Did Google Just Put an End to Email Open Tracking?

 “Gmail Just Broke Email Open Tracking!!”

“Big Changes Are Here: Gmail Has Killed Email Open Rate Tracking!”

“Email Marketers Beware: Google’s Latest Update Changes Everything!”

This is the latest shake-up in the world of email marketing!!

Every time Google (Gmail) or any major email service provider (ESP) rolls out an update, there is chaos and confusion everywhere.

But the thing is

There’s absolutely nothing to panic about!!!

We’ve done our research and testing at Saleshandy, and we’re here to break down what’s really going on.

In this blog, we’ll explain the update, how it will affect you, and what steps you can take to adapt and thrive in this new landscape.

Let’s see what all the fuss is about!

Email Open Rate Tracking: Table of Content

• How Does Email Open Rate Tracking Work?
• Why Is Email Open Tracking Important?
• What Did Google’s New Privacy Update Do to Email Open Tracking?
• How You Should Adapt – Our Recommendations
• Ensure Your Campaigns Are Effective Even Without Tracking
• FAQs

How Does Email Open Rate Tracking Work?

Before we get into the details, you need to know how email open tracking works.

(This is really important)

If you want to track email open rates, the cold email software you’re using will embed a tiny (1×1 pixel), invisible image called a tracking pixel into your emails.

Note: You will need cold email software to track your emails. 

Each email has a unique pixel, and it is usually hosted on the server of the software provider. 

Alternatively, if you’ve provided your custom domain details, the pixel can be hosted on your own domain server.

Best Practice Recommendation: Host the tracking pixel on your own domain server. This increases the credibility of your emails and can help improve email deliverability.

Now, when your prospect opens your email, their email client (Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, etc.) will automatically load that unique tracking pixel.

This action sends a signal back to the server, and the software will record it as “opened”.

But why track email opens?

If that’s the question on your mind, the next section will answer it.

Why Is Email Open Tracking Important?

One of the simplest ways to measure the effectiveness of your cold emails is to track email opens.

Your email open rate can tell you a lot of things like:

• How effective your subject lines are—if people are opening your emails, it means you’ve successfully caught their attention.
• The best times to send your emails are by showing when they’re most likely to be opened.
• Whether your emails are reaching the inbox or getting filtered into spam or other folders.

So, if tracking email opens can help you with all these insights, is Google’s new move really a disaster for emailers?

Let’s look at it in detail in the next section.

What Did Google’s New Privacy Update Do to Email Open Tracking?

Google has made a change in Gmail, which now shows a warning banner to prevent the automatic download of images for certain messages.

This means that when your prospects open your email, they will see a warning message that says:

“Images in this message are hidden. This message might be suspicious or spam.”

Here’s how it’s going to affect your email campaigns:

1. The warning message is the first thing your prospects will see. This will give a bad impression, and they might not even consider reading your message. All your efforts will be wasted.
2. Your emails are more likely to be reported as spam, which will hurt your sender’s reputation badly. 
3. There is a higher chance of you getting false email open data. Even if the prospect opens the email, unless they click on the “Show images” button, the tracking pixel won’t be activated.

Well, it does look like Google’s update will hurt you a bit (a lot)!

So, what’s the solution… quite simple:

Shift your focus and rely on a better metric!

Keep reading; we’ve covered all the best practices you should follow from now on.

How You Should Adapt – Our Recommendations

Turn off email open rate tracking.
~ Saleshandy (That’s our advice.)

Besides, email open rate tracking is actually becoming a less important metric nowadays.

Even if your emails land in your prospects’ inboxes without the warning message, you will still end up with false data.

This is because Gmail preloads some images (tracking pixel included) to provide a better user experience.

Moreover, we are still unsure what else Google plans to do with Gmail. So, it’s best to prioritize other ways to measure your campaigns’ effectiveness.

Note: Not all cold emails with tracking enabled trigger the warning message. Some email accounts that are 4 or 5 months old and have good sender reputations did not trigger this warning when we ran test campaigns. 

Here are a few other things you should start following:

1. Make your cold emails text-only. Avoid using HTML, images, or rich formatting. 
2. Start focusing on more direct outcomes, such as replies, booked meetings, or other custom metrics that align with your goals.
3. Regularly warm up your email accounts. We recommend it once every 3 months.
4. Concentrate on reaching out to segmented audiences from your ideal customer profile (ICP) rather than blasting your emails to all.
5. Personalize and create relevant email copies to send to your prospects. The more tailored your content, the less likely it is to be flagged by Google’s new policy.
6. Comply with ESPs regulations, have an easy unsubscribe link, authenticate your email accounts, etc.
7. Regularly check your email deliverability by using tools like Glock Apps to spot any issues.

By following our recommendations and adapting quickly to Google’s new policy, you can ensure that your emails land in your prospects’ inboxes and are effective.

But these sudden changes might catch you off guard. What if you miss out on something critical?

This is where Saleshandy can help you!

How Saleshandy Can Help You Navigate The Current Landscape

Saleshandy is the only tool with a unique feature like Sequence Score, which evaluates and scores your entire cold email sequence based on industry best practices.

You can think of it like a cold email checklist that makes your campaigns optimized for success.

There are 3 components based on which Sequence Score works:

1. Email Setup
2. Sequence Setup
3. Email Writing.

This will help you follow all the latest best practices in the industry.

For example, our latest addition is notifying you if you have enabled “Open tracking”.

You will be prompted to turn it off and turn on “Text only email [No HTML]”

If your Sequence Score above 70, you can rest assured that your campaigns will be effective.

In addition to this, you can add unlimited email accounts for warm-up with any paid saleshandy plan. (In partnership with Trulyinbox)

You can take advantage of this and rotate your email accounts to warm them up after each campaign.

This way, you can ensure they are in top condition to send cold emails again.

You also have various personalization features like:

• Merge Tags: Tags that allow you to insert information about your prospects, like first name, company, etc.
• Spintax: You can use this to create variations of sentences or words in your emails.
• Variable Tags: These will help you dynamically personalize your emails to make them hyper-relevant to your prospects.

That can help you tailor your emails, making them more relevant and engaging to your prospects.

That’s not all!

You can add unlimited email accounts, clients (for lead generation agencies), and team members at no additional cost.

The best way to know what you can do with Saleshandy is to try it for yourself.

Ensure Your Campaigns Are Effective Even Without Tracking

We hope you now understand the update Google has introduced and how you can adapt your cold email strategy to remain effective.

Here’s a quick rundown:

Focus on other metrics, such as replies, conversions, and booked meetings, to help you better assess the real impact of your outreach.

Warm up your email accounts regularly and follow the best practices in the industry.

Check your email deliverability from time to time and take corrective action to improve it.

You can also use tools like Saleshandy that adapt quickly to help users make a smooth transition in response to these changes.

By following the steps in this blog, you’ll be well-equipped to run your cold email campaigns successfully without any hiccups.

FAQs

1. Should I stop using images and links in my cold emails altogether?

Initially, it’s best to use plain text emails. After your prospect replies, you can use images, links, and other attachments.

2. How can I know if my emails are actually being delivered without tracking?

You can use tools like Glock Apps or MailGenius to check if your emails are landing in inboxes instead of spam folders.

3. What’s the best metric to track if I’m not using open rates?

Shift your focus towards reply rates, conversions, or booked meetings. These metrics show real engagement and are more reliable than open rates.