How Google’s New Changes Affect Email Marketing Metrics

On October 3rd, 2023, Google announced in a blog that they will be implementing sweeping changes to reduce spam for their 1.8 billion Gmail users. Along with this are clear guidelines that include this statement:

Open rate

• Google does not explicitly track open rates.

• Google isn’t able to verify the accuracy of open rates reported by third parties.

• Low open rates may not be an accurate indicator of deliverability or spam classification issues.

But what exactly is “open rate”?

Whenever you see the metric open rate from email marketing providers or practitioners, they are talking about the measurement of when email recipients “open” the email that has been sent out. It is commonly calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of email messages opened by the total number of email messages sent. And often, ‘high open rates’ are the measure of success for an email campaign. While ‘low open rates’ are the opposite.

How does it work?

In order for opens to be tracked, technology companies that provide it insert a tracking pixel inside your email. It’s literally a tiny little image in your email campaigns, usually only 1×1 pixels in size, making it virtually invisible to the recipient. When the email is opened, the tracking pixel is loaded from a remote server, allowing the sender to track information about the email being opened. Unfortunately, an email tracking pixel could also transmit information like how long the email was opened for, how far down the email a recipient scrolls, and also send the recipient’s email client device type and geo-location.

Tracking pixels and privacy

In recent years, there’s been growing concern and awareness among the public about how they are tracked and how their data is used. This has led to legislation and regulations, most notably the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR in Europe and applies to all European citizens around the world.

In an unprecedented conclusion and verdict of one out of 101 cases filed by the European Center for Digital Rights in the EU against technology companies, the Austrian Data Protection Authority (DSB) has decided that the use of Facebook’s tracking pixel directly violates the GDPR.

Google’s new changes to Gmail may have a significant impact on email marketing metrics, especially open rates. Email marketers may need to rethink their strategies and find alternative ways to measure their campaign performance and engagement. They may also need to consider the privacy implications of using tracking pixels and comply with the relevant regulations in different regions. Google’s move may be seen as a statement against email “open rates” and a step towards more user-centric and ethical email practices.