Total interactions
The total number of eligible clicks or dynamic QR scans recorded for the tracked short URL.
Evidence-based measurement
Link Analytics for Short URLs and QR Codes
Understand how tracked links perform with click and dynamic QR scan totals, unique interactions, location signals, devices, browsers, referrers, and activity over time—all tied to the short links you manage.
Clicks and unique interactions
Countries and cities
Browsers and platforms
Referrers and direct traffic
Dynamic QR scans
Date-based reports
Analytics overview
Measure the redirect, then read the pattern
Link analytics begins when a person opens a tracked TheShortener URL. An eligible redirect records an event, increments the link counters, and makes the event available to account reports. The result is aggregate reporting about engagement—not complete visitor identification.
Viktigt:
Analytics recording can depend on platform tracking settings, anti-flood handling, account status, monthly analytics limits, plan retention, and whether the request is eligible to be recorded. A short link can continue redirecting after an analytics limit is reached.
Supported metrics
What a tracked event can tell you
Reports combine link-level counters with event-level fields. Unknown or unavailable request data can appear as empty, direct, or unclassified values.
Unique interactions
A separate lifetime counter based on whether the link has previously recorded the same visitor IP value.
Activity over time
Charts and activity views group recorded events by date, with preset periods and custom date filtering in supported reports.
Country and city
Approximate location categories inferred from request location data when lookup information is available.
Platform and browser
Aggregate browser plus operating-system or device categories detected from the incoming request.
Browser language
A two-letter language signal derived from the browser Accept-Language request header when present.
Referrer
The referring URL and domain when supplied by the browser, with missing information grouped as direct traffic.
Recent activity
Individual recorded events can be reviewed with their time and available dimensions, subject to access and retention.
Two counters, two different questions
Total interactions answer “How many eligible visits were recorded?” Unique interactions answer “How many new visitor IP values has this link recorded?” They are useful together, but unique does not mean a verified person.
- A configurable anti-flood cookie suppresses immediate repeat recording in the same browser.
- The unique counter checks the link history for the same raw or HMAC-hashed IP value.
- Shared networks, changing IP addresses, blocked cookies, and privacy tools can affect the relationship between visitors and unique counts.
See where recorded activity is grouped
Country and city reports aggregate the location values available for each tracked request. This can help compare regions for a campaign, choose where to promote next, or notice when an offline QR placement reaches a new area.
Location is approximate and can be affected by VPNs, mobile networks, proxies, unavailable lookup data, or privacy routing. It should not be presented as a visitor’s exact location.
Technology and traffic source
Compare how people arrive and what they use
Devices and operating systems
Platform reports group the operating-system or device classification detected by the application, helping you compare broad technical audiences without claiming to identify a specific device owner.
Browsers and languages
Browser categories and the browser’s leading language signal can reveal compatibility and localization priorities. Values depend on the headers provided by the visitor’s browser.
Referrers and direct traffic
Referrer reports group recorded source URLs and domains. Browsers and apps often omit referrers, so “direct” can include email, private messaging, typed URLs, or privacy-restricted traffic.
Performance over time
Filter activity around the dates that matter
Time-series reports group recorded events by day or month. Preset windows and custom date ranges make it possible to compare a launch period, an event, a printed campaign, or ongoing traffic without changing the destination URL.
Reporting history is not unlimited by default. Account-plan retention can remove older event rows during scheduled maintenance, and exports only include data that remains available when the export runs.
A practical reporting workflow
- 1.Choose the tracked link or campaign you want to evaluate.
- 2.Set a preset or custom reporting period.
- 3.Compare totals with location, technology, and source breakdowns.
- 4.Export available event data when your account has export permission.
Measure dynamic QR journeys through a short URL
A dynamic account QR code can point to an underlying TheShortener short URL. When someone scans it and opens that URL, the redirect uses the same analytics fields as a tracked link, while the interface labels the totals as scans and unique scans.
Static QR codes are different: the destination is encoded directly in the image, so TheShortener does not receive a redirect request and cannot record the scan.
Explore static and dynamic QR codesOrganize links, then carry campaign tags forward
Campaigns group managed links and provide aggregate reporting across those links. Channels provide another way to organize items. Eligible accounts can also save custom destination parameters or reusable templates for utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, and utm_content.
