Redirect links are the various links that you use in your marketing to send people to a destination URL you've put into Tracker.ly. 


Tracker.ly currently supports six types of redirect links:


  1. Keyword links on your existing web sites:
    These are very high converting redirect links, which should be used when people see the links, such as in emails or blog posts. They are high converting because they don't look like a tracking link, they are endorsed by your site, which people know and trust if they are familiar with your brand, and they have keywords that indicate where people are going. The combination of these increase people's trust that the link is safe to click on. They also get picked up by search engines, which can improve your ranking.

    Each plan comes with a different number of spots for setting up your existing web sites for these types of links, and you can add more to any plan for $5/month/domain. The first time you create one of these on a new web site, you will need to run a quick setup with our automated installer. You will need your FTP information ready to enter into the installer to begin.

  2. Keyword links on domains you point to us:
    These are exactly the same as keyword links on your websites, except they are on a secondary domain that is pointed to us from the domain registrar where you purchased the domain. Tracker.ly is unique in that you can take the domain back to put on a website with FTP, and your links will keep working. If you do not have a site, this is a better option than short links as they will convert better.
  3. Domain redirects:
    These are the highest converting redirect links, and very memorable and easy to share. Buy a domain and set it up to be dedicated as a single redirect link, such as buying BestTrackingService.com to redirect to your Tracker.ly affiliate link. You can buy as many domains as you like and use them as domain redirects in Tracker.ly, according to your plan.
  4. Short links:
    Like bit.ly links, we have two domains, twe.to (Tweet To) and klk.to (Click To). These are good for when you have limited space to put a link in, or when you need tracking links for services where people will not see the links, such as when doing pay-per-click advertising.
  5. Short links on short domains you point to us:
    These give you branding that matches your brand, which makes you look rather professional and can increase conversions if you must use short links where people can see them.
  6. QR Codes:
    These are the square bar codes you see in print. You open a QR code reader app on your smart phone, point it to the QR code, and it will automatically take you to the destination without typing in a URL.


(To setup any of your custom domains, please see the documentation on that elsewhere in here.)


You have the choice to create one redirect link for each destination, which you use all the time, or to create multiple redirects for each destination. In the second scenario, you can create a unique redirect for each marketing effort, so you can easily track the effectiveness of each marketing message.


To create a new redirect:

Click the "New" button in the header and then the "Redirect" button in the sub-menu.


Alternatively, you can:

  1. On the home page of the wizard, click the "Add New Redirect Link" button in the "Redirect Links" section.
  2. On the "Manage Destination" screen in the wizard, click the "Add Redirect" button, to create one for that destination
  3. In the destinations report, hover over a destination, and click the "Add Redirect" button to create one for that destination.
  4. In the redirects report, hover over an existing redirect link, and click the "Make a copy and edit it" button, to create a copy with all the same settings and groups.


All of those will bring you to this screen:



(Note, these are showing my domains. You will have your own unique list of your own web sites, which will not include the ones shown above.)


Only the follow information is required:

  1. Reference Name
    This is a human-friendly name for the redirect link to help you to search for it, and recognize this link in the reports.

  2. Keywords
    If you select the "Branded Keyword Redirect", you will need to select a domain and enter in keywords. The combination of the domain and keywords will need to be a correctly formatted URL. Keywords also cannot contain the dash (-) character, as that is reserved for a special case, which is described elsewhere. You can also use extensions like "page.html" or "image.jpg". Or, you can use just a path without an extension, which I recommend, like "recommends/trackerly". You can use folders (like "recommends") that don't exist on your site to make your links more human friendly, or to add extra keywords, but remember, this is the link you're sending out, so you probably want it to be relatively short. The final thing to note, is if the keywords path matches an actual valid destination on your site, that destination will get loaded, not the one in Tracker.ly.


After you enter in the reference name, select the type of redirect link you want to create. The rest of the form will change to match what is required for that type of redirect link. If you have setup any of your web sites for keyword redirect links, they will appear in the form. If you have a lot of domains setup, you can search for them using the text box at the top of the domain list.


Optionally, you can add:


  1. Custom Groups
    Here you can organize your redirect links however you like, to describe how you are sending people to a destination.  (This is a different list than the groups for destinations.) For instance, you could create a group called "broadcast emails", or "PPC ads", or "Ebooks", and also groups, like the name of the broadcast email list, the PPC network, or the name of the ebook.

    Then if you were to use unique redirect links for each link in an ebook, only used in that ebook, you could then use the report filters to only see traffic coming from all ebooks grouped in "Ebooks", or only from a specific ebook. Or you could compare the traffic coming through one group to another, to see which ebook is more effective at sending traffic out.

    To add an existing group, type it in, and any matching groups will appear for you to select, which you can do with the arrows and "tab" to select, or with a mouse. Once a group is assigned, you can remove it by clicking the x on the right side of it. 


On the next screen, you can enter optional information about the new redirect link: 




None of it is required.

  1. Marketing Type
    If you're using this redirect link only once, and creating other redirect links for other times you are marketing the same destination, enter the marketing type here so you can filter by marketing type and compare marketing types in the reports. You can alternatively use custom groups, so this is quite optional.

  2. Type Details

    Here you can enter in some information for yourself to specify the details of the first use type. So, for example, if you create several tracking links with the first use type of "Offline", you might then enter in type details of "business card" on one, "poster" on another, etc. 

  3. Notes
    Enter in any notes you like to help you remember information about this redirect link.


On the next screen, you will pick the destination you want to send this redirect link to. This third screen will only appear if we don't already know. So, if you were managing a destination, and create a new redirect link for that destination, we already know and won't ask you again. 


If you haven't already created a destination, you will be asked to add a destination, and then you'll return to this screen. 


If you have a lot of destinations, you can quickly find the one you are looking for by using the "Text Search" or by clicking the "Find by Group" button. With the group option, you'll see a list of all your custom groups and how many redirect links are in each. Click one, and it will show only the redirect links in that group. Return to the "Find by Group" and click "All groups combined" to see all your redirect links again.




You have three options for setting the destination:


1) Single Destination:

Select a single destination you want to point this redirect link to and click the "Save" button. When you do, you will be taken to the "Manage Redirect Link" page where you have access to advanced settings.




2) New Split-Test:

Or, you can select multiple destinations to create a split-test. You can keep clicking the "Add Destination" button to add new destinations. When do this, the "Save" button will change to a "Create Split-Test" button, and when you click it, you will go to the pages to setup your split-test, giving it a name, and setting the type.




3) Existing Split-Test:

Or, if you already have a split-test created, you can click the "My Split-Tests" button to select an existing split-test and assign this redirect link as a new traffic source for that split-test. It's disabled in the above screen shots, as I don't have any active split-tests setup yet on this test account.