If you’re running email campaigns and don’t know exactly who’s opening or clicking, you’re flying blind. This guide is for folks who use Snov for outreach or sales and want real, practical advice on tracking what’s actually working.
Forget vanity metrics and shiny dashboards for a second—let’s get into what matters: tracking opens and clicks in a way that actually helps you run better campaigns, not just fill up reports.
Why Track Opens and Clicks (and When to Ignore Them)
Before you dive into the how-to, here’s the honest truth: open and click tracking is useful, but not perfect. It helps you spot trends, test subject lines, and see if your messages get any traction. But it’s not a crystal ball.
Opens are tracked with a tiny image (a “tracking pixel”). If someone’s email client blocks images, you’ll never know they opened. And sometimes bots or spam filters “open” emails—so don’t bet your job on this number.
Clicks are more reliable—if someone clicks a link, you can be pretty sure they’re interested. But again, bots can click too, so always sanity-check weird spikes.
Bottom line: Use these numbers as a directional guide, not gospel. Don’t get obsessed; use them to run smarter experiments.
Step 1: Setting Up Tracking in Snov
First things first—if you’re not already using Snov, that’s your starting point. Snov is a tool for cold outreach, drip campaigns, and tracking what happens after you hit “send.”
Here’s how to make sure you’re set up for tracking:
- Connect Your Email Account
- Go to Snov’s dashboard and connect your email (Gmail, Outlook, or SMTP).
-
The system needs access to send on your behalf and monitor replies.
-
Create or Edit a Campaign
- In Snov, start a new campaign or edit an existing one.
-
The campaign builder is where you add your emails, set sequences, and manage recipients.
-
Enable Open and Click Tracking
- In the campaign editor, look for the “Track opens” and “Track clicks” options. These are usually toggles or checkboxes at the bottom or side of the email editor.
- Make sure both are turned on. Usually, they’re enabled by default, but double-check.
- Save your campaign settings.
Pro tip: If you’re sending sensitive info or have privacy concerns, be transparent with recipients about tracking—or consider turning it off. Some regions (hello, GDPR) care about this stuff.
Step 2: Understanding How Snov Tracks Opens and Clicks
Knowing what’s happening behind the scenes helps you spot weird results.
-
Open Tracking: Snov inserts a hidden image pixel in your email. When that image loads, it counts as an open.
- If the recipient’s email blocks images (pretty common on Outlook or privacy-focused inboxes), opens won’t be tracked.
- Some corporate firewalls or “link scanners” might trigger false opens.
-
Click Tracking: Snov rewrites your links so they go through their tracking domain first.
- When someone clicks, Snov logs it, then forwards them to your actual URL.
- Some security tools pre-scan links, which can create “ghost clicks.”
What works: Click tracking is usually pretty accurate, especially if you combine it with open data and timing.
What to ignore: Don’t stress about 100% accuracy—look for big trends, not one-off anomalies.
Step 3: Sending a Test Campaign (Don’t Skip This)
Always test before you send a big campaign. You’d be surprised how often tracking breaks because of a tiny mistake.
- Send a Test Email to Yourself
- In the campaign builder, there’s usually a “Send test email” option.
-
Send to your own address (ideally, from a different domain or a Gmail account, not the same as your sending domain).
-
Open and Click from Different Devices
- Open the test email on your phone, desktop, or even a privacy-focused browser. See if tracking registers in Snov.
-
Click all the links. Double-check that the clicks show up in your Snov stats.
-
Check Your Spam Folder
- If your test lands in spam, it could be because of tracking links or too many images. Adjust your content and try again.
Pro tip: Don’t use company VPNs or firewalls for testing—they can block tracking pixels or links, which doesn’t reflect what your recipients see.
Step 4: Reading and Using Snov’s Analytics
Once your campaign is live, Snov’s analytics dashboard will break down opens, clicks, replies, and more. Here’s how to use that data without falling into common traps:
What You’ll See
- Open Rate: % of delivered emails that were “opened.”
- Click Rate: % of delivered emails where at least one link was clicked.
- Reply Rate: Actual replies, which matter more than opens or clicks in most cases.
- Bounces/Unsubscribes: Good for list hygiene.
What to Look For
-
Low Open Rates (<20%):
- Could be a bad list, weak subject lines, or deliverability issues.
- Try sending at different times, tweaking your subject, or cleaning your list.
-
High Opens, Low Clicks:
- Your message isn’t convincing people to take action. Fix your call-to-action or make your links stand out.
-
High Clicks, No Replies:
- Maybe your offer’s not right, or your landing page is weak.
What Not to Obsess Over
- Minor Fluctuations: A 2–3% change means nothing. Look for patterns over time.
- Exact Numbers: Treat analytics as estimates, not hard facts.
- “Pre-header” or Preview Text: It’s worth tweaking, but doesn’t move the needle as much as people claim.
Step 5: Troubleshooting Common Tracking Issues
Even if you do everything right, tracking isn’t bulletproof. Here’s what trips people up:
- Image Blocking: If your audience is mostly on Outlook or privacy-heavy inboxes, open rates will look artificially low.
- Spam Filters: Too many links or tracking pixels can trigger spam. Keep your emails simple and avoid spammy language.
- Security Scanners: Corporate IT sometimes “opens” and “clicks” emails to scan for threats. These show up as false positives in your analytics.
- Link Formatting: Broken or missing links? Always double-check that your links are formatted correctly and use the full URL (including https://).
How to spot trouble: If you see a batch of opens/clicks seconds after sending (especially all from the same IP or location), it’s probably a bot or scanner.
What to do: Ignore the outliers. Focus on aggregate data and trends over time.
Step 6: Using Tracking Data to Actually Improve Your Campaigns
Numbers are nice, but action is better. Here’s how to use what you learn:
- A/B Test Subject Lines: Try two subject lines. The one with better open rates wins. Don’t overthink it.
- Experiment with CTA Placement: Move your main link higher or lower in the email. See what gets more clicks.
- List Quality: If open rates tank, your list might be old or off-target. Clean it up or start fresh.
- Timing: Test different days and times. Sometimes, sending at 9am vs. 2pm makes a big difference.
- Follow-Up Logic: If someone opens but doesn’t click, try a different follow-up. If they click but don’t reply, tweak your landing page or offer.
Pro tip: Keep a spreadsheet of your tweaks and results. It’s boring, but after a few campaigns, you’ll see exactly what works for your audience.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
- Works: Simple emails, clear CTAs, testing one thing at a time.
- Doesn’t Work: Chasing perfect stats, obsessing over every number, or copying “best practices” without testing them yourself.
- Ignore: Single opens/clicks, “industry average” benchmarks (your audience is unique), and anyone promising 100% accuracy.
Keep It Simple and Keep Iterating
Don’t let tracking become a time sink. Use Snov’s tracking to learn what’s working, make small tweaks, and see what happens. If a metric seems weird, check your setup and move on. You don’t need perfect data—you need enough to make your next campaign a little better.
Keep it honest, keep it simple, and don’t buy the hype. The best campaigns are built by people who pay attention and keep improving. That’s you.