Let's begin with a simple definition of a web beacon.

It's an object embedded into an email, to determine if a user accessed thecontent sent. There are other names used for web beacons such astracking pixel, invisible pixel, pixel tag, pel and clear gif.

Tracking emails

Web beacons are often used in email marketing to determine which recipientsopen the email. Doing this allows digital marketers to see whichrecipients have viewed or interacted with the email they sent.

Email marketing tracking is not a perfect science, as trackingcan be disabled by recipients who do not use HTML email clients,opting for text only emails. Some email preferences like turningoff image display (while still using HTML), can also disable webbeacons.

A web beacon is usually a transparent graphic image, often justa pixel that is placed unobtrusively in an email. When the HTMLcode for the web beacon points to a website to retrieve the image,it can also pass along important marketing information. Thisinformation can include the IP address, a time stamp, length oftime the beacon was viewed, and the type of browser that retrievedthe email.

Open rates & clicks

For many insurance agency email marketers, the most importantmetrics relate to the open rate, and the subsequent clicks thatoccurred in the email.

Web beacon options are included with most email marketingsolutions, from the basic solutions to high-end integratedplatforms. When you send out insurance agency email marketingcampaigns, the marketing engine will offer an option to track theemails. If selected, a tiny web beacon will be placed on the bottomof your HTML email to detect opens.

Note that I said these would be on the bottom of HTML emails. Ifyou are using text emails or multipart mime (the text portion ofthat email) the web beacon will not be used. This beacon is uniqueto each insurance email campaign that you send. When someone opensyour email and the beacon is downloaded, they will register as an“open.” Automated replies, such as out-of-the-office messages,often do not download the beacon and as a result would not becounted as opens. This process can vary by email marketingprovider.

Open tracking is a fairly innocuous

Now that you know how web beacons help track your insuranceemail marketing campaigns, you can determine if your agency want touse this tracking. Open tracking is a fairly innocuous andunobtrusive way to determine email campaign efficacy and to finetune the content for your audience.

Almost all email marketers do use open tracking, and find ithelpful. Click tracking is considered somewhat more intrusive, andthat is a decision each agency can evaluate based on theirpreferences. Some agencies offer tracking and cookie notificationson their site, when using these technologies.

Related: The secret to hitting a home run with digitalmarketing