Open and click tracking

In this article: ► Just as with email, you can track the links clicked inside an SMS ► Shortening links reduces the cost of each SMS

You probably already know that email systems can add tracking code, so that when a recipient opens the email or clicks a link inside it the data updates in real time. What you may rarely have heard is that SMS can do the same. That is because email and SMS use different technologies. Email can carry a 1x1 pixel image, and when the HTML loads, a small remote program detects that the email has been opened. On links, the system usually appends the recipient’s email address so the click can be recorded before forwarding them to the final destination.

SMS, as everyone knows, is not in HTML format — so how do we track whether a recipient opened it? You may be thinking that without that near-invisible pixel image, tracking looks impossible. But if your SMS contains a link, the system can still attach an encrypted tracking code and keep a record of clicks. Ordinary website URLs are long, which is why you need to shorten the link — to reduce the character count of each SMS and stop costs climbing sharply.

This is a feature we built ourselves and one that is genuinely distinctive. Interestingly, our clients include finance and lending companies who use it and find it very useful for understanding what customers need. We also have online store clients who want to know whether customers who abandoned a cart act on an irresistible offer. And merchants of all kinds use this feature to gather statistics on how well a new product is received.