What Is the “Settings for Email Opens” in Marketo?

In Marketo, the "Settings for Email Opens" (also referred to as Email Open Tracking at Campaign Level) in the Admin section determines how Marketo counts email opens, either per campaign or per unique individual, giving admins control over how engagement is attributed.

How Does It Work?

Marketo uses this setting to distinguish between two tracking behaviors:

• Enabled: Each open is tracked separately for every campaign. So if the same lead receives the same email in multiple campaigns, each open is counted individually.

• Disabled: Open tracking is consolidated by the unique person. Only one open is counted per person, regardless of how many campaigns include the email.

Examples & Scenarios

Example 1: Reusing an Email Across Campaigns

• Campaign A sends an email to Lead X → lead opens the email → counts as 1 open.

• Campaign B sends the same email again to Lead X → lead opens it again.

  • If Enabled, Marketo records two separate opens (one per campaign).

  • If Disabled, only one open is counted (unique person).

Example 2: Multiple Opens in a Single Campaign

• Lead X opens the email several times within Campaign A.

  • Enabled or Disabled: Marketo typically treats repeated opens in the same campaign as just one open, unless configured otherwise.

Example 3: High-Frequency Recipients

If Lead Y frequently appears in multiple campaigns, an Enabled configuration might inflate engagement metrics by double-counting the same person’s actions. On the other hand, Disabled gives you a clearer view of unique reach.

Why This Matters

Campaign-Level Attribution

• Use Enabled when you need granular attribution, especially useful if the same email template is reused across multiple campaigns and you want to understand performance in each one.

Preventing Metric Inflation

• Use Disabled for more conservative reporting. It ensures you're measuring unique opens per lead, reducing skew from overexposure or repeated sends.

Reporting Consistency

• Consistency across campaigns helps keep dashboards reliable. Switching types mid-flight can complicate trend analysis.

  
  

Tips for Marketers

• Align with Your Reporting Strategy: If comparing email performance across campaigns, Enabled helps. If prioritizing reach and unique engagement, go with Disabled.

• Use Combined Metrics: Email opens alone are fragile, enhance insights with stronger actions like link clicks, replies, or conversions.

• Consider Filtering Bot Activity: Opens can be triggered by scanners or proxies. Complement this setting with bot-filtering strategies for cleaner data.

Note that configuring this requires Admin permissions in Marketo, and the feature is primarily designed to manage how email open metrics are reported and segmented at the campaign level.