Email signature link tracking
see which links people click.
Your signature goes out with every email you send, so its links get more chances than almost anything you publish. A tracked link behind each one shows which of them people actually click and, on a team, whose signature brings the clicks in.
Quick answer
To track clicks in an email signature, create a tracked link for each link in it, such as your booking page, website, LinkedIn profile or latest offer, and paste those into your signature editor in place of the raw URLs. Each click is recorded with its time, approximate location, device and browser. On a team, give each person their own set. Rely on clicks: a tracking image can count signature opens, but many mail apps block, proxy or preload images.
Anna
Account manager · Your Brand
- Book a call38 clicks
link.yourbrand.com/anna-call
- Website24 clicks
link.yourbrand.com/anna-site
- LinkedIn11 clicks
link.yourbrand.com/anna-linkedin
Signature clicks per person
Last 14 days · one set of links each, named after its owner
Booking 38 · Website 24 · LinkedIn 11
Booking 21 · Website 9 · LinkedIn 14
One tracked link per signature link
A signature usually carries a few links. Give each its own tracked link with a clear name, and the click counts tell you which ones earn their place and which are just decoration.
- A booking page, such as a calendar link for calls or demos.
- Your website or a key product page.
- LinkedIn or another social profile.
- A rotating offer: this month's webinar, guide, case study or sale.
- A review or referral page.
Change the destination, not the signature
A tracked link's destination can be changed at any time. That suits the rotating slot in a signature: label it "Latest guide", point it at this month's guide, and when the next one comes out, change the destination in Track Link. Nobody on the team has to edit their signature again.
It also changes every email already sent: a click in a three-month-old email lands on the new page. For a latest-offer link that is what you want; for a link that must keep pointing at one page, create a new link instead.
A set per person on a team
If five people share one booking link, you learn that signatures work, not whose. Give each person their own set and name every link after its owner and purpose, so the links page reads like a scoreboard.
One person with a handful of signature links fits inside Free's 10 tracked links. A team needs more: Starter has 25 tracked links and Pro 100 tracked links. On Pro and above you can keep them in a shared workspace, with 5 members per workspace on Pro, so everyone sees the same numbers.
Add utm_medium=email and utm_source=signature to the destinations, and Google Analytics files these visits in its Email channel. The person is already in the link's name in Track Link, so the tags can stay the same for everyone.
| Link name | Short link | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Anna · booking | link.yourbrand.com/anna-call | Anna's booking page |
| Anna · website | link.yourbrand.com/anna-site | Your homepage |
| Ben · booking | link.yourbrand.com/ben-call | Ben's booking page |
| Ben · website | link.yourbrand.com/ben-site | Your homepage |
Why signature opens are guesswork
You can put a tracking image in a signature and count its loads, but a load isn't a read. Apple Mail Privacy Protection can load images whether or not the message is opened. Gmail fetches them through its own proxy, which a Track Link pixel doesn't record, so Gmail readers go uncounted. Outlook often blocks images until the reader allows them.
A signature adds its own problem: the same image rides on every email and reply in a thread, so one pixel can't tell you which message was read, and each load counts toward your monthly clicks. A click needs someone to choose to follow the link, which makes it the solid signal. More in how accurate an email tracking pixel is.
Keep the links on your own domain
A public shortener domain can look like spam to filters and to the people reading. Put signature links on a subdomain of the domain you send from, such as link.yourbrand.com; in a plain-text signature, link.yourbrand.com/book reads cleanly as it is. Free includes 1 custom domain, and the email link shortener page covers the setup.
Free links show a short Track Link notice for about two seconds before forwarding, so a client clicking your booking link would see it every time. Starter ($5.60/mo) and above forward straight to the page.
How to track clicks in your email signature
- 1List the links in your signature and create a tracked link for each. On a team, make one set per person and name each link after its owner and purpose.
- 2Optionally connect a subdomain such as
link.yourbrand.com, so the links carry your name rather than ours. - 3Open your signature settings. In Gmail, Outlook and most other mail apps, the signature editor sits in the settings and has a button for inserting a link. Select the text or image, insert a link and paste the tracked link.
- 4Send yourself an email and click each link once to check where it lands. Note the time, so your test clicks are easy to spot later.
- 5After a week or two, compare clicks per link and per person, and replace the links nobody clicks.
What signature tracking can't tell you
- Who clicked. A signature link is the same in every email, so a click tells you the link was used, not which recipient used it. We don't show names, email addresses or IP addresses.
- Which email the click came from. Every message carries the same links. If one email matters, put a separate tracked link in its body.
- Opens you can trust. Image-based open counts are skewed by preloading, proxies and blocking, as described above.
- Every scanner. Security systems on company mail can open links shortly after delivery, and some get past our filters: how to spot them.
Questions people ask
How do I track clicks on my email signature?
Create a tracked link for each link in your signature, then paste those into your signature editor in place of the original URLs. Every click is recorded with its time, approximate location, device and browser, per link.
Can I tell if someone saw my email signature?
Not reliably. A tracking image can count loads, but many mail apps preload, proxy or block images, and one image in a signature can't tell you which email was opened. Clicks on the signature links are the dependable signal.
Do tracked links work in Gmail and Outlook signatures?
Yes. They are ordinary HTTPS links, so they work on text or images in any signature editor, including Gmail's and Outlook's, and on phones as well as computers.
How do I see whose signature gets the most clicks?
Give each person their own set of tracked links and name each one after its owner, such as "Anna · booking". The links page then shows clicks per person. On Pro and above, a shared workspace lets the whole team see the same numbers.
What happens to old emails if I change a link's destination?
They follow the change. Every email that carries the link now sends people to the new destination, and the link's click history stays where it was. To keep old emails pointing at the old page, create a new link instead.
Is email signature tracking free?
You can start free with 10 tracked links, which covers one person's signature, signing in with Google or Microsoft and no credit card. Free links show a short notice before forwarding; Starter ($5.60/mo) and above forward instantly, which suits links your clients click.
More on tracking links in email
Email link tracking
Track clicks in any email campaign or one-off message.
Newsletter link tracking
Clicks per link and per issue, whatever tool sends it.
Cold email link tracking
Which prospects clicked, without hurting deliverability.
UTM parameters for email
A naming scheme for source, medium and campaign in email.
Email link shortener
Keep the links in your emails on a domain you own.
Find out which signature links earn their place
Start free with 10 tracked links and click analytics, no credit card.
Create a tracked link