Email Open & Click Tracking — Setup Guide

Track how recipients engage with your emails using Ark’s built-in open and click tracking. This guide covers setup, configuration, and best practices.

How Tracking Works

Open Tracking

Ark inserts a tiny transparent image (tracking pixel) into your HTML emails. When the image loads, we record an open event.

Click Tracking

Links in your emails are rewritten to pass through Ark’s tracking server. When a recipient clicks, we record the event and redirect them to the original URL.

Enabling Tracking

Tracking is enabled by default. You can control it per-email:

Python
Node.js
Ruby
Go

from ark import Ark

client = Ark()

email = client.emails.send(
    from_="hello@yourdomain.com",
    to=["user@example.com"],
    subject="Check out our new features",
    html='<p>Click <a href="https://yourdomain.com/features">here</a> to learn more!</p>',
    track_opens=True,   # Default: True
    track_clicks=True   # Default: True
)

import Ark from 'ark';

const client = new Ark();

const email = await client.emails.send({
  from: 'hello@yourdomain.com',
  to: ['user@example.com'],
  subject: 'Check out our new features',
  html: '<p>Click <a href="https://yourdomain.com/features">here</a> to learn more!</p>',
  trackOpens: true,   // Default: true
  trackClicks: true,  // Default: true
});

require "ark_email"

client = ArkEmail::Client.new

email = client.emails.send_(
  from: "hello@yourdomain.com",
  to: ["user@example.com"],
  subject: "Check out our new features",
  html: '<p>Click <a href="https://yourdomain.com/features">here</a> to learn more!</p>',
  track_opens: true,   # Default: true
  track_clicks: true   # Default: true
)

client := ark.NewClient()

email, _ := client.Emails.Send(ctx, ark.EmailSendParams{
    From:        "hello@yourdomain.com",
    To:          []string{"user@example.com"},
    Subject:     "Check out our new features",
    HTML:        ark.String(`<p>Click <a href="https://yourdomain.com/features">here</a> to learn more!</p>`),
    TrackOpens:  ark.Bool(true),   // Default: true
    TrackClicks: ark.Bool(true),   // Default: true
})

Disable tracking for sensitive emails like password resets or security notifications.

Custom Tracking Domain

By default, tracking links use Ark’s domain. For better branding and deliverability, set up a custom tracking domain.

Step 1: Add the Domain

Python
Node.js
Ruby
Go
cURL

tracking_domain = client.tracking.domains.create(
    domain="track.yourdomain.com",
    default=True
)

print(f"Domain ID: {tracking_domain.data.id}")
print("Add the following DNS record:")
print(f"  CNAME track.yourdomain.com -> track.arkhq.io")

const trackingDomain = await client.tracking.domains.create({
  domain: 'track.yourdomain.com',
  default: true,
});

console.log(`Domain ID: ${trackingDomain.data.id}`);
console.log('Add the following DNS record:');
console.log('  CNAME track.yourdomain.com -> track.arkhq.io');

tracking_domain = client.tracking.domains.create(
  domain: "track.yourdomain.com",
  default: true
)

puts "Domain ID: #{tracking_domain.data.id}"
puts "Add the following DNS record:"
puts "  CNAME track.yourdomain.com -> track.arkhq.io"

trackingDomain, _ := client.Tracking.Domains.Create(ctx, ark.TrackingDomainCreateParams{
    Domain:  ark.String("track.yourdomain.com"),
    Default: ark.Bool(true),
})

fmt.Printf("Domain ID: %s\n", trackingDomain.Data.ID)
fmt.Println("Add the following DNS record:")
fmt.Println("  CNAME track.yourdomain.com -> track.arkhq.io")

curl -X POST https://api.arkhq.io/v1/tracking/domains \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "domain": "track.yourdomain.com",
    "default": true
  }'

Step 2: Configure DNS

Add the CNAME record provided in the response:

Type	Name	Value
CNAME	`track.yourdomain.com`	`track.arkhq.io`

Step 3: Verify

Python
Node.js
Ruby
Go
cURL

result = client.tracking.domains.verify("trk_abc123")

if result.data.verified:
    print("Tracking domain verified!")
else:
    print("DNS records not found yet")

const result = await client.tracking.domains.verify('trk_abc123');

if (result.data.verified) {
  console.log('Tracking domain verified!');
} else {
  console.log('DNS records not found yet');
}

result = client.tracking.domains.verify("trk_abc123")

if result.data.verified
  puts "Tracking domain verified!"
else
  puts "DNS records not found yet"
end

result, _ := client.Tracking.Domains.Verify(ctx, "trk_abc123")

if result.Data.Verified {
    fmt.Println("Tracking domain verified!")
} else {
    fmt.Println("DNS records not found yet")
}

curl -X POST https://api.arkhq.io/v1/tracking/domains/trk_abc123/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY"

Now your tracking links will use track.yourdomain.com instead of Ark’s domain.

