When an email that you track with Employee Email is opened by a recipient or a link within the body of the tracked email is clicked, this activity is recorded and you can access it using multiple views of metrics in the web app.
This article breaks down the differences between Unique Opens + Clicks and Repeat Opens + Clicks. We will also dive into some of the reasons why you might see an unexpected number of unique opens, and explain some ways to explain or prevent inflated unique opens.
Opens
An open is triggered when a recipient loads your email and views the body of the message.
The first time an email is opened by a specific recipient, it will trigger a Unique Open.
- If the email was sent using an email add-in or extension, a cookie will save to the recipient's device so that future opens of that email on the same device are marked as Repeat Opens.
- If the email was sent directly from the web app or Studio, your recipients' Unique Contact IDs are stored in your distribution lists. Even if a recipient opens the same email on multiple devices, only one Unique Open will be anonymously counted for this person by default and the rest will be counted as Repeat Opens.
This way, you will have insight into not only how many recipients opened your email, but how many times they revisited that content.
Clicks
Clicks on any of the links within the body of a tracked email are also automatically tracked by Employee Email unless the sender chooses to disable Link Tracking in their add-in or extension settings.
The first time a link is clicked, just like with Opens, it will generate a Unique Click. If recipients click those links again, this will generate Repeat Clicks.
- Emails sent with an add-in or extension enable you to track Unique Clicks and Repeat Clicks for each device used to access them.
- Emails sent directly from the web app or Studio will track only one Unique Click for each recipient opening a link even if they use multiple devices to access them.
Common Concerns
Contact Staffbase Support when experiencing issues that can't be explained here, or if an investigation is called for. We're always happy to help!
Low Unique Opens
If you see a low number of Unique Opens on a consistent basis, there may be issues with your recipients viewing your emails.
You'll want to investigate whether your recipients are seeing a visual warning in their email client about the content being blocked, or if permissions are needed.
All images sent in emails designed in Employee Email will be hosted on our servers - this ensures your emails don't just work now but continue to work well into the future. It's important that your network has our servers allowlisted so that those images are allowed to load, every time. You may only see this issue with some of your communications - in those cases, consider what is different about those sends, especially as it concerns the audience.
Zero Unique Opens
If the email you sent isn't generating any unique opens and this is not typically the case, there's a good chance the creator copied content into the email from a previously tracked send - they may have inadvertently pasted an old tracking pixel into the email.
If you see this on a consistent basis, it's likely that the connection to Employee Email's servers is being blocked in your network. Either way, some investigation will be needed.
Abnormally High Opens and/or Clicks
Caused by Add-in or Extension
Sometimes your Unique Open count and/or Unique Click count will be higher than the number of recipients you sent to, especially when sending with an add-in or extension because results are counted per device and each recipient could be using multiple devices. If people in your organization are particularly good about reading their emails, this will almost always be the case.
Staffbase recommends analyzing the trends of your metrics over time, as opposed to using single sends as indicators.
Emails sent directly from the web app or Studio track only one Unique Open for each recipient opening an email and a maximum of one Unique Click per recipient per link in the email, even if they use multiple devices to access them.
Caused by Security System
One or more security systems in a customer’s environment may scan email contents to test if they contain harmful links or attachments. In many cases, these services also add an extra wrapper URL around trusted links. If this type of system is not set up to trust Employee Email, this can cause email metrics to record abnormally high opens and/or clicks.
If, immediately after emails are sent, their individual Open Rates / Click Rates on the Email stats page jump to 100% or more, and/or the Average Unique Open Rate / Click Rate displayed on the Overview page show a major spike:
- Open a sent email in the inbox of a recipient within your organization.
- Hover over the links and check for a branded link wrapper that was added by the security system.
For example, safelinks.protection.outlook.com or urldefense.proofpoint.com. - Change the settings for the organization's Safe Links and Safe Attachments in MS 365 Defender, Proofpoint URL Defense and Attachment Defense, and/or other equivalent services.
Create exceptions for links that include the tracking domain wrapper Employee Email applies to all links before sending.- Learn more about the default and custom tracking domains that can be used to wrap Employee Email links.
- The exceptions are to prevent links from being automatically scanned and registering extra email opens and/or clicks before they reach recipients. It is also to prevent new wrappers from being added to the links.
Very Low Repeat Opens
This could be due to low engagement, but seeing a rate lower than 5% probably means that there are issues. A repeat rate of 35% is generally considered to be healthy and roughly average, but that can vary widely for different organizations.
Please contact your IT team to ask if Group Policies are in place to block cookies.
No Link Clicks
If a tracked email contains links but no clicks are being recorded, the first thing to check is whether the sender has disabled Link Tracking in their add-in or extension settings.
If they have it enabled, then the cause of the issue may be the links themselves. Check the links in the received email and ensure the tracking proxy was added.
Example: http://s.bl-1.com/h/c5bzc7K2?url=http://www.google.com
- Some customers with US hosting choose to configure a custom tracking domain instead of the above default US domain.
- For customers with EU hosting, the tracking domain includes .de.bl-1.com.
If the tracking proxy isn't there, metrics will not be generated.
Also, try copying and pasting the link after url= into your browser. If there is an issue loading it, the link you used in your email was broken. It's good practice to test all your links before putting them in an email to ensure they will work after sending.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.