of the most important. Understanding the machinery and implications of it helps businesses make better and more informed decisions with regard to their email strategy sans the loss of that trusty bond with their audience.