If you’re managing sales or outreach, you want to know if people are actually looking at your emails and clicking your links. But email tracking is a messy business — half the stats out there are somewhere between “sort of helpful” and “pure guesswork.” This guide is for folks who use Pipedrive and want real, actionable insight about email opens and link clicks, without getting suckered by vanity metrics or setting off spam filters.
Let’s cut through the noise and get to what’s worth your time.
Why tracking email opens and link clicks matters (and why it’s tricky)
Tracking opens and clicks is about more than just feeling important when someone reads your message. It lets you:
- See who’s engaged (or ignoring you)
- Time your follow-ups better
- Spot which emails or links actually work
But here’s the honest bit: email open and click tracking is never 100% reliable. Email clients, privacy tools, and even big players like Apple and Google do their best to block trackers or make signals fuzzy.
Key gotchas: - “Open” means someone loaded the tracking pixel, not that they read your message. - Clicks are more reliable, but still not bulletproof. - Some recipients’ IT setups block tracking completely.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s to get a useful pulse on your outreach — just don’t base your whole strategy on these numbers.
1. Understanding how Pipedrive email tracking works
Before you start, know what’s actually happening under the hood.
- Email opens: Pipedrive adds a tiny, invisible image (a tracking pixel) to your outgoing emails. When the email is opened and images are loaded, it counts as an “open.”
- Link clicks: Pipedrive rewrites your links so clicks go through their server first, logging the event before redirecting to the actual link.
What this means in real life: - If someone’s email client blocks images (a common default), opens aren’t tracked. - Privacy-focused tools (like Apple Mail Privacy Protection) can trigger opens even if the recipient never looked at your email. - Link click tracking is more dependable, since most users don’t block redirects, but be aware that some corporate firewalls can break tracking links.
Bottom line: Treat opens as a loose signal and clicks as more solid, but still not gospel.
2. Setting up email tracking in Pipedrive
If you want tracking, you’ve got to enable it — it’s off by default for privacy reasons.
Step-by-step:
- Connect your email account to Pipedrive
- Go to “Tools and apps” > “Email sync.”
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Follow the prompts to sync your inbox.
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Enable email tracking for opens and clicks
- When composing a new email in Pipedrive, look for the eye icon (opens) and the chain link icon (clicks).
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Turn them on for each email, or set your preference in settings to have them on by default.
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Send a test email to yourself
- Open it in various clients (Gmail, Outlook, mobile) and click your own links.
- Check the tracking in Pipedrive. This helps you see what gets logged and what doesn’t.
Pro tip: Don’t turn on tracking for every email, especially internal messages or sensitive conversations. It can feel invasive.
3. Best practices for using open and click tracking
Here’s where most people go wrong. Tracking is only useful if you use it smartly.
Do:
- Use tracking to prioritize follow-ups.
- If someone opened your email several times but didn’t reply, they’re probably interested but busy or hesitant.
- A/B test subject lines and calls to action.
- Compare open rates and click rates to see what works — but look for trends, not single-email results.
- Combine with other signals.
- Don’t rely only on opens/clicks. Pair them with replies, meeting requests, or deal movement in your pipeline.
Don’t:
- Don’t badger people the second they open your email.
- Give it some time. People can sense when you’re “email stalking.”
- Don’t obsess over open rates.
- With Apple’s privacy moves, “opens” are inflated. Focus more on clicks and actual replies.
- Don’t use tracking in mass marketing emails sent outside Pipedrive.
- For big campaigns, use proper email marketing tools — Pipedrive’s tracking isn’t built for bulk sends.
Pro tip: If a lead opens your email multiple times but doesn’t click, that’s usually a sign the subject caught their eye, but the content or link wasn’t compelling. Tweak your message, not just your follow-up timing.
4. Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Most headaches come from not understanding what the numbers really mean.
Pitfall 1: Mistaking “opens” for actual interest
- A single open could be a preview pane, spam filter, or privacy tool.
- Multiple opens over several days? That’s more likely to be a real person revisiting.
What to do: Look for patterns, not one-off events.
Pitfall 2: Tracking links looking suspicious
- Some link trackers look “spammy” — recipients see a weird URL, which can kill trust.
- A few corporate firewalls block redirect links entirely.
What to do: Keep links to reputable domains, avoid overloading emails with links, and test with your own accounts at different companies.
Pitfall 3: Spam and deliverability issues
- Too much tracking can tip off spam filters, especially if you send lots of tracked emails in bulk.
- Overuse of images, links, or “salesy” language is a red flag.
What to do: Balance tracking with sensible email hygiene. Send relevant, personal messages. Don’t turn on every tracking option by default.
Pitfall 4: Privacy and legal landmines
- Depending on where you and your contacts are based, you may need to disclose that you use tracking.
- Some clients (especially in the EU) expect transparency around email tracking.
What to do: Check with your legal team or read up on GDPR and local privacy rules. If in doubt, add a brief note in your signature about analytics.
5. Making sense of the data: What’s worth tracking
The numbers in your CRM can be a distraction if you’re not clear on what matters.
- Open rate: Useful for testing subject lines, but don’t make big decisions here. Take with a handful of salt.
- Click rate: Much more actionable. If someone clicks your link, that’s a real sign of interest.
- Reply rate: Still the king. Track replies above anything else.
- Follow-up timing: Use tracking to inform when you reach out again, but don’t become a slave to the dashboard.
A few things to ignore: - One-off opens — could be bots. - “Open” events at weird hours — might be mail server scanning, not a real person. - Zero opens on a message — could be tracking blocked, not necessarily a dead lead.
6. Alternatives and add-ons (if you need more)
Pipedrive’s built-in tracking covers the basics, but if you need more, there are options.
- Email marketing tools: For newsletters, use Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, or similar — they’re built for bulk and give better analytics.
- Sales plugins: Tools like Yesware, Mailtrack, or Mixmax offer more detailed tracking, notifications, and reporting.
- Manual follow-up: Sometimes, just picking up the phone or sending a plain follow-up cuts through all the noise.
Heads-up: Adding too many plugins can mess with deliverability or slow down your workflow. Only add what you’ll actually use.
Keep it simple and tweak as you go
Email tracking in Pipedrive is a tool, not a crystal ball. Use it to spot patterns, prioritize your day, and improve your outreach — but don’t get lost in the weeds or let the numbers run your life.
Start with the basics, pay attention to what actually moves deals forward, and iterate. If something feels off or your open rates look weirdly high, trust your gut and double-check. And don’t forget: the best salespeople still pick up the phone.