Tracking Domain

A tracking domain is a subdomain of your own website (like track.yourdomain.com) that GoodPostal uses for open pixels, click redirects, and view-in-browser links, so every URL in your email carries your brand.

Do You Need One?

It comes down to one question: who hosts your unsubscribe page? If GoodPostal has to host it, you need a tracking domain, and campaign sending is blocked until it is verified.

• Never needed for Postmark and Mailtrap. They host unsubscribe themselves.
• Always needed for generic SMTP and the Mailgun free plan. Neither can host an unsubscribe page, so GoodPostal does.
• Depends on your setup for Amazon SES, SendGrid, paid Mailgun, and SMTP2GO. These can host unsubscribe, but only once GoodPostal has configured it on your account. If you declined the automatic setup step, or automatic setup could not finish, GoodPostal hosts unsubscribe instead and you need a tracking domain. The message GoodPostal shows after connecting tells you which way it went.

If a campaign is blocked and you would rather not add a tracking domain, go to Configure > Email Providers, open the connection, and use Re-configure webhooks to let GoodPostal try the automatic setup again.

A tracking domain is worth having anyway. It fills gaps like click tracking on Mailtrap's free plan, and it keeps every link in your email on a domain you own.

Setup Steps

1. 1

   Pick a subdomain

   Something like track.yourdomain.com or email.yourdomain.com. Use a subdomain of the same domain you send from.
2. 2

   Add it in GoodPostal

   Go to Configure > Tracking Domain and enter the subdomain. GoodPostal shows you the exact DNS records to add.
3. 3

   Add the DNS records

   At your DNS provider, add the CNAME record shown (plus the TXT ownership record). If you are using a root domain that cannot take a CNAME, point an A record at the same IP address the CNAME target resolves to; GoodPostal accepts that too.
4. 4

   Verify

   Click Verify in GoodPostal. Verification checks the CNAME and confirms the TXT ownership proof. DNS changes usually appear within minutes but can take up to 48 hours to propagate.
5. 5

   Wait for HTTPS

   Once your records verify, GoodPostal provisions and renews the HTTPS certificate for your tracking domain automatically. It usually takes a minute or two, and there is nothing to install on your side.

What Runs Through It

• Open tracking pixels
• Click redirects (links are wrapped, then forwarded)
• View-in-browser links
• GoodPostal-hosted unsubscribe pages, where applicable

Troubleshooting

• Verification fails on DNS - Confirm the CNAME points exactly at the target shown on the setup page and give propagation time. A typo in the subdomain is the most common cause.
• Certificate setup fails - GoodPostal tells you the reason on the setup page. The usual causes are an IPv6 (AAAA) record that does not point at us, a CAA record on your domain that does not allow Let's Encrypt to issue, or a proxy in front of the hostname that intercepts /.well-known/acme-challenge/. Fix the cause and press Retry.
• You already serve HTTPS on that hostname - That is fine. If the hostname already answers over HTTPS when you verify, GoodPostal records it as externally served and issues nothing. Keeping the certificate valid stays yours in that case.
• Campaign blocked asking for a tracking domain - GoodPostal is hosting your unsubscribe page, which needs one. Complete verification and the campaign unblocks; your draft is kept as-is. Alternatively, re-configure webhooks on the connection so your sending service takes over unsubscribe instead.

Next Steps

• See what the tracking feeds into
• How provider webhooks report events