How to Track App Installs from Email Campaigns

The email tracking gap

You send an email campaign. It has a button that says "Download on the App Store." Some percentage of your subscribers click it. Some percentage of those people install your app. Some percentage of those become paying users.

You know exactly how many people opened the email. You know how many clicked the button. But the moment they leave your email and land on the App Store, you lose them. You have no idea how many of those clicks became installs, or how much revenue those installs generated.

This is the email tracking gap. Your ESP (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Resend, whatever you use) tracks everything up to the click. The App Store tracks nothing useful back to the email. And you're left with a gap in the middle where the most important conversion happens: the install.

Email is one of several channels where per-link tracking solves this. For the broader walkthrough across all channels, see the guide on tracking app installs with links.

Why the App Store doesn't help

You might think App Store Connect would show you installs from email. It does show "Web Referrer" as a source, but that's as granular as it gets. You'll see installs from "mail.google.com" or "outlook.com" aggregated together. You won't see:

• Which email campaign drove those installs
• Which email segment performed best
• Whether your onboarding sequence email outperformed your launch announcement
• How much revenue each campaign generated

Google Play is slightly better with campaign parameters, but you still won't get per-email or per-segment data without additional tooling.

The fix: one tracking link per campaign

The solution is straightforward. Instead of linking directly to the App Store, you link to a tracking URL. That URL redirects to the correct store (iOS or Android) while recording the click. When the user installs your app, the SDK matches the install back to that click.

Here's how it works in practice:

• Create a tracking link in Instally for each email campaign (e.g., instally.io/app/welcome-series, instally.io/app/launch-email)
• Use that link as the download button URL in your email
• When a subscriber clicks, Instally records the click and redirects them to the App Store or Google Play depending on their device
• When they install and open the app, the Instally SDK matches the install to the click
• If you've connected RevenueCat, Stripe, or another provider, revenue is tied back to the same link

Now you can see exactly how many installs (and how much revenue) each email generated.

Setting it up

Step 1: Create tracking links for your campaigns

In the Instally dashboard, create a new link for each email campaign or segment you want to track separately. Name them clearly so you can distinguish them later:

Link slug	Used in
welcome-day-3	Welcome sequence, day 3 email
welcome-day-7	Welcome sequence, day 7 email
launch-april	April launch announcement
newsletter-weekly-15	Weekly newsletter #15
winback-30d	30-day win-back campaign

Each link gets a unique URL like instally.io/app/welcome-day-3.

Step 2: Integrate the SDK

If you haven't already integrated the Instally SDK, it takes about 5 minutes. The SDK handles install matching on the device side.

Swift example:

import Instally

@main
struct YourApp: App {
    init() {
        Instally.configure(appId: "YOUR_APP_ID", apiKey: "your_api_key")
    }

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .task {
                    try? await Instally.trackInstall()
                }
        }
    }
}

Kotlin example:

import io.instally.sdk.Instally

class MyApp : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        Instally.configure(this, "your_api_key")
        Instally.trackInstall()
    }
}

For a full walkthrough, see our iOS integration guide or Android integration guide.

Step 3: Replace your email links

In your email template, swap the App Store / Google Play links for your Instally tracking links. Since Instally links detect the user's device and redirect to the correct store, you only need one link in the email instead of separate iOS and Android buttons.

Before:

<a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/your-app/id123456789">
  Download on the App Store
</a>
<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourapp">
  Get it on Google Play
</a>

After:

<a href="https://instally.io/app/launch-april">
  Download the app
</a>

One link. Both platforms. Fully tracked.

Step 4: Connect revenue tracking (optional)

To see revenue per email campaign, connect your billing provider. If you use RevenueCat, add the Instally webhook URL to your RevenueCat integrations:

• Go to RevenueCat dashboard > Integrations > Webhooks
• Add webhook URL: https://api.instally.io/webhooks/revenuecat
• Add header X-Instally-Api-Key with your API key
• Select events: INITIAL_PURCHASE, RENEWAL, PRODUCT_CHANGE

For Stripe, the process is similar. See our Stripe integration guide or RevenueCat integration guide for full setup steps.

