Link tracking benefits and best practices for high-performing emails

Have you ever wondered what really happens after someone clicks a link in your email? That one simple action reveals a lot about your audience. It shows what caught their attention, what they were curious about, and how engaged they are with your content. This is exactly what email link tracking helps you understand.

At its core, link tracking monitors how recipients interact with the links you add to your emails. It could be a link to your website, landing page, blog, article, or any page you want them to visit. By tagging or routing these URLs through a tracking system, you can see which links people clicked, how many times they clicked, and what they did right after opening your email.

For any business that wants to grow, understanding customer behavior is essential. That’s why marketers and product teams rely on link tracking in their promotional, transactional, and marketing emails. It helps them measure how well campaigns perform so they can optimize each channel to deliver better results.

Benefits of email link tracking

Here are some reasons why email link tracking is so important.

1. Understand what your audience engages with

Email link tracking shows which links get the most clicks, helping you identify what readers find valuable. This insight helps you tailor future emails to match your audience’s interests and improve overall engagement.

2. Improve your email performance with data

By tracking clicks across email campaigns, you can measure what’s working and what’s not. This data helps refine your subject lines, CTAs, design, and content structure to boost conversions.

3. Segment your audience more effectively

Click behavior reveals user intent. You can group audiences based on what they interact with. Whether it’s product pages, blogs, newsletters, or offers, you can send more relevant, targeted follow-ups that increase response rates.

4. Measure campaign ROI accurately

With email link tracking, you can tie user actions directly back to specific emails. It helps you calculate conversions, understand the customer journey, and justify marketing spend with solid evidence.

5. Strengthen automated workflows

Email link tracking helps trigger actions based on user behavior—sending reminders, nudges, personalized recommendations, or sales follow-ups. This makes your automated journeys more precise and effective.

Use cases for tracking links in email

How does email tracking happen?

Most email services convert your original URL into a tracking link.

For example:

• Actual URL: https://yourwebsite.com

• Tracking URL: 
  https://tracking.domain.com/click?uid=12345&redirect=https://yourwebsite.com

When a recipient clicks this link, the process is simple:

• They are first taken to the tracking server.

• The server records important details such as timestamp, device, location, and which link was clicked.

• The user is then redirected to the original URL.

• Modern platforms like ZeptoMail send click events to your dashboard through APIs or webhook callbacks.

Essential metrics for email link tracking

Click-through rate (CTR): Measures how many recipients clicked at least one link in your email. A higher CTR shows that your content, CTAs, and messaging are engaging and relevant.

Unique clicks: Tracks how many individual users clicked your links. Helps you understand real user interest without counting repeat clicks from the same person.

Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR): Compares total clicks to total opens to show how compelling your in-email content is. A strong CTOR indicates that your visuals, placement, and CTA copy resonate with users.

Link-level performance: Checks which specific links get the most clicks (e.g., hero banner, button, text link). Useful for optimizing CTA placement, design hierarchy, and email layout.

Device and location-based clicks: Shows whether users click more on mobile or desktop, and which geos are most engaged. Helps you design device-optimized layouts and send more targeted campaigns.

Post-click behavior: Tracks what users do after clicking — page views, conversions, add-to-cart, sign-ups, etc. Connects your email links to actual business outcomes.

Best practices for email link tracking

Track only meaningful links

Focus on the links that truly matter. Focus on your primary CTAs, product pages, banners, and high-intent sections. Tracking unnecessary links dilutes insights and makes performance data harder to interpret.

Keep your URLs clean and descriptive

Use clear, readable URLs with parameters that explain where the link leads. Clean URLs build trust, improve clarity, and make it easier to analyze user behavior later.

Use links that match or closely align with your domain

Always link to your own domain or a closely related subdomain to maintain credibility. Mismatched domains can confuse readers and trigger spam filters, lowering click confidence and email deliverability.

Place CTAs strategically

Pay attention to which link positions (top, middle, or footer) drive the most engagement. Use this insight to place high-value CTAs where users are most likely to interact.

A/B test link formats

Experiment with different link styles such as buttons vs. text links or short vs. long CTAs. A/B testing helps you understand what resonates better and improves overall click performance.

Avoid over-linking

Too many links can overwhelm readers and reduce clarity. Keep your email focused with purposeful links that guide users toward a single, clear action.

Ensure that links are accessible across devices

Test all links across devices, browsers, and email clients to ensure they load correctly. Make sure link text is readable and accessible to all users, across devices.

How does ZeptoMail conduct email link tracking?

In ZeptoMail, it works the same way when the click tracking feature is enabled:

• A tracking parameter is automatically added to all outgoing emails.

• When a recipient opens the email or clicks a link, they’re briefly redirected to a tracking subdomain before the email loads or the link opens.

• ZeptoMail uses the activity recorded on this tracking subdomain to display accurate open and click counts.

• You can configure your own custom tracking subdomain for branded tracking.

• To set it up, add a CNAME record in your DNS and point it to ZeptoMail’s tracking domain.

• For better deliverability, use a subdomain of your sending domain. This prevents ISPs from mistaking your tracking domain for spam. 

How do you enable email tracking in ZeptoMail?

1. Choose the Mail Agent you want to configure from the left panel.

2. Go to the Email Tracking tab.

3. Turn on the toggle to enable tracking.

4. Select your preferred default value for the SMTP/API parameter.

5. Add the subdomain you want to use for tracking.

6. ClickVerify and Save to complete your email tracking setup.

Wrapping up

As you’ve seen, every click and interaction offers meaningful context—whether you’re studying user behavior, understanding engagement patterns, or fine-tuning your email workflows. With the right best practices, link tracking keeps your data accurate, actionable, and reliable. It becomes a powerful part of crafting emails that not only reach your audience but also engage, convert, and continuously improve over time.

If you’re looking for a transactional email service with a seamless tracking setup, ZeptoMail is built for that. It keeps the process simple, secure, and fully aligned with your domain. With detailed insights, clean reporting, and a sender-friendly interface, ZeptoMail helps you get the most out of every email you send.