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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesMailchimp and HubSpot can both report clicks on tracked email links, but a click is not the same as a website visit or a conversion. For email-level engagement, compare their campaign reports; for website traffic attribution or contact history, consider how each platform connects link tags, site analytics, and CRM records.
What “tracking email referrals” can mean
The phrase covers two related measurements, and the distinction determines which report you need:
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- Email click tracking: whether a recipient clicked a tracked URL in a message. Both services document reports for this.
- Website traffic attribution: whether the destination site recorded a visit and associated it with an email, campaign, or contact. This depends on tracking parameters and analytics or CRM configuration.
A click count does not prove that a person completed a visit or conversion. Mailchimp cautions that automated bot activity can inflate clicks, while HubSpot notes that cookie blocking can affect contact source information. Mailchimp’s click-tracking troubleshooting guidance and HubSpot’s traffic-source property documentation describe these limitations.
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| What you need to measure | Mailchimp | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Email link clicks | Campaign reports show tracked URL performance, including total and unique clicks and recipient activity. Click tracking must be enabled. Mailchimp email reports | Marketing email reports include click rate, top-clicked links, an HTML click map, and recipient-level engagement. HubSpot email performance reports |
| Website campaign attribution | Optional Google Analytics tracking can pass campaign-link data to Google Analytics. Purchase tracking requires analytics conversion tracking; a connected store can also send purchase data to Mailchimp. Mailchimp third-party tracking options | Tracking URLs add campaign parameters and can associate visits with campaign analytics when the destination page has HubSpot tracking code. HubSpot traffic analytics classifies email marketing traffic and uses UTM fields for campaign and email context. HubSpot tracking URLs and HubSpot traffic sources |
| Contact history | Reports show recipient engagement; store integrations can provide purchase details. The cited Mailchimp documentation does not establish an equivalent cross-channel traffic-source property model. | Original and Latest Traffic Source properties describe a contact’s first and most recent known interactions, with more detailed source values. They rely on tracked interactions and can be affected by cookies. HubSpot traffic-source properties |
| Plan and configuration | Enable email click tracking. Set up optional third-party analytics separately, and configure conversion tracking if you need downstream purchase reporting. | Tracking URLs require specified Professional or Enterprise subscriptions, with a listed legacy exception. Revenue attribution and some advanced email insights have additional subscription requirements. Check current plan access for the particular feature. |
How to track email referrals in Mailchimp
Measure clicks in the campaign report
- Before sending, confirm click tracking is enabled in the email’s tracking settings. Mailchimp describes how to add a link and use click tracking in its email link instructions.
- After the campaign is sent, open its email report and review tracked URL clicks, including total and unique clicks and recipient activity. See About Email Reports for the report details.
Attribute visits or purchases on the website
To connect link traffic with website analytics, configure Mailchimp’s optional Google Analytics tracking as well as the relevant analytics property. If you need purchase outcomes, set up conversion tracking in that analytics system or use an appropriate connected store integration. The click report by itself does not establish that a visit or purchase occurred. Mailchimp’s third-party tracking guide explains the separate setup.
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How to track email referrals in HubSpot
Review email engagement
Use the marketing email performance report for click rate, top-clicked links, the click map, and recipient engagement. Confirm the relevant open and click tracking settings before sending; HubSpot documents them in Manage marketing email open and click tracking.
Connect a link to campaign analytics
Create a tracking URL for the destination and campaign context you want to measure. HubSpot tracking URLs depend on HubSpot tracking code being present on the destination page. When configuring a URL, decide whether to preserve or replace tags already on the destination link, and confirm your subscription includes the feature before relying on it. HubSpot’s tracking URL guide covers setup and access requirements.
Use contact source properties for CRM context
Original Traffic Source and Latest Traffic Source can help show a contact’s first and most recent known source. They are contact-history properties, not a substitute for a campaign’s email click report, and their values depend on tracked activity and available cookies. See HubSpot’s explanation of traffic-source properties.
Choose based on the result you need
- Choose by reporting outcome: for clicks inside a message, compare the email reports. For visits or conversions, check whether your analytics and conversion setup can capture the outcome.
- Consider contact context: HubSpot documents original and latest traffic-source properties for CRM contact history. The cited Mailchimp materials focus on recipient activity and store-related purchase details.
- Account for setup and plan access: Mailchimp’s optional analytics tracking is separate from built-in email click reporting. HubSpot tracking URLs and some advanced reporting have subscription requirements.
- Validate the full path: send a controlled campaign to a test destination with distinct campaign tags, then compare the email click report with destination analytics. This checks whether the systems are recording the intended link and visit; it does not make either report a perfect record of human behavior.
Limits that can distort referral reports
Mailchimp
- Automated bot activity may falsely inflate clicks.
- Some links cannot be tracked, including
mailto:links and certain system merge-tag links. - Forwarded messages can make it harder to attribute activity to the original recipient.
See Mailchimp’s click-tracking troubleshooting guide for tracking limitations.
HubSpot
- Links to the same URL can be grouped in the click map even if their UTM parameters differ, limiting how separately they appear in that view.
- Cookie blocking and tracking settings can affect attribution and contact identification.
For email report details, see HubSpot’s marketing email performance guidance; for source-property caveats, see its traffic-source documentation.
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