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How to use Google Analytics to track emails

Email tracking is a useful tool for businesses and organizations to understand how marketing emails are being received and interacted with by audiences. By tracking email opens and other actions such as clicks on links or buttons, organizations can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of its email campaigns and make data-driven decisions about how to improve them.

 

However, it’s important to note that email tracking is not a perfect science. Some email clients may block tracking, or users may have privacy settings that prevent tracking. Additionally, different tracking tools (such as HubSpot, Mailchimp and Litmus) provide a variety of features and pricing options, so it’s important to choose a tool that meets the specific needs of your organization.

But first, why is tracking email interaction important?

Primarily, tracking emails allows an organization to measure the effectiveness of its email campaigns. By understanding how many people are opening emails and how they are being interacted with, organizations can get a better sense of what is and isn’t working in their campaigns. This can inform decisions about things like subject lines, email content and calls-to-action.

 

Tracking email opens and activities can also provide valuable insights into the demographics of the people who are interacting with emails. For example, you might find that a certain age group or geographic region is more likely to open and engage with your emails. This information can help you tailor your campaigns to better reach and engage your target audience.

 

Ready to learn more? Let’s delve into the specifics of setting up email tracking in Google Analytics.

Setting up email tracking in Google Analytics

Tracking email opens and activities using Google Analytics is a straightforward process, but it does require some setup. Here’s a step-by-step guide to add Google Analytics to your emails:

  1. Create a Google Analytics account if you don’t already have one. If you already have a Google account, you can simply log in and set up a new property within your account.
  2. Go to the “Admin” section of your account and click on “Property Settings” in the “Property” column.
  3. Under “Tracking Info,” click on “Tracking Code.” This will display your Google Analytics tracking code.
  4. Copy the tracking code and paste it into the HTML code of your email template. This will allow Google Analytics to track when someone opens your email. Make sure to place the code in the “head” section of your email template, as this is where Google Analytics expects to find it.
  5. Once you have added the tracking code to your email template, it’s a good idea to test it to make sure it’s working correctly. One way to do this is to send a test email to yourself and check the “Real-Time” report in Google Analytics. If the tracking code is working, you should see the email open show up in the “Active Users” count.

Tracking specific actions within the email

In addition to tracking basic email opens, you can also use Google Analytics to track specific actions within the email, such as clicks on links or buttons. This is known as event tracking, and it allows you to gather more detailed information about how your audience is interacting with your emails.

 

To set up event tracking in Google Analytics, you will need to create an “event” in your account. An event is a specific user interaction with your email, such as clicking on a link or button.

To create an event, go to the “Admin” section of your account and click on “Tracking Info” in the “Property” column. Then, click on “Events” and select “Overview.” From here, you can create a new event by clicking on the “New Event” button.

Once you have created an event, you will need to add the event tracking code to your email template. The event tracking code should be placed in the HTML code of the element you want to track, such as a link or button. For example, if you want to track clicks on a link, you will need to add the event tracking code to the “href” attribute of the link.

 

Here’s an example of what the event tracking code might look like:

<a href=”http://www.example.com” onclick=”ga(‘send’, ‘event’, ‘button’, ‘click’, ‘Example Button’);”>Example Button</a>

In this example, the event tracking code is added to the “onclick” attribute of the link. The code tells Google Analytics to send an event when the link is clicked, with the event category “button,” the event action “click,” and the event label “Example Button.”

 

You can track a wide range of actions within your emails using event tracking. Some examples of actions that can be tracked include:

  • Clicks on links or buttons
  • Form submissions
  • Video plays
  • File downloads

To view the results of your event tracking, you can go to the “Real-Time” section of your Google Analytics account. You can also see longer-term data by looking at the “Events” report under the “Behavior” section.

Viewing the results of email tracking in Google Analytics

Once you have set up email tracking in Google Analytics, you can view the results in the “Real-Time” and “Events” reports. These reports provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns and can help you make data-driven decisions about how to improve them.

To view the “Real-Time” and “Events” reports, go to the “Behavior” section of your Google Analytics account and select “Real-Time” or “Events” from the drop-down menu.

The “Real-Time” report shows you the number of active users on your website in real-time, as well as the specific actions they are taking. If you have set up email tracking, you can use the “Real-Time” report to see when someone opens your email and begins interacting with your website.

 

The “Events” report provides more detailed information about user interactions with your website, including any events you have set up through event tracking. The “Events” report is organized by category, action, and label, and can be filtered by various dimensions such as date range, source/medium, and device.

Interpreting the data

Making use of the data you’ll soon be collecting can be somewhat of an art, as it requires a combination of analysis and intuition. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your email tracking data:

  • Look at the big picture: Don’t get too bogged down in the details. Focus on the overall trends and patterns in your data, rather than individual data points.
  • Test and compare: Try experimenting with different subject lines, email content, and call-to-actions to see what works best for your audience. Use A/B testing to compare the performance of different versions of your emails.
  • Segment your data: Segmenting your data by demographic or geographic criteria can help you understand how different groups are interacting with your emails.
  • Use the data to inform your decisions: Use the insights you gain from your email tracking to inform your email marketing strategy. Make data-driven decisions about what works and what doesn’t, and don’t be afraid to make changes based on the data.

The process can be a bit technical, but it’s well worth the effort. If you haven’t already set up email tracking in Google Analytics, we encourage you to give it a try. And if you have, drop us a line to let us know how it’s going!

 

Ready to track engagement and convert customers through email clicks? Let us show you how it’s done.

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