Tracking Email Campaigns using Google Analytics

Detailed instructions of how to use Event Tracking within Google Analytics can be found here, but here is an overview:

At the top level, Event Tracking is done through embedding an image tag within the HTML of your email.

The URL of the image contains all the information necessary for Google Analytics to understand what account you’re using, what email campaign you’re sending, and which user is opening your email. Here’s what a completed URL might look like:

<img src="https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&tid=UA-999999-1&cid=CLIENT
&t=event&ec=Email&ea=Open&el=RECIPIENT&cs=EmailBlast&cm=Email&cn=IO44444">"/>

Now let’s look how you can break down this URL:

Note: Ensure all variables are URL encoded to allow for special characters.  Additionally, do not use personally identifiable information directly within your tracking, use ID’s to match this information up to your records later to stay within GA Terms of Service.

The Event Tracking results are available within GA within minutes. Below are some examples of where you can see reports within GA.

Real-time Stats:

This report shows the tracking for opens of the email we sent. We can see just how long it takes for people to start opening the message after the send goes out. With this information, we can compare it to past sends and see if people are opening it faster or slower, which helps us determine if the subject of the message is enticing enough.

Also, we can see what times of the day get the most opens and plan our sending schedule around that information.

Location Information:

While this is a very basic example, the map shows where in the world people are opening the message we sent. This can help you determine who your most active audience is and if you should start tailoring your content towards different nations. If you have access to a translation service, this would also be helpful to determine what languages would be beneficial to add to your marketing content.

For tracking links in your Email Campaign, be sure to check out this easy Google tool.  It will allow you to customize the links so you’re able to see which part of the email your users used in order to click through to your website.

In Conclusion:

This overview just skims the surface of what you are able to track with GA, a great way to drill down into specific intricacies within your sends and adds just another layer of monitoring. Bonus? It’s completely free so there really is no reason why you shouldn’t start using it today.