{"id":1505,"date":"2021-05-28T11:22:23","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T11:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/piar.io\/blog\/?p=1505"},"modified":"2021-05-28T11:44:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T11:44:10","slug":"how-to-track-clicks-on-a-link","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/piar.io\/blog\/how-to-track-clicks-on-a-link\/","title":{"rendered":"How to track clicks on a link using Google Analytics and Link Trackers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you share a link on social media or in the ad, you need to understand how people interact with your website or content. Otherwise, you might end up spending money on ads or landing pages that bring you zero conversions. That\u2019s why you should use <\/span>tracking links<\/span> whenever you use URLs in your marketing activities. We\u2019ll walk you through <\/span>how to track clicks on a link.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a tracking link<\/span><\/h2>\n

A tracking link is a special kind of link that can track your original link. It shows you how many times your link was clicked and gets you the demographic information \u2014 location, time, browser, and device. Each tracking link is unique and belongs to the specific campaign. That\u2019s what helps identify the source. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a marketer or a publisher, you need <\/span>tracking links<\/span> to track any marketing activity as blog posts, Facebook posts, email advertising, or digital ads. With tracking, you\u2019ll be able to see how much traffic you receive, identify the most effective sources, and what marketing channels are actually working. For example, you can see how many people clicked your link from Twitter on an organic post that was a part of your Christmas marketing campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

How URL Tracking Works <\/span><\/h2>\n

Link tracking<\/span> helps marketers a lot, but it doesn\u2019t affect the user; the whole process happens in the background and is instantaneous. First, a user clicks a tracking link, and the connection passes through a tracking service. It logs information about the click and forwards the user\u2019s browser to the final destination.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Link tracking is the most reliable way to track the links you share. It\u2019s based on redirects, so the number of clicks is accurate. If you choose to track them using cookies, you\u2019ll get lower numbers if your visitors\u2019 browsers block cookies by AdBlock and the like. Because of that, some visits can be invisible to Google Analytics so that redirects can offer more precise numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you want to know how many people from the USA clicked on a link in your tweet, you need to choose a link tracker. Twitter offers their own analytics tool that track click on Twitter, but chances are you have at least a couple of social networks, landing pages, and a website. So, using a link tracker will provide you with all your data in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Link tracker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A URL tracker is a service that logs information about the time of the click, device, browser, type of device, and location. It can help you manage your links, make them pretty, test different ads, and so much more. Further, we\u2019ll share link trackers you can choose from and show you how to use one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use the influencers campaign, the link tracker will show if it\u2019s a working strategy for you. Using a link tracker can save your money on marketing activities by directing your resources to provide maximum results whether you work at an agency or a small business. Another way to use a URL tracker is to redirect your users. For example, you could set up advanced redirect features and redirect users based on their location. If you have a visitor from Spain, the link tracker will redirect them to your Spanish website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the tracking is possible thanks to UTM trackers. UTM trackers or UTM parameters are short pieces of code added to the end of your link. They contain information on where this link is shared and its purpose. This way, it helps you recognize traffic and clicks from a specific post or a campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a link with UTM parameters that come after the question mark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can add UTM parameters manually, use Google Campaign Builder tool or URL builders within link trackers. We\u2019ll show how to do it on Google Analytics, as most builders follow the same structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to track clicks on a link in Google Analytics<\/span><\/h2>\n

Does Google Analytics track only Google Ads? It tracks them automatically, and if you want to track your other marketing campaigns, you\u2019ll need custom URLs to track your data. You can do it thanks to UTM parameters. <\/span><\/p>\n

UTM parameters or tags are special identifier tags added to the end of a link. They sync with your Google Analytics account and help track traffic or advertising sources in Google Analytics. If you add them to a <\/span>tracking link<\/span> to, say, a Facebook post, you\u2019ll see conversions and visits tied to that specific post instead of just seeing traffic from Facebook overall. You can set them up by filling a single form. Here\u2019s how it looks like:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Campaign URL Builder lets you add campaign parameters to an URL. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are URL Builders for websites that will track data in Google Analytics, and also Builders for Google Play or AppStore. You can set it up in the Campaign URL Builder<\/a> by adding UTM parameters such as utm_source, utm_medium to the URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go over these fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Website URL<\/strong> is the address of the link you want to track. <\/li>
  2. Campaign source<\/strong> tells Google Analytics where clicks are coming from. Here you specify where you share your link, for example, on LinkedIn<\/a>. Once the link is clicked, you\u2019ll see that your site has visitors from LinkedIn. Choose the name of the platform or service you\u2019re using, for example, \u2018mailchimp\u2019 for emails sent using Mailchimp.<\/li>
  3. Campaign medium<\/strong> is the specific type of medium that\u2019s generating traffic. For example, it can be a paid advertisement or a Facebook post. Typical examples are cpc, email, social, video, or even quora-answer. <\/li>
  4. Campaign name<\/strong> helps you identify your campaigns in Google Analytics, so be sure to create names that don\u2019t look the same.<\/li>
  5. Campaign term<\/strong> is for the keyword you use to target your ad.<\/li>
  6. Campaign content<\/strong> works mainly for ads. You can add here tags to differentiate between different ads leading to the same page. Google will automatically tag your advertising campaigns if you connect your Google Analytics and Google AdWords accounts.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Once you add all the parameters, the link should look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    An example of a tracking link with added UTM parameters.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some best practices to make the most of the UTM parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n