Google Analytics (GA) is a superb free useful resource that helps you keep on high of your web site’s efficiency. However do you know that GA can also be helpful for monitoring your outbound emails? On this publish, we’ll present you easy methods to use Google Analytics e-mail monitoring to realize statistical perception into your campaigns. Plus, when you’re a Twilio SendGrid person, you’ll discover ways to use our REST API to simplify the method.

The best way to monitor your e-mail campaigns utilizing Google Analytics

Monitoring conversions out of your e-mail campaigns will enable you perceive how your emails carry out and easy methods to enhance them. Observe these steps to discover ways to generate a URL for an e-mail marketing campaign and monitor conversions in GA. 

1. Enroll and set up Google Analytics

First, head over to GA to enroll and combine the monitoring code into your web site as directed. To acquire the outcomes described on this publish, you’ll must confirm that you simply correctly arrange your GA account.

2. Generate a URL to trace inbound visitors from emails

With Google Analytics 4, the newest model of GA, you possibly can monitor clicks in your e-mail marketing campaign by creating “Occasions,” then marking them as “Conversion occasions.” To take action, add question parameters to the top of your URL, then use GA to mark any web page views with these question parameters as conversions. This lets you distinguish between guests who arrived at your web site via an e-mail marketing campaign and guests who arrived by another means.

For instance, let’s say you need to drive visitors to a selected web page in your web site: https://www.instance.com/weekly-specials. You possibly can add question parameters of your selecting, equivalent to campaign_id, and provides the URL a definite worth to your e-mail marketing campaign. The ensuing URL to make use of in your e-mail would possibly appear like this:

https://www.instance.com/weekly-specials?campaign_id=winter-campaign-01

3. Arrange a conversion occasion to your e-mail advertising marketing campaign

To begin monitoring conversions, you should arrange a “Conversion occasion” in GA. Within the sidebar navigation, click on on “Configure.” Then go to the “Occasions” web page.

On the “Occasions” web page, click on the “Create occasion” button.

Now give your occasion a reputation. For instance, winter_campaign_email_clicked. Subsequent, set the situations that point out this occasion has occurred. For our customized occasion instance, we have now 2 situations:

1. The event_name can be page_view.
2. The page_location (the referring hyperlink that introduced the person to your web site) will include campaign_id=winter-campaign-01 (our distinctive question parameter distinguishing our e-mail marketing campaign).

Your customized occasion configuration will appear like this:

Click on “Create.”

Subsequent, go to the “Conversions” configuration web page. Choose “New conversion occasion.”

Within the “New occasion identify” discipline, enter the identify of the customized occasion you simply created. For our instance, that’s winter_campaign_email_clicked.

Click on “Save.”

Now you possibly can monitor every conversion out of your e-mail advertising campaigns in GA, providing you with precious insights into how your emails carry out. 

4. Use the Twilio SendGrid API to ship emails with customized URLs

The Twilio SendGrid REST API permits you to construct an e-mail program personalized to your enterprise. To trace your e-mail marketing campaign conversions with this API, you’ll use the customized URL generated in GA. Plus, you possibly can reap the benefits of a number of language SDKs to simply combine e-mail along with your initiatives. 

Let’s check out easy methods to ship an e-mail utilizing Twilio SendGrid with the customized e-mail marketing campaign URL hyperlink embedded. First, you’ll want to join a free account. Shortly after you enroll, you’ll obtain a verification e-mail that’ll inform you when your account is energetic.

For our demonstration, we’ll use Twilio SendGrid’s Node.js SDK. To get began with the SDK, initialize a brand new Node.js venture, then add the @sendgrid/mail bundle:

~/venture$ yarn init
~/venture$ yarn add @sendgrid/mail

Subsequent, obtain this index.js file, copying it into your venture folder. As a result of that is an instance mail sending utility that you simply run on the command line, you’ll want to incorporate just a few surroundings variables when operating the applying:

• API_KEY: That is your Twilio SendGrid account API key.
• CUSTOM_URL: That is the customized URL to your e-mail marketing campaign that directs customers to your web site and consists of your distinctive question parameter.
• RECIPIENT_EMAIL: That is the recipient’s e-mail tackle. (When testing, use an e-mail tackle you possibly can entry with the intention to confirm you acquired the e-mail and might click on the marketing campaign hyperlink inside.)

Beneath is an instance of easy methods to run this utility from the command line:

~/venture$ API_KEY=INSERT-YOUR-API-KEY-HERE
CUSTOM_URL=https://www.instance.com/weekly-specials?campaign_id=winter-campaign-01
RECIPIENT_EMAIL=INSERT-YOUR-EMAIL-ADDRESS-HERE
node index.js

Be suggested that this utility gained’t work till you activate your Twilio SendGrid account.

After you’ve run the above utility, you need to obtain an e-mail within the inbox you entered for RECIPIENT_EMAIL. While you click on on the URL inside the e-mail, GA will depend this as a conversion. Subsequent, we’ll have a look at easy methods to view these conversions in GA. 

5. Study the info in Google Analytics

When your e-mail recipients click on in your marketing campaign URLs, GA data these clicks in your statistics. To trace these clicks, go to “Stories” within the GA navigation. Then, choose “Realtime.”

Right here, you’ll see tables for “Occasion depend by Occasion identify” and “Conversions by Occasion identify.” (GA captures many various occasions by default.) As your web site sees extra exercise in your web site, together with e-mail marketing campaign hyperlink clicks, extra entries will present up within the “Occasion depend” desk. Nevertheless, solely these occasions that you simply marked as “Conversion occasions” will present up within the “Conversions” desk.

You’ll recall that we outlined a winter_campaign_email_clicked occasion and added it as a “Conversion occasion.” After clicking on the marketing campaign hyperlink within the e-mail you acquired, you’ll quickly see a brand new conversion occasion within the Realtime report:

Dig deeper with Twilio SendGrid’s analytics

If you happen to’re a Twilio SendGrid person, you might have entry to further knowledge that may assist run more practical e-mail campaigns. Merely log into your Twilio SendGrid account and click on on the “Stats” tab to view your outgoing e-mail statistics. The “Overview” web page reveals you the variety of requests, delivered emails, clicks, opens, bounces, blocks, and spam experiences.

Twilio SendGrid’s new Deliverability Insights dashboard, now in public beta, provides you much more actionable knowledge insights. You possibly can discover how every mailbox supplier handles your emails, get recommendations on easy methods to enhance your e-mail program, and optimize deliverability by understanding bounce classifications. 

Study extra about monitoring with Google Analytics and Twilio SendGrid, and browse up on every platform’s monitoring terminology and equivalencies. 

Not a Twilio SendGrid person but? Join free right now to get began.