Since most emails are HTML-based, it is possible to track emails opened and send that data to Adobe Analytics. Including an <img> tag of an image request can allow your organization to track email opens. If your organization opts to use this method, there are several things to keep in mind:

  • Every email render can potentially increment a billable server call. Track emails only if your Adobe Analytics contract can sustain the increased amount of server calls.
  • Only email clients that support HTML and allow images are tracked. Some email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, block external images by default. These emails cannot be tracked until the recipients opts to download external images.

Compose an Outlook email that includes an image request

  1. Open an HTML editor, such as DreamWeaver. If an HTML editor is not available, a plain text editor such as Notepad can work.
  2. In a new file, insert an HTML image request wrapped in a <body> tag. The following are two separate examples that can be sent to an Adobe test report suite:
    For additional examples and variables, see Implementing Analytics without JavaScript and Data Collection Query String Parameters.
  3. Once the hardcoded image request has been configured, save it as an .html file. Make sure that you don't save it as a .txt file if you are using Notepad.
  4. Open Outlook and compose an email.
  5. Go to the Insert tab and click Attach File. Select your image request .html file.
  6. Click the pop-up menu next to Insert and select Insert as Text. Clicking the Insert button without the pop-up menu includes your image request as an HTML attachment, which does not work.
  7. Your email does not appear to change, as the image request is a 1 x 1 transparent pixel. If you want to see the image request for testing purposes, modify the HTML file to include a border, additional text, or other content.

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