Integrating web analytics into email marketing to maximise ROI

Measuring and improving the ROI of e-mail marketing campaigns was cited as a challenge by 65 percent of marketers surveyed last year. The majority of those surveyed used reporting metrics like bounces, opens, clicks and unsubscribes to gauge email campaign success. Less than 50 percent were tracking conversion rates and 25 percent considered clickstream data for a true understanding of recipient activity after clicking on a link in the email.

Not all email campaigns sent are intended to drive the recipient to make a purchase but all emails should result in a transaction to allow you to track and measure the recipient’s interest or need. Before you send an email, consider the path you would like the recipient to take and the points along that path you are able to measure. There are many commercial website tracking products available on the market but a well planned Google Analytics implementation should provide you with enough insight to enable you to gauge success and value from your email activity. It’s free to use the GA software but it’s worth investing the time and the money to set up GA correctly, in order to effectively track your click to conversion path and associated goals.

Returnity have recently integrated GA link tracking into our Ehlo email marketing platform. Using this feature will ensure that click-through data from specific email links is referenced as a source in your GA website tracking. As with banner tracking, you are able to identify the specific emails and links responsible for traffic on your website. Take this to the next level and you are able to identify the path a recipient takes after clicking on the link in an email and whether or not it leads to a successful transaction.

By closely monitoring your analytics you will be able to identify obstacles and blockages in the path between engagement and transaction. Through a tracked Test & Adjust Cycle these obstacles can be addressed.

We recently sent an email for a client where the primary objective was to capture recipient details through an enquiry form and identify which services where of most interest. The initial email sent got a fantastic delivery and open rate, and the click-through rate was above average, however the number of completed forms was disappointing. Through in-form GA tracking we were able to identify the drop-off point in the form and make an adjustment. The email was re-sent the following month with a significant improvement in results. 

It’s that simple to control and maximise your ROI.

(Survey Metrics: from MarketingSherpa).