From that menu you can select a specific type of vendor or npc to look for or you can select a specific tracking type if your character has tracking.

Patch 2.3.0 (): 'All players now have a tracking bubble on their minimap.

Patch 2.4.2 (): 'Mailboxes can now be tracked on the minimap.'.

Patch 2.4.3 (): 'Fixed an issue where players could have two minimap tracking types active at the same time.'.

Patch 3.0.2 (): New tracking option: Low Level Quests.

Patch 3.3.3 (): 'If a players selects Track Low Level Quests, the quest objectives will no longer appear dim on the Map, nor will the exclamation points appear dim over NPC heads or on the Mini-Map.'.

Patch 4.0.1 (): Players can now track more than one thing at a time.

During very early alpha, Tracking was intended as a secondary profession.

You can also see the name of the mob (or player/pet) if you mouseover the dot on the minimap, which for instance makes finding one specific mob in a group of mobs easier. Just keep monitoring the mini-map while switching frequently between tracking modes to find the most aggro free escape route. Tracking is also useful if one has to beat a hasty retreat to a rearward fortification for safety's sake. For instance, in an area populated by both beast and humanoid mobs, the hunter can switch between beast and humanoid tracking, and stay aware of where ~95% of the mobs are in his general vicinity. Tracking can be used in a variety of ways to enhance the hunter's situational awareness. When a mob-tracking ability is activated, every creature that fits the classification selected shows up on the mini-map as a labeled dot, color-coded to its friendliness (green) or hostility (red). At advancing levels, the hunter can learn to track Beasts, Humanoids, the Undead, Hidden foes, Elementals, Demons, Giants, and Dragonkin. The ability to track the mobs in World of Warcraft is usually the sole bailiwick of the hunter, although other classes have limited tracking capabilities as well.

- Enables player to track beasts for 1 hour.

- Enables player to track giants for 1 hour.

- Enables player to track humanoids for 1 hour.

- Enables player to track demons for 1 hour.

- Enables engineers to track gas clouds.

World quests not tracking