When a visitor clicks on a link, LinkClicky captures the previous web page they came from (formally known as a referrer).
The problem with web referrers is they are not reliable. Some sources, like an email click, will have no referral.
In addition, referrals are not granular enough to tell you if you have multiple affiliate links on a page and which specific link was clicked. This is where a tag comes into play. An affiliate tag allows you to track which link was clicked. This information is then stored in LinkClicky’s system and available for reports. This allows you to know which link yields more clicks and more conversions.
The other useful feature of a tag is the ability to use instead of UTM parameters.
UTM parameters are a powerful method to track the source of clicks and conversions. Unfortunately, UTM parameters can make a once-clean affiliate link unsightly.
https://go.larryludwig.com/bluehost?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=firstcampaign
For certain services, like Email, which auto-append UTM codes it is fine. For any public-facing URLs tags is the preferred method.
So instead, you can add a tag to denote the source of a click. You can replace the previous link with the following:
https://go.larryludwig.com/bluehost/twitterfirst
By default, the forward slash ‘/’ denotes the separation of the merchant link and the tag.
A tag can contain any alphanumeric character (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) or dash (-) with any length up to 255 characters. Tags are case-insensitive and forced into lowercase when logged.
You can be as specific or detailed in your tags, and they are optional. You can track down to the specific button on a page or group clicks based on the section of your website. Your naming convention of tags is how you see fit.
However, some reserved tags have been created.
Reserved Tags
- ml — mailing list (no redirection page)
- podcast — For use with podcasts (no redirection page)
- yt — YouTube (no redirection page)
- fb — Facebook (no redirection page)
- social — Social media (no redirection page)
- qr — For use with QR Codes
- nr — no redirection page
If any of the tags start with any of these entries, the redirection page will not display.
For example, a link added to a YouTube video description:
https://go.larryludwig.com/bluehost/yt-myvideo
It will not show the redirection page, but all other tracking will function normally. There are use cases in which showing the redirection page only slows down and interrupts the visitor wanting to buy the brand’s product.