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Short link loses your UTM tags

Short links are redirects, and a redirect can drop UTM tags on the way. How to shorten a tagged link safely and check the final address keeps its tags.

SymptomVisits from a short link show as direct or referral, or the page loads without the tags you set.
Likely causeThe short link points at an untagged address, or a redirect along the way drops everything after the ?.
FixShorten the fully tagged address, then open the short link and check the final address still has every tag.

Short answer: A short link is a redirect: it sends the browser on to the long address you gave it. If that long address had no tags, or a redirect along the way rebuilds the address without them, the tags are lost. Shorten the fully tagged link, then open the short link and check the final address.

What is a short link?

Short link: a brief address, such as one from a link shortener or your own branded domain, that redirects to a longer address when someone opens it.

Redirect: the server's way of saying "go here instead". The browser then loads the new address. Anything not included in the new address is gone.

Short links are useful in bios, print, SMS and anywhere a long tagged link looks messy. The risk is that nobody can see what they point to without opening them.

Why do short links lose UTM tags?

Most often because the tags were never in the address that was shortened. Less often, a second redirect, such as http to https or a regional page, drops the query string on the way.

  • Shortened too early: someone shortened the plain page address, then shared the short link expecting it to carry tags.
  • Tags added to the short link: bit.ly/abc?utm_source=x only works if the shortener passes extra tags through, which you'd need to check.
  • Chains of redirects: the short link goes to http, which goes to https, which goes to a country page. Each hop must keep the tags.

Platforms warn about redirects too. Google says the gclid must be passed through to the final landing page, and X is reported to advise against redirects because they can strip its click ID.

Example

A short link that points at an untagged page:

https://bit.ly/oct-offer  →  https://example.com/offer

The fix is to shorten the tagged address instead:

https://bit.ly/oct-offer  →  https://example.com/offer?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=oct_offer

How to fix it

  1. Build the full tagged link first in the UTM builder.
  2. Paste the full link into the link checker and fix anything it flags.
  3. Shorten that full link, not the plain page address.
  4. Open the short link in a browser, wait for the page to load and copy the address from the address bar.
  5. Paste that final address into the checker. If the tags have gone, a redirect is dropping them. See http instead of https for one common cause.
  6. Use a separate short link for each place you share it, so each one can carry its own utm_source.

What about short links for apps?

A plain shortener can only send everyone to one address. For app campaigns that should open the app or the right store, deep linking tools such as Linkrunner, Branch or Airbridge create branded short links for that job. Whichever tool you use, run the same final-address check. See one link for both stores.

Related

Related problems

Links The link has more than one question markOnly the first ? starts the tracking part of a link, so a second ? turns the next tag into part of a value and it's lost.Links A link you're sharing contains an ad click IDClick IDs such as gclid and fbclid belong to one ad click, so copying them into a link you share ties every visitor to that one click.Links Campaign link uses http instead of httpsAn http link usually has to redirect to https, and each redirect is one more chance for tracking tags to be dropped.Links The campaign link has spaces in itA space isn't allowed in a web address, so links with spaces get cut short, encoded differently or split in two.

Check a link →

FAQ

Common questions

Can the link checker see where a short link goes?

No. It reads only the link you paste and doesn't follow redirects. Open the short link yourself and check the final address.

Should I add UTM tags to the short link or the long link?

To the long link, before you shorten it. Then the short link carries the tags without relying on the shortener to pass extra ones through.

Do short links hurt tracking on their own?

Not if they point at a tagged address and every redirect keeps it intact. The problem is that you can't see this from the short link, so check it once before the campaign goes live.

Why use a different short link for each channel?

Each short link points at one tagged address, with one `utm_source`. Reusing a short link across Instagram and email files both under the same source.

What are UTM parameters?

UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a link, such as utm_source and utm_campaign, that tell analytics tools where a visit came from. They let you see which campaign, channel and ad brought each visitor.

Which UTM parameters are required?

Use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign on every campaign link. utm_term and utm_content are optional and help you compare keywords or ad variants.