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Track emails in Gmail with the Chrome extension

Monitor Engagement on Emails Sent Directly from Gmail🚀

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Learning Objective

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to enable lemlist tracking for emails you send directly from Gmail, and how to review opens and link clicks from inside your inbox.

Why This Matters

Tracking Gmail emails helps you spot engaged recipients (opens and link clicks) so you can follow up at the right time. This makes your outreach more targeted and reduces guesswork when prioritizing replies.

Prerequisites

  • You have access to a Gmail account in Google Chrome.

  • You have a lemlist account you can sign in to.

  • You’ve installed the lemlist Chrome extension.


Core Lesson — Step-by-Step Workflow

Phase 1: Enable tracking for a Gmail email

  1. In Gmail, click Compose to start a new email.

    Screenshot
  2. In the email composer, click the lemlist tracking button, select what you want to track (Opens, Clicks on a link, or both), then send your email as usual.

    Screenshot

If you’re not logged into lemlist, enabling tracking will prompt you to sign in before tracking can be turned on.

Phase 2: Find tracked emails in Gmail

After you send tracked emails, the extension adds a lemlist section in the Gmail sidebar so you can quickly review engagement:

  • All tracked emails — all emails you’ve tracked from Gmail.

  • Opened emails — emails that have been opened.

  • Clicked emails — emails where a recipient clicked a link.

In the left sidebar, open the lemlist section, then select All tracked emails to view the list of tracked messages.

Screenshot

Phase 3: Interpret engagement details (opens and clicks)

Tracked emails include an engagement icon. Hover over the icon to see details like total opens, total clicks, and the last time the email was opened or clicked.


Practical Application / Real-Life Example

If you sent a proposal from Gmail and want to time your follow-up:

  • Check Opened emails to see who viewed it recently.

  • Prioritize leads in Clicked emails (they showed deeper intent).

  • Follow up while the email is still fresh. referencing the content they likely just reviewed.


Troubleshooting & Pitfalls

Issue: I don’t see the tracking button when composing an email.
Root cause: The extension isn’t installed, is disabled, or isn’t running on mail.google.com.
Fix:

  • Confirm the lemlist Chrome extension is installed and enabled in Chrome.

  • Refresh Gmail (or fully close and reopen the Gmail tab).

  • Make sure you’re using Gmail in Google Chrome.

Issue: Tracking prompts me to log in and doesn’t activate.
Root cause: You’re not authenticated in lemlist (or your session expired).
Fix:

  • Sign in when prompted, then re-open the compose window and enable tracking again.

Issue: I enabled tracking but don’t see any opens/clicks yet.
Root cause: The recipient hasn’t engaged (or links weren’t clicked).
Fix:

  • Wait for engagement, then check the sidebar folders and the engagement icon details.


Knowledge Check

  • Can you enable tracking for opens and link clicks before sending an email from Gmail?

  • Do you know where to find All tracked emails vs. Opened emails in the Gmail sidebar?

  • Can you hover over the engagement icon to confirm the last open or last click time?

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