Receiving Tracking Events

Via Webhooks

Set up webhooks to receive real-time tracking events:

Python
Node.js
Ruby
Go
cURL

webhook = client.webhooks.create(
    url="https://yourapp.com/webhooks/ark",
    events=["MessageLoaded", "MessageLinkClicked"]
)

print(f"Webhook created: {webhook.data.id}")

const webhook = await client.webhooks.create({
  url: 'https://yourapp.com/webhooks/ark',
  events: ['MessageLoaded', 'MessageLinkClicked'],
});

console.log(`Webhook created: ${webhook.data.id}`);

webhook = client.webhooks.create(
  url: "https://yourapp.com/webhooks/ark",
  events: ["MessageLoaded", "MessageLinkClicked"]
)

puts "Webhook created: #{webhook.data.id}"

webhook, _ := client.Webhooks.Create(ctx, ark.WebhookCreateParams{
    URL:    ark.String("https://yourapp.com/webhooks/ark"),
    Events: []string{"MessageLoaded", "MessageLinkClicked"},
})

fmt.Printf("Webhook created: %s\n", webhook.Data.ID)

curl -X POST https://api.arkhq.io/v1/webhooks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://yourapp.com/webhooks/ark",
    "events": ["MessageLoaded", "MessageLinkClicked"]
  }'

Open Event Payload

{
  "type": "email.opened",
  "data": {
    "emailId": "msg_abc123",
    "to": "user@example.com",
    "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0...",
    "ipAddress": "192.168.1.1",
    "location": {
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "region": "CA",
      "country": "US"
    },
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
  }
}

Click Event Payload

{
  "type": "email.clicked",
  "data": {
    "emailId": "msg_abc123",
    "to": "user@example.com",
    "url": "https://yourdomain.com/features",
    "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0...",
    "ipAddress": "192.168.1.1",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:31:00Z"
  }
}

Via API

Query tracking data directly:

Python
Node.js
Ruby
Go
cURL

stats = client.tracking.stats.retrieve(
    start_date="2024-01-01",
    end_date="2024-01-31"
)

print(f"Open rate: {stats.data.summary.open_rate}%")
print(f"Click rate: {stats.data.summary.click_rate}%")

const stats = await client.tracking.stats.retrieve({
  startDate: '2024-01-01',
  endDate: '2024-01-31',
});

console.log(`Open rate: ${stats.data.summary.openRate}%`);
console.log(`Click rate: ${stats.data.summary.clickRate}%`);

stats = client.tracking.stats.retrieve(
  start_date: "2024-01-01",
  end_date: "2024-01-31"
)

puts "Open rate: #{stats.data.summary.open_rate}%"
puts "Click rate: #{stats.data.summary.click_rate}%"

stats, _ := client.Tracking.Stats.Get(ctx, ark.TrackingStatsParams{
    StartDate: ark.String("2024-01-01"),
    EndDate:   ark.String("2024-01-31"),
})

fmt.Printf("Open rate: %.2f%%\n", stats.Data.Summary.OpenRate)
fmt.Printf("Click rate: %.2f%%\n", stats.Data.Summary.ClickRate)

curl "https://api.arkhq.io/v1/tracking/stats?startDate=2024-01-01&endDate=2024-01-31" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY"

Tracking Metrics

Metric	Description
Opens	Number of unique opens
Clicks	Number of unique clicks
Open Rate	Opens / Delivered * 100
Click Rate	Clicks / Delivered * 100
Click-to-Open Rate	Clicks / Opens * 100

Metrics are deduplicated by recipient. Multiple opens/clicks from the same person count as one.

Tracking Limitations

Open Tracking

Image blocking: Many email clients block images by default
Privacy features: Apple Mail Privacy Protection, Gmail, and others may preload images, causing false positives
Plain text emails: Open tracking only works with HTML emails

Click Tracking

Link preview: Some clients preview links, causing false clicks
Security scanning: Corporate email systems may scan links
Plain text emails: Click tracking only works in HTML emails

Best Practices

Use for engagement trends, not absolutes

Due to image blocking and privacy features, open rates are underreported. Use them for trend analysis rather than exact measurements.

Set up a custom tracking domain

Using your own domain improves deliverability and looks more professional.

Respect privacy

Disable tracking for sensitive communications and honor user preferences.

Track meaningful actions

Focus on click-through rates to measure actual engagement rather than just opens.

Privacy Considerations

Be transparent about tracking:

Disclose in privacy policy: Mention that you track email engagement
Provide opt-out: Let users disable tracking if requested
Minimize data: Only collect what you need

API Reference

View tracking API documentation

Getting Started

White-Label Email Architecture

Sending Email

Domain Setup

Webhooks

Tracking & Deliverability

Concepts

Migration

Reference

Email Open & Click Tracking — Setup Guide

How Tracking Works

Open Tracking

Click Tracking

Enabling Tracking

Custom Tracking Domain

Step 1: Add the Domain

Step 2: Configure DNS

Step 3: Verify

Receiving Tracking Events

Via Webhooks

Open Event Payload

Click Event Payload

Via API

Tracking Metrics

Tracking Limitations

Open Tracking

Click Tracking

Best Practices

Privacy Considerations

API Reference

Getting Started

White-Label Email Architecture

Sending Email

Domain Setup

Webhooks

Tracking & Deliverability

Concepts

Migration

Reference

​How Tracking Works

​Open Tracking

​Click Tracking

​Enabling Tracking

​Custom Tracking Domain

​Step 1: Add the Domain

​Step 2: Configure DNS

​Step 3: Verify

​Receiving Tracking Events

​Via Webhooks

​Open Event Payload

​Click Event Payload

​Via API

​Tracking Metrics

​Tracking Limitations

​Open Tracking

​Click Tracking

​Best Practices

​Privacy Considerations

API Reference

How Tracking Works

Open Tracking

Click Tracking

Enabling Tracking

Custom Tracking Domain

Step 1: Add the Domain

Step 2: Configure DNS

Step 3: Verify

Receiving Tracking Events

Via Webhooks

Open Event Payload

Click Event Payload

Via API

Tracking Metrics

Tracking Limitations

Open Tracking

Click Tracking

Best Practices

Privacy Considerations