How to Use Google Analytics to Track the Success of Your Email Campaigns

Are you sick of hearing about Apple’s iOS 15 update that rolled out recently? Us too. But unfortunately, something tells us we’ll all be discussing it for quite some time. 

This update changed email marketing. If you didn’t do much to prepare for this rollout, then you may be dealing with some unfortunate repercussions with your email marketing strategy right now. 

The rollout essentially made it so that Apple Mail users can now opt-out of certain email tracking. This means you may be experiencing things like:

• Declining email open rates
• Limited access to IP addresses 
• Lack of email segmentation capabilities around subscriber location 
• Difficulty accessing real email addresses 

Needless to say, you should be making some changes to the way you track success from your email marketing. Luckily, there are different email KPIs to focus on, as well as other approaches for you to look into when deciding which campaigns are effective and which fall flat. 

And, at Benchmark Email, we made it even easier to link your email campaigns to real, measurable metrics. Let’s discuss how you can use Google Analytics to track the success of your Benchmark Email campaigns. Ready?

The Perks of Using Google Analytics

Let’s face it; not everyone has a big marketing budget. Accessing tools that offer backend website analytics can be an expensive and lengthy process. Each tool comes with its competitive advantages, and next thing you know, you’re signing up for something that has tons of features you don’t even need. 

There are so many perks to using Google Analytics, and one of the big ones is that with a Google account, it’s totally free. Yes, as in, you pay nothing. 

There’s no need to accumulate tons of spreadsheets because Google Analytics tracks all your website data for you. And, if you need to make adjustments, you can customize your reports so you can see exactly what you need in order to track success. 

Google Analytics helps you uncover insights into website traffic and certain website behavior your users and visitors are making. You can see how your social media is driving traffic and conversions, which blog posts are getting the most views, and which pages experience the most engagement. It pulls back the curtain so you can uncover the gaps, what needs to be optimized, and areas that are successful. It’s an essential tool for marketing and sales teams and for accessing the performance of your email marketing campaigns. 

Get a Better Idea of Your Email Marketing Return with Google Analytics

We built a feature in Benchmark Email that allows users to automatically track their campaigns in Google Analytics. 

Sure, users could do this manually with UTMs. However, we figured we would roll up our sleeves and make it easier by doing the work for them. All they have to do is turn it on in their Benchmark Email accounts. 

What Can You Track?

With this feature turned on, users can tie their email campaigns to their conversion goals in Google Analytics. This provides them with a better indication of success than just simple email opens (which, as we previously stated, can no longer be trusted due to Apple’s iOS15 rollout). 

This view will give you access to:

• How many users have initiated a session from your selected email campaign
• The number of first-time users
• The total number of sessions
• Bounce rate
• The average number of pages viewed in a session
• Average session duration
• eCommerce conversion rate
• Transactions
• Revenue generated

A Better Idea of How Successful Your Emails Are

Sure, knowing how many of your emails are opened is nice. But that only takes you so far. And since that metric is being compromised, continuing to rely on it just doesn’t make any sense. 

By tapping into Google Analytics’  tool and features, you’ll gain a 360 view of just how well your emails are performing. This also allows you to get more granular with your goal setting, as you can track specifics like conversions and revenue to really connect the dots between your email marketing and ROI. 

If you’re curious about how our email marketing software connects to your Google Analytics account and want to learn more on how to do it, click this link for more details. 

And, if you aren’t currently a Benchmark Email user but are interested in signing up, join our free plan today and see what we’re all about.