TheShortener appends those parameters during redirect. Your destination analytics tool is responsible for interpreting the UTM values and any resulting conversions.
Create and organize short linksUse aggregate link metrics in an authenticated workflow
The authenticated link API can return total clicks, unique clicks, top countries, browsers, operating-system categories, referrers, and selected social-source counts for a link. Access depends on API availability, account features, key permissions, and endpoint scopes.
CSV export can provide retained event rows with fields such as date, city, country, OS, browser, referrer, and language when the account has export permission.
Read the developer API documentationUse aggregate signals with clear limits
Analytics records request-derived technical and location fields. The platform supports HMAC hashing of visitor IP values when the administrator enables IP hashing; otherwise the stats pipeline can store the request IP value. Link owners should treat all reporting as sensitive account data.
- Do not use approximate location or technical categories to claim precise visitor identity.
- Expect missing values when browsers, apps, or privacy tools withhold request data.
- Plan-specific retention can remove older analytics events on the scheduled cleanup cycle.
Use cases
Who benefits from link analytics?
Marketers
Compare campaign links, referrers, regions, and UTM-tagged destination traffic across launch periods.
Creators
Learn which shared links attract activity and which audience technology or source categories appear most often.
Retail and events
Use dynamic QR codes on printed material and compare recorded scans by date and approximate location.
Teams and agencies
Group client or project links into campaigns, review aggregate patterns, and export retained event data when permitted.
How it works
From destination URL to useful report
Skapa
Save a destination as a managed short link or create a dynamic QR code that uses an underlying short URL.
Aktie
Publish the short link or QR code in the channel where your intended audience can use it.
Record
Eligible redirect activity increments counters and creates an event with the available request-derived fields.
Review
Use link, campaign, date, location, technology, and source views to guide the next sharing decision.
Frequently asked questions
Link analytics questions, answered accurately
What is link analytics?
Link analytics is the measurement of activity generated when people open a tracked short URL. TheShortener records an analytics event during an eligible redirect and groups those events into reports for the link owner.
What can TheShortener track?
Tracked events can include the event time, country, city, browser, operating-system or device classification, browser language, and referrer. Reports also show total and unique interactions. Availability and history depend on platform settings, account permissions, and plan limits.
What is the difference between total clicks and unique interactions?
Total clicks count recorded interactions. A unique interaction is counted when the link has not previously recorded the same visitor IP value. The platform can store that value as an HMAC hash when IP hashing is enabled. A short anti-flood cookie also prevents immediate repeat activity from creating another event.
Can I see visitor countries and cities?
Yes, when location lookup succeeds for a tracked request. Country and city values are inferred from request location data and may be missing or approximate, so they should be used as directional reporting rather than precise visitor identification.
Can I identify devices, browsers, and operating systems?
Reports group tracked events by browser and by the platform operating-system or device classification detected from the request. These are aggregate technical categories, not a complete identity for an individual visitor.
Can I see referring websites?
Yes, when the browser sends a referrer. TheShortener stores the referrer and its domain for tracked events. Visits without usable referrer information appear as direct or otherwise unattributed traffic.
Can QR code scans be measured?
Dynamic account QR codes that route through a TheShortener short URL use the same analytics pipeline and are presented as scans. Static QR codes encode their destination directly and do not create tracked scan events in TheShortener.
Can I use UTM parameters with shortened URLs?
Yes, eligible accounts can save custom parameters or reusable UTM templates and append them to the destination during redirect. The destination analytics platform interprets those UTM values; TheShortener does not present them as conversion attribution.
Are analytics available in real time?
The application records eligible analytics during redirect processing, so new activity can appear without a separate batch import. TheShortener does not promise a guaranteed real-time delivery interval, and reporting can be affected by caching, limits, filters, or processing conditions.
Can analytics be accessed through an API or exported?
When API access is enabled for an account, the authenticated link endpoint can return click totals, unique totals, and selected aggregate breakdowns. CSV event exports are also available to accounts with export permission. API scopes, plan features, and retention rules apply.
Create a short link you can measure
Start with a managed link, share it with your audience, and use the analytics available to your account to make the next campaign more informed.