Email tracking
What the Delivered, Opened and Clicked lines on a sent email mean, how opens are counted, why an open can be wrong, and how clicks are tracked.
Every email you send from a lead or client record is tracked. Under the message, in the Messages tab, a small line tells you whether it was delivered, opened, and whether a link in it was clicked. Automation emails are tracked the same way.
The three lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Delivered and a date | The message left your connected mailbox and nobody has opened it yet. Hover for "Sent from your connected mailbox. A read receipt appears if the recipient's mail app loads images." |
| Opened and a date | The couple's mail app loaded the message. Hover for how many times it was opened and when it was last opened |
| Clicked and a date | Someone clicked a link in the message. Hover for the link and how many times it was clicked. One Clicked line appears per link |
The Delivered line is replaced by Opened as soon as the first open is recorded. Clicked lines sit next to whichever of the two is showing.
How opens are counted
Each sent email carries a tiny invisible image that is unique to that message. When the couple's mail app displays the message and loads its images, Hailo records an open, the time, and adds one to the open count. Opening the message again counts again.
Why an open can be wrong
The hover text on Opened says it: "Some mail apps load images automatically, which can register as an open." Apple Mail's privacy protection and some other apps fetch images before the person reads anything, and some corporate mail scanners do the same. So:
- An Opened line can appear moments after sending without the couple having read it.
- An open count of five can be one real read plus four automatic fetches.
- A couple who has images turned off can read the message with no Opened line ever appearing.
Treat Opened as a hint. Clicked is the honest signal, because a click needs a person.
How clicks are counted
Links in the message body are rewritten to pass through Hailo on their way to the destination. When the couple clicks, Hailo records the click and sends them straight on. You see the original link in the hover text, not the tracking version. Each link is counted on its own, so a message with a gallery link and a booking link shows two Clicked lines if both are used.
Tracking is per send
Tracking is switched on for each message you send from a record and for automation emails. It is not applied to:
- Emails you finish in Gmail through Open in Gmail →. Those never pass through Hailo.
- Messages the couple sends to you.
The lines only appear on outgoing messages that were tracked.
If it didn't work
- No Opened line, but the couple says they read it. Their mail app does not load images, or they read the plain-text version. Nothing is wrong. Look for a Clicked line or a reply instead.
- Opened appeared within a minute of sending. Almost certainly an automatic image fetch, not a read. Wait for a click or a reply.
- The link goes to the right place but the click never shows. The couple may have copied the address instead of clicking it, or a security scanner opened it first. Scanner visits count as clicks too, so a click can also be early.