What you'll see in the dashboard

Once your email campaigns are running with tracking links, your dashboard shows a table like this:

Campaign	Clicks	Installs	Conv. Rate	Revenue	Rev/Install
Welcome series (day 3)	1,240	310	25.0%	$1,116	$3.60
Welcome series (day 7)	890	178	20.0%	$712	$4.00
Launch announcement	3,400	510	15.0%	$1,530	$3.00
Weekly newsletter #15	620	62	10.0%	$124	$2.00
30-day win-back	440	88	20.0%	$528	$6.00

From a table like this you can see some useful things immediately. The welcome series has the highest conversion rate, which makes sense because subscribers are most engaged in the first week. The win-back campaign has the highest revenue per install because those users already understand the product and convert to paid faster. The weekly newsletter has the lowest conversion rate, probably because those subscribers already have the app installed.

Without tracking, you'd know none of this. You'd see "1,200 clicks" in Mailchimp and have no idea what happened next.

Segmenting further

You can create as many tracking links as you want on paid plans, so you can go deeper than per-campaign tracking. Some ideas:

Per segment: Create separate links for different subscriber segments. Does your "power user" segment convert better than your "free trial" segment? Per CTA placement: If your email has multiple download buttons (hero section, mid-content, footer), use a different tracking link for each to see which placement converts best. A/B test emails: If your ESP supports A/B testing, use different tracking links for each variant. Now you're testing beyond open rates and click rates: you're testing which variant drives more installs. Per email in a sequence: If you run a drip campaign, give each email its own tracking link. You'll see which touchpoint in the sequence is responsible for the most installs.

Handling subscribers who already have the app

One thing you'll notice: some email subscribers will click your download link even though they already have the app installed. Depending on the device and OS, they'll either be redirected to the App Store page (where it shows "Open" instead of "Get") or be redirected into the app directly via a universal link.

This is normal and doesn't pollute your install data. Instally only counts a new install when the SDK's trackInstall function is called for the first time on a device. Repeat opens don't count as installs.

Tips for email-to-install campaigns

A few things we've learned from working with developers who track email campaigns:

Keep the CTA simple. "Download the app" converts better than "Download on the App Store and Google Play." Since the tracking link handles platform detection, one button is cleaner than two. Put the download CTA above the fold. Email subscribers who are interested in your app will click early. Burying the download button below three paragraphs of text costs you conversions. Track your welcome sequence. The highest-converting email for app installs is almost always the welcome email or early onboarding sequence. If you're not tracking installs from those emails, you're missing your best-performing content. Use the data to cut what doesn't work. If your weekly newsletter drives almost zero installs, maybe stop including the download button (or test a different placement). Focus your energy on the emails that actually convert.

FAQ

Do I need a different tracking link for every single email?

Not necessarily. You need a different link for each campaign or segment you want to measure separately. If you send a weekly newsletter and only care about performance at the newsletter level, one link is fine. If you want to compare individual issues, create one per issue.

Will this work with any email service provider?

Yes. Instally tracking links are standard URLs. They work in Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Resend, Sendgrid, Postmark, Customer.io, or any other ESP. If you can put a link in an email, it works.

Does the tracking link look spammy to email clients?

No. Instally links are hosted on instally.io, a clean domain with no spam history. They won't trigger spam filters any more than a regular URL would.

How do I handle iOS and Android in the same email?

You don't have to. Instally links detect the user's device and redirect to the correct store automatically. One link handles both platforms.

Can I see which country my installs came from?

Yes. The dashboard shows geographic breakdowns per link, so you can see which countries your email subscribers are installing from.

What if a subscriber clicks the link but doesn't install for a few days?

Instally matches installs to clicks that happen within a reasonable timeframe. Most email-driven installs happen within minutes of the click, so match rates for email campaigns tend to be very high.

---

Email campaigns are one of the highest-converting channels for app installs, but only if you can measure them. Stop guessing how many subscribers become users. Create a tracking link, drop it in your email, and see exactly what happens after the click.