How to track email open rates and link clicks in Leadleaper

If you’re sending cold emails or outreach campaigns, you want to know if people are actually opening your messages and clicking your links. That’s where email tracking comes in. But let’s be honest: most tools overpromise, and tracking isn’t perfect. This guide is for anyone using Leadleaper who wants a clear, no-nonsense walkthrough on tracking open rates and link clicks—without getting lost in the weeds.

Why Track Opens and Clicks?

Simple: you want to know what’s working. If nobody’s opening your emails, you’ve got a problem with your subject line or deliverability. If they open but never click, maybe your call-to-action stinks. Tracking gives you cold, hard data to improve your outreach.

But heads up: open and click tracking is useful, not gospel. Some people block tracking pixels. Some email clients (looking at you, Apple Mail) mess with your numbers. So treat tracking as a guide, not absolute truth.

What You Need Before You Start

  • A Leadleaper account (obviously)
  • An email account connected to Leadleaper (usually Gmail or Outlook)
  • A list of contacts to send to

If you’re missing any of these, get them sorted first.

Step 1: Understanding How Tracking Works in Leadleaper

Before you dive in, it’s worth knowing what’s under the hood:

  • Open tracking: Leadleaper adds an invisible image (tracking pixel) to your emails. When someone loads your email and their client allows images, it counts as an open.
  • Click tracking: Any links in your email get wrapped in a tracking URL. When someone clicks, Leadleaper logs it before redirecting them to your link.

What this means:
- If someone’s email blocks images, opens won’t register. - If they use a privacy-focused client (like Apple Mail’s privacy features), you’ll get inflated or inaccurate open rates. - Clicks are generally more reliable, but some security software can trigger false positives (like link previews).

Bottom line: Use open and click rates as signals, not hard numbers.

Step 2: Setting Up Tracking in Leadleaper

Tracking is built in, but it’s smart to double-check your settings.

  1. Log in to Leadleaper.
  2. Go to the Email Campaigns section.
  3. When creating or editing a campaign, look for tracking options. Usually, these are on by default, but check for:
    • “Track opens” (sometimes called “open tracking”)
    • “Track clicks” (sometimes called “link tracking”)
  4. If you see toggles or checkboxes, make sure they’re enabled.

Pro Tip

If you’re worried about privacy or spam filters, you can turn off tracking. But honestly, most people leave it on—just don’t use it as the only thing you measure success by.

Step 3: Sending Tracked Emails

Here’s how to make sure your emails are actually being tracked:

  1. Compose your email in Leadleaper. Use links with clear calls to action—don’t just paste URLs, write something people want to click.
  2. Preview your message. Make sure the links work and the tracking options are still on.
  3. Send a test email to yourself (always a good idea). Open it on your phone and computer, click the links, and check if those actions show up in Leadleaper’s reporting.

If it’s working, you should see yourself as an “open” and a “click” in the campaign stats. If you don’t, double-check your settings and spam folders.

Step 4: Checking Your Results

After you’ve sent your campaign, here’s how to see what happened:

  1. Go to the Campaigns dashboard in Leadleaper.
  2. Find the campaign you want to check.
  3. Look at the columns for:
    • Open Rate: Percentage of recipients who (supposedly) opened your email.
    • Click Rate: Percentage who clicked at least one link.

You can usually drill down to see stats for individual recipients—who opened, who clicked, and who ignored you.

What’s “Good”?

  • Open Rates: For cold outreach, 20-40% is pretty normal. If you’re below 10%, something’s broken.
  • Click Rates: 2-10% is typical. If you’re getting 0%, your links aren’t compelling (or your email is in spam).

Don’t Obsess

Remember, some “opens” are bots or privacy tool fakes. And not all real opens get counted. Look for trends over time, not one-off numbers.

Step 5: Making Sense of the Numbers

Here’s what you can actually learn from your tracking data:

  • Low open rates:
    • Bad subject line?
    • Sending at the wrong time?
    • Emails landing in spam?
  • High opens, low clicks:
    • Your email is getting read, but your call-to-action is weak or buried.
    • Are your links obvious? Is your offer clear?
  • Lots of clicks, no replies:
    • Maybe your landing page stinks, or your ask is too big.
    • Time to tweak what happens after the click.

Don’t overthink it. Use the numbers to try new things, not as a report card.

What to Ignore (Mostly)

  • “Unique opens” versus “total opens”: Most people care about “Did they open at all?”—not that someone opened it five times.
  • Hourly or minute-by-minute stats: Unless you’re running a time-sensitive campaign, these don’t matter much.
  • Vanity metrics: Big numbers look cool, but what matters is replies, booked calls, or sales—not just opens or clicks.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

My open rates are zero!

  • Check your tracking settings. Are they on?
  • Are you sending to yourself or colleagues? Their email clients might block images or tracking.
  • Are your emails landing in spam? If so, nobody’s seeing them.

Lots of opens, no clicks

  • Is your link clear and easy to find?
  • Are you giving people a good reason to click? Don’t bury your call-to-action.

Clicks but no results

  • Where does your link go? If your landing page is confusing or slow, people bail.
  • Are you asking too much, too soon? Try a softer ask.

Pro Tips for Better Tracking

  • Don’t rely only on tracking. If you can, ask people to reply or book a call—replies are real engagement.
  • Always test with your own addresses first. Catch mistakes before you email your whole list.
  • Rotate your sending addresses if you’re doing high-volume outreach. This keeps your deliverability healthy and your stats clean.
  • Keep your emails simple. Spammy images, too many links, or weird formatting can trigger spam filters and mess up tracking.
  • Regularly clean your contact list. Sending to dead addresses hurts your stats and your sender reputation.

Keep It Simple (and Real)

Getting obsessed with open rates and click rates is easy, but it rarely helps. Use tracking in Leadleaper to spot big problems or clear wins. Don’t stress over every dip or spike. Adjust, test, and focus on the stuff that actually moves the needle—like getting real replies or sales.

If in doubt, keep your emails short, your links clear, and your tracking in check. Iterate as you go. You’ll get better results (and keep your sanity) by focusing on what matters.