What does "Apply Tracking to the links in this Email" mean?

Yes, we call it Automatic Email Tracking and here's everything you need to know!

Ontraport tracks every link click in every email you send. This tracking takes two forms. The first is tracking link clicks by message in the Messages Collection. Each link you add is numbered from top to bottom and referred by that number in the tracking statistics (the first link is "1", the second link is "2", and so on). Campaign Triggers and Goals, and Rules can act when these links are clicked. A Trigger set to act when a Contact clicks the first link in the "Calendly Appointment" email is shown here:

This tracking happens automatically, and you just have to create the Trigger, Goal, or Rule to take advantage of it.

For Ontraport Pro level and higher accounts, you can also add Marketing Tracking, or UTM parameters, to each link automatically by clicking the Add tracking to the links in this email check box found in the email Settings in ONTRAmail messages. To see this checkbox, Tracking must toggled on in your account under Administration > Advanced > Tracking.

In the HTML based Email Editor the checkbox appears just above the formatting buttons in the editor:

NOTE: Marketing Tracking is available for Ontraport Pro level and higher accounts. If you do not see the Add tracking to the links in this email checkbox, be sure that Tracking is toggled on in your account under Administration > Advanced > Tracking.

UTM Parameters Added

When you select Add tracking to the links in this email in the Settings page Ontraport will create the UTM parameters to add to each link. For more information on these UTM parameters and how they are used in Ontraport and Google Analytics, please see our Marketing Tracking article.

The five UTM parameters are utm_campaign, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_content and utm_term. The parameters are created automatically based on the name of the Ontraport feature sending the email (Broadcast, Campaign, etc) and the subject line of the email.

Note: These parameters expose the Campaign, Rule and Sequence name to your Contacts. Make certain your name for these elements is suitable to disclose.

Alternate UTM Parameters Available

The default UTM parameters include the name "ONTRAPORT" for source and medium elements. Some clients may be coming from other systems and want to have more generic UTM parameters automatically added to email tracking. Contact Support to have your account configured to use these UTM parameters instead:

Broadcast (from Contacts)

• utm_campaign=[EMAILSUBJECT]
• utm_source=email-broadcast
• utm_medium=email
• utm_content=[EMAILSUBJECT]

Campaigns

• utm_campaign=[campaign name]
• utm_source=email-automated
• utm_medium=email
• utm_content=[EMAILSUBJECT]

One Off Emails (from Contacts)

• utm_campaign=[EMAILSUBJECT]
• utm_source=email-broadcast
• utm_medium=email
• utm_content=[EMAILSUBJECT]

Rules

• utm_campaign=[rule name]
• utm_source=email-automated
• utm_medium=email
• utm_content=[EMAILSUBJECT]

Sequences

• utm_campaign=[sequence name]
• utm_source=email-automated
• utm_medium=email
• utm_content=[EMAILSUBJECT]

UTM Tracking Statistics

There are three areas where you can view UTM tracking statistics: Campaigns, Dashboard and Tracking tab. We highly recommend Campaigns as this provides the most comprehensive data and reporting.

Campaigns are the best place to view your automatic email tracking statistics.

1. Navigate to your Campaigns collection.
2. Click on the Campaign that contains the emails you are tracking.
3. Click on the Performance mode tab
   
4. Click the Tracking tab on the left side. To track emails and populate UTM statistics, select the UTM variable to sort by and then select last attribution.
   
   

Dashboard metrics can also be created to measure and track UTM variables. Examples include conversion rates, the average time, or # of contacts who did something between first lead source and last lead source. This is also a method that can be used retroactively for contacts that weren't appropriately tracked through a Campaign. For more information on the Dashboard, please see this article.

The Tracking tab on the main menu bar also displays statistics for all UTM tracking are also found. Ontraport does not populate that section until there is an actual form fillout and link click. The Tracking reports will only show first attribution items and will not update when last attribution fields are updated. You will not see the tracking URL displayed there until there is at least one click to report. If you don't see a Tracking tab in your account, toggle the feature on by navigating to Administration > Advanced Features tab > Tracking and toggle the feature on. For more information on this type of Tracking, please see our Marketing Tracker article.

FAQs

Does each link in the email receive the very same UTM parameters when using automatic tracking?

A. Yes, each link in the email will receive the exact same UTM parameters.

I am used to adding my own UTM parameters and make them unique. Can I still do that?

A. Yes, you can still manually create links with the UTM parameters you want. If you do so, leave the Add tracking to the links in this email check box unchecked to prevent our processor from stripping your parameters.

Will a link click update the Contact Record fields for first or last attribution?

A. Clicking a link in the email will update the Last Attribution fields in the Contact Record. The First Attribution fields only populate when the Contact Record is created and never update, even if they are blank.

Will Google Analytics record these clicks as well?

A. Yes, if you have the Google Analytics tracking script on the page the link leads to. Ontraport adds the UTM parameters to the link URL in the standard format, so Google Analytics is able to read it.

Should I have emojis in my subject line?

A. Some people like emojis. Emojis in the subject line will not interfere with tracking. They will also show up in the link URL shown in the Tracking section in Ontraport.

I have 2,397 Email elements in my "Come back, Stupid!" Campaign (or Sequence). Is there a way to designate all the email steps to include the UTM parameters without opening each one, editing it, and checking the check box?

A. No, there is no way to select the check box except by opening the individual email message and checking it. Also, if you use UTM tracking in this Campaign you might think about renaming it.

My customer is upset I called him "Stupid!" and I don't know where he got that.

A. The utm_campaign parameter will contain the name of the Campaign, Sequence or Rule. It will be visible in the URL of the browser when the contact sees the page. Make sure any Campaign, Rule or Sequence name is suitable for your contacts to see.