What is a Tracking Link & How to Create Them | Bitly

In layman's terms, a tracking link is a regular URL with tags added to the end. These tags, otherwise known as parameters, indicate where a ... SkipNavigation Getaquote Searchfor: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn LinkTrackingExplained Imagineyou’vejustbuiltalandingpage,createdanemailmarketingcampaign,orsentanewslettertoyoursubscribers.Thesemarketinginitiativesneedeasilyaccessiblelinksthatredirectyouraudiencetoaproductorservice. Tomakeyourfuturecommunicationsandinteractionssuccessful,youneedtoknowwhatlinksarebeingclicked.Enter‘linktracking’or‘URLtracking,’whichcanbedefinedastrackingwhat’sbeingclicked.  Businessestracklinkstoevaluatemarketingcampaignsuccessandrevealengagementstatistics.Inthisarticle,we’llanswerthequestion,‘whatisatrackingURL?’,explainhowtrackingURLswork,andoutlinetheusesandbenefitsoflinktrackingtools. WhatisaTrackingLink?  Trackinglinksareusedtomanageandmeasuretheeffectivenessandefficiencyofmarketingactivities,channels,andcampaigns.Werecommendusingatrackinglinkwheneveryousendtraffictoalandingpageorwebsitefromanexternalchannel.Thesechannelsincludebannerads,PPCcampaigns,email,andsocialmedia. Inlayman’sterms,atrackinglinkisaregularURLwithtagsaddedtotheend.Thesetags,otherwiseknownasparameters,indicatewhereavisitorcomesfrom,whatcontenttheyclickedthrough,andwhichcampaignthiscontentrelatesto. HowDoesaTrackingLinkWork? LinktrackingworksbyattachingadigitaltrackingcodetoaURLonyourwebsite.Thisparameterworkstotrackuseractivity(clicks/engagements)forthatspecificlinkonly.Everytrackinglinkisunique;therefore,thedatareportedonalinkrelatesonlytothatlink.Putanotherway,whenauserclicksonatrackinglink,theinformationisstoredinadifferentlocationthanclicksonnon-trackinglinks. TheBenefitsofTrackingLinks Trackinglinksenableyoutomeasureanadvertisingormarketingactivity’sexactimpactuponyourbusiness’sgrowth. Ifaretailerrunsasalespromotion,theymightseeabevyofnewcustomers.However,knowingwherethosecustomersarecomingfromiscrucialtounderstandingthesuccessofyourcampaign.Didthosecustomersfindthesalesorganically,fromasocialmediaad,orpay-per-clickadvertisement? Luckily,trackinglinksareahighlyeffectiveyetsimplewaytogleanthisinformation.  Usingtrackinglinkshelpsyoucalculatereturnoninvestment(ROI)withoutmanuallysearchingthroughanalyticaldatareportstoseehowmuchtrafficcomesfromasinglesource.  Additionally,byusingBitly,youcansavespaceonsocialmediaposts,trackemailmarketingcampaigns,andaccessallrelevantinformationfrommultiplesourcesintooneuser-friendlydashboard. TrackingURLs:Uses Howdoyouknowwhichtrafficisreachingyourwebsitefromsearchandwhichtrafficisadirectresultofyourmarketingactivities?Youusetrackedlinks. Imagineyou’veinvestedinaseriesofLinkedInadvertisements.Howcanyoutellhowmuchtraffictheadsarebringingtoyourwebsite? Whilewebsiteanalyticscanofferinsights,trackinglinkscantellyouexactlyhowmuchtraffictheLinkedInadbringstoyourwebsite.Usingthisinformation,youcandecidewhetherthismarketingactivityiscost-effectiveandprofitable.  Additionally,youcanusetrackinglinksto: Determinetheclick-throughratesofanemailmarketingpromotionTrackonlineadstoseehowmuchtraffictheygenerateTrackblogpoststoseewhichsocialmediapagesaregeneratingthemosttrafficIfyourwebsiteisbeingfeaturedonapodcast,pressrelease,orothermediafeature,atrackinglinkcanrevealhowmuchtrafficthispromotionalactivitygenerates SynergyforOnlineandOfflineMarketingActivity Withtrackinglinks,youcancreateadirectlinkbetweenonlineandofflinemarketingmethodsandanalyzeofflinecampaignresults.Whenexecutinganofflinemarketingcampaign,youcanaddatrackinglinktoyouradvertisementthatis100%uniquetothatofflinemarketingactivity. Forexample,ifyou’rearestaurantpublishinganewspaperadoffering20%offtonewcustomers,youcanusetheURL:http://www.yourrestaurant.com/news20 Bycreatingadedicatedlandingpageforthisad,youcantrackhowmanyusersviewandengagewiththeofflineadvertisingcampaign. HowtoCreateTrackingLinkswithBitly URLshorteningforlinktrackingpurposesisfastandstraightforwardwithBitly.  Tocreateacustomtrackinglink,followthesethreesteps: CopytheURLyouwanttosharefromyoursocialmediaaccount,website,oranyotherlocation.EntertheURLintotheBitlyplatform. Clickthe‘Shorten’button. AfteryouregisterforafreeBitlyaccount,youwillseetheoption‘CreateBitlylink’atourwebsite’stop.  Onceyouhaveshortenedalink,youcancustomizetheupdatedlinkandshareitacrossemail,SMS,print,socialmedia,andanywhereelsethatwillbolsteryourmarketingefforts.UsingyourdedicatedBitlyaccount,youcantrackthetotalnumberofclicks,wheretheycamefrom,andwhentheyvisited. GetstartedtodaytodiscoverthebenefitsofusingourfreeURLshortener. MoreResources Whatisbulklinkshortening? HowdoIintegrateBitlywithWordPress? AboutBitly Bitlyistheworld’sleadingLinkManagementPlatform.Businessesateverystageoftheirgrowthrelyonourbrandedshortlinksandpowerfulanalyticstooptimizetheircommunicationstrategies. Learnmore Signupforournewsletter Getourmostpopularcontentsentstraighttoyourinboxfromtheteambehindthescenes. Bysubmittingmyemail,IconsenttoBitlyemailingmemarketingcommunications.Imayoptoutatanytime.Bysigningup,IagreetoBitly'sTermsofService,PrivacyPolicy,andAcceptableUsePolicy. Thankyouforsubmitting! Thanksforconfirmingyouremail. ×