Email tracking is a valuable part of understanding how others respond to your emails. Many businesses use it, and it’s a staple in any company. However, you’ll need to use some tools to track emails, as your mail brand doesn’t provide built-in trackers. In this article, we’ll answer the question “What is an email tracker?” and look at how it works. Read further to learn the best extensions and tools and how to use them.

What Is an Email Tracker?

When tracking an email, you must use software which is the tracker. This tool automatically gathers data like whether your email was opened, any links interacted with, and whether the recipient viewed your attachments. It’s a helpful tool to keep up with your marketing and special offers, as you can see whether the clients like what you offer.

It often also helps you manage mass emails and personalize emails you send. It’s an excellent tool for organizing your inbox, as you can also apply tags to specific emails, and it’ll help you sort the incoming ones into the correct category. However, while every email tracking system does the basics of tracking messages, not all offer advanced features, such as organizational capabilities.

How Does Email Tracking Work?

Various online email tracking tools exist, though we understand browsing the multiple options can be overwhelming. Depending on what you use it for, you might not need a comprehensive solution with many confusing add-ons. Instead, we look at how to use a free Email Tracker for Gmail that’s user-friendly and easy to install.

Step 1: Add the extension to Chrome

You’ll find this extension in Chrome Web Store. You can search Free Email Tracker for Gmail by PandaDoc, or use the link at the end of the article to reach it. Click the “Add to Chrome” button, then sign in to your PandaDoc account. 

Free Email Tracker in Chrome Web Store
Free Email Tracker setup

Step 2: Authorize the link with your Gmail

If you log in using your Google account, then you can easily link the tracker to your mail system. You choose the mail you want to connect it with and click the green “Authorize” button to get started. Pressing this button will automatically integrate it with your emails within seconds. You’ll open your mail inbox and see that simple changes appear, like the tick marks to show the recipient viewed a message.

Free Email Tracker authorization

Step 3: Add tracking to your messages

When composing a new email, you can choose whether to track that specific email. The green square with the tick marks at the bottom of the screen will allow you to toggle the tracking as needed.

Enabling email tracking

Step 4: Receive analytics on the message

Once you’ve sent an email, you’ll see two tick marks next to the subject line. The first tick mark will become green when they’ve successfully received the message, and the second when they’ve opened the email. You can also hover over the extension to see if the email was opened and how many times the recipient viewed it.

Email Tracker's analytics

Step 5: Control which messages to track

You can also adjust whether the icon is viewable, whether the tracker is active on all emails, and access the add-on store. The add-on store gives you more plans, like audit trails, document analytics, and more. You can also remove the tracker’s icon and add it back anytime by clicking on it on your list of extensions.

Paid add-ons from PandaDoc

Other Email Tracking Extensions

Besides this free tool, various other options to monitor your Gmail or other providers are also available. Below, we examine some of the possibilities, along with a brief look into what they offer.

Hubspot Logo HubSpot Tracking Software

HubSpot provides another free option, which includes free marketing and sales tools, along with operation and CMS tools. It also has paid options if you’re looking for more tools and features. This package is a good solution if you’re looking for something slightly more comprehensive, but its user-friendliness isn’t on the same level as PandaDoc’s free email tracker. 

Salesloft logo Salesloft Sales Platform 

Salesloft’s package provides a detailed solution with more than just email tracking, as it also has pipeline management and more available. This solution is perfect for small to medium companies, but the individual might find it too complicated.

Mixmax Logo Mixmax Tracking Software

Mixmax offers a solution that’s better suited to large corporations or businesses. It’s a multi-channel sequence and helps you increase customer engagement with surveys, polls, and click meetings. It also lives in your Gmail, making it user-friendly, but there’s no free option, and you must contact their team to request a demo and purchase it.

Final Thoughts

We’ve answered the question, “How does email tracking work?” and even provided some alternatives based on your business needs. However, if you’re still unsure whether you want to track emails, try out the utterly Free Email Tracker for Gmail by PandaDoc. It takes a few minutes to integrate it with Gmail, and you can use it immediately, with no costs whatsoever. 
If it helps your business, then you can expand using the add-ons, which range from tracking to workflow management options. Check out the Free Email Tracker for Gmail now and see whether this is the change your business needs.