Link tracking
Link tracking counts clicks by rewriting the links in an email so they pass through a redirect first. The reader clicks, the redirect records the click, and the browser carries on to the real destination. Serving that redirect from a hostname on your own domain keeps the link recognizable to a reader and keeps the reputation of the domain in your hands.
At a glance
- Category
- Tracking
- Mechanism
- Links rewritten to a redirect that records the click
- Hostname
- A subdomain of your own sending domain, ideally
- Rewrites
- The HTML part only
- Records
- The message, the link and the time — not the person's browsing
How it works
When the message is assembled, each link in the HTML part is replaced with a URL on the tracking hostname carrying an identifier for that message and that link. A reader clicking it reaches the redirect, which records the click and answers with a redirect to the original address. The browser follows it and the reader arrives where they expected. The destination is stored at assembly time, so the redirect cannot be tricked into sending anybody somewhere else later.
Why it matters
Clicks are the most trustworthy engagement signal you have, because a click is a deliberate act that no image proxy can fabricate. But the mechanism has costs. Every link a reader hovers over shows a hostname that is not the destination, which looks like phishing if that hostname belongs to somebody else. Using a subdomain of your own sending domain keeps the link recognisable and means the redirect's reputation is yours rather than shared with strangers.
Example
A domain enables click tracking on a subdomain of itself. A newsletter's links are rewritten to that hostname. A reader clicks, the redirect records the click against the message, and the browser lands on the article a moment later. In the dashboard the campaign shows which of the four links was clicked and how often, and the reader's mail client shows a hostname that plainly belongs to the sender.
Common mistakes
- 01Tracking on a shared provider hostname, so every link in your mail points at a domain your readers do not recognise.
- 02Rewriting the unsubscribe link, which turns the one link that must always work into one more thing that can break.
- 03Reporting unique clicks as unique readers, when security scanners at corporate mail hosts follow links before anybody sees them.
- 04Leaving tracking on for security-sensitive mail, where a rewritten link is the one thing a cautious reader is told to distrust.
In Rasket
Click tracking is per domain and off by default, rewrites only the HTML part, and redirects only to the address stored when the message was assembled. Tracking
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does link tracking hurt deliverability?
Not by itself, but the hostname matters. A redirect domain shared with unknown senders can carry their reputation, while a subdomain of your own sending domain carries only yours.
Why is the click count higher than the open count?
Usually because opens are undercounted by image blocking while clicks are not. Security scanners at some corporate mail hosts also follow every link in a message before delivering it, which inflates the click count further.
Can I turn tracking off for some messages?
Yes, and many teams do for transactional mail. A password reset gains nothing from a click count and loses the plain, obviously legitimate link a reader can check.
Last updated 16 September 2026.
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