Email Tracking Issue - Some emails work and some don't

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

Last month I opened a case with Marketo Support about our email tracking having issues. The conclusion that we came to was that the link shortener that was used for those emails stripped, or didn't allow the tracking link to function properly. I did some research online and saw that using link shorteners in email isn't preferable and so I agree'd that that was most likely the issue. However we recently had several emails go out and the same issue is happening again.

We're seeing activity in GA and we are seeing activity that would show people are opening and clicking the link in the Lead Activities section for suspect leads:

Another strange part about these email tracking issues, is that the social media links, the preference center and unsub link all track just fine. And another strange part about this issue is that other emails track just fine. It's just this set of emails we send.

I'll continue doing some research and post my findings here, but if anyone has had any experiences like this please share your thoughts.

Thanks!

[Grace_Brebner3]

Hey Danny Tran​ - do you happen to know whether this set of links is being filled through a token?

This is a common issue when using tokens to fill links; you have to put the http:// reference outside of the token for Marketo to track the link (e.g. "http://{{my.cta link}}").

(also, you might like to edit this post to mark it as a question, you might get more responses!)

[Anonymous]

Hey Grace,

Thanks for the help. We are indeed utilizing tokens for this email. We put the "http://" in the actual token itself and thought that that would suffice.

I just tried the method you suggested and it looks like it worked! I feel so disappointed in myself for not knowing this. I don't ever remember this being an issue in the past, but it's been a while since we've utilized standardized templates.

Thanks so much. I don't know how to turn this into a question after I posted!

Danny T.

[Grace_Brebner3]

Glad to have been able to solve this quickly for you - but it's a shame you weren't able to get that info from Marketo support; they should be aware that this is a common cause for links not being tracked.

(and you might not be able to change it after it's been posted, sorry - thought you could!)

Also - don't let this stop you using tokens in links, they're incredibly useful and time saving - as long as you remember to keep the http:// separate

[Anonymous]

Hey Grace,

Yeah I noticed that it's been hit or miss lately with Marketo Support. Not sure what's going on over there. I'll be sure to keep those bits separate from here on out. Thankfully I was able to pull the info I needed from GA. Otherwise it would have been a really ugly Friday. Thanks again for your help! I really appreciate it.

Danny T.