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Trackly SMS automatically tracks link clicks in your messages, providing insights into engagement and revenue attribution.

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How It Works

  1. URLs are shortened: Links in your messages become trackable short URLs
  2. Clicks are logged: When recipients click, we record the event
  3. Redirect happens: User is sent to the original destination
  4. Attribution flows: Clicks are linked to messages, offers, and revenue
Message: "Shop now: yourdomain.com/abc123"
                    ↓
            Contact clicks
                    ↓
            Click recorded
                    ↓
         Redirect to destination
                    ↓
         Revenue attributed (if conversion)
Tracking domains are configured per-account in Account Settings. There is no default shared domain — each account sets up its own tracking domain.

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What’s Tracked

Data PointDescription
Click timestampWhen the click occurred
Message IDWhich message was clicked
OfferWhich offer was linked
ContactWho clicked
IP addressFor bot detection
User agentBrowser/device info

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URL Format

Short links use your account’s configured tracking domain: 
yourdomain.com/abc123
yourbrand.link/def456
Tracking domains are configured per-account in Account Settings. Each account sets up its own domain. Each link gets a unique 7-character ID:
  • Randomly generated
  • Unique per message
  • Includes the offer binding
Messages can have multiple tracked links: 
"Clothing sale: {{link1}}
Electronics: {{link2}}"
Each link is tracked separately.

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Click Recording & First-Click Attribution

Trackly records every click and uses first-click attribution for analytics:
  1. All clicks create a MessageShortLinkClick record — every click is logged regardless of whether it is a first click or a repeat
  2. Only the first non-bot click per contact per message creates a MessageClick record, which is used for revenue attribution and reporting
  3. Subsequent clicks are still recorded as MessageShortLinkClick entries but do not generate additional MessageClick records
  4. Revenue is attributed to the first MessageClick
Reports and revenue attribution are based on MessageClick records (first non-bot click only). Raw click data (MessageShortLinkClick) captures all clicks including repeats and bots.

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Click Confirmation

Clicks are confirmed immediately:
  • Real-time logging
  • Instant redirect
  • No noticeable delay

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Interstitial Pages

When an offer has an interstitial configured, the link tracking service shows an intermediate landing page before redirecting to the destination. Three modes:
ModeBehavior
customOffer-specific interstitial with configurable title, description, CTA, and meta tags
list_defaultUses the sending list’s default interstitial template
noneDirect redirect (no interstitial)
Interstitials help with compliance messaging, bot filtering, and pre-sell content.

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Self-Hosted Conversion Tracking

The link tracking service provides three conversion endpoints that don’t require an external affiliate platform:
EndpointDescription
GET /convStandard postback with link_id, event, revenue, txn_id
GET /conv/offerDirect offer-level postback (bypasses need for prior click, requires postback_secret)
GET /pixel/<link_id>.gif1x1 transparent GIF pixel for image-tag tracking
Conversions are deduplicated by txn_id.

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Use Cases

Engagement Tracking

See which messages get clicks

A/B Testing

Compare click rates across variants

Revenue Attribution

Link sales back to specific messages

Audience Building

Create segments based on click behavior

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Reporting

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Message-Level

See clicks per message:
  • Total clicks
  • Unique clicks
  • Click rate (clicks / sent)

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Offer-Level

See clicks per offer:
  • Which offers get the most engagement
  • Revenue per offer

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Creative-Level

See clicks per creative:
  • Compare performance across templates
  • Identify top performers
When you bind an offer to a link: 
{{link1}} → Summer Sale Offer
Clicks and conversions are attributed to that offer, enabling:
  • Offer performance comparison
  • Revenue tracking per offer
  • Payout calculation

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Privacy & Compliance

We collect:
  • Click timestamp
  • IP address (for bot detection)
  • User agent (for bot detection)
  • Message/contact association
Click data is retained according to your account settings and our data retention policy.

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Common Pitfalls

Inflated click counts typically come from automated link scanning:
  • Bot detection: Carrier and email security bots pre-fetch links to scan for malware. Enable bot detection in your list settings to filter these out.
  • Raw vs. unique clicks: The dashboard shows both raw (every click) and unique (per-contact) metrics. If you see high raw counts but normal unique counts, bots are likely the cause.
  • Link preview crawlers: Some messaging apps generate link previews by fetching the URL. These appear as clicks but are not from real users.
  • Solution: Check the “Bot Clicks” column in your reporting dashboard. If bot percentage is high, review your bot detection configuration under List Settings > Link Tracking.

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Next Steps

Bot Detection

Filter out automated clicks

Attribution

How revenue is attributed