Link Analytics
Aggregates when you want the shape, the raw click stream when you need the truth.
Most link tools give you a chart. That is useful until someone asks a question the chart cannot answer. ShortFreeURL keeps both layers: readable aggregates for day-to-day reporting, and the raw per-click log underneath so you can check anything yourself and export it into your own warehouse.
What is recorded on every click
For each click we record the time, the link, the resolved location down to city where the data supports it, device type, operating system, browser, referrer where the browser sends one, and the campaign parameters attached to the link. Where a click identifier is in play, that is recorded too so the click can later be joined to a conversion.
This is stored as individual events, not only as counters. Aggregates are computed from the events rather than the events being thrown away after counting, which is what makes retrospective questions answerable.
- Time, link, country, region and city
- Device, operating system and browser
- Referrer and campaign parameters
- Click identifier for conversion joins
Bots and humans, counted separately
Any URL posted publicly is fetched by link previewers, chat clients, security scanners and crawlers, often within seconds and often several times. Counting those as audience makes small campaigns look far better than they are and makes launch-day numbers meaningless.
Automated traffic is classified and reported on its own line rather than silently discarded. You can see the human number, see the bot number, and see the total, which also makes it obvious when something unusual is hitting a link.
- Human and automated clicks split in every view
- Both figures retained rather than one being dropped
- Useful as an early signal of scraping or abuse on a link
From click to conversion
Conversion tracking works by attaching a click identifier when a visitor is redirected. Your site or app reports back when that visitor does something you care about — a signup, a trial start, a purchase with a value — and the event is joined to the original click.
That gives you the chain from a specific link, in a specific placement, with specific campaign tagging, through to an outcome, without needing to reconcile two systems by hand. Values are summed so you can compare placements on revenue rather than on volume.
- Click identifier passed through to your destination
- Server-side conversion reporting with an optional value
- Attribution back to link, folder, campaign and placement
- Works with QR scans exactly as with clicks
Slice it the way you work
Reports run over a single link, a folder, a tag, a campaign or a whole domain, across any date range. Because folders carry defaults and tags are free-form, most teams end up with a structure that mirrors how they actually plan work, and reporting follows that structure without extra configuration.
Comparisons between date ranges are built in, which is usually the only comparison worth making on link data — the same placement this month against last month, rather than one placement against an unrelated one.
- Group by link, folder, tag, campaign or domain
- Any date range, with period-over-period comparison
- Breakdowns by geography, device, referrer and campaign
- Saved views for reports you rebuild every week
Getting the data out
Aggregates and the raw click stream both export as CSV. Webhooks push click events to your endpoint as they happen, signed so you can verify them and retried on failure so a brief outage on your side does not silently lose data.
The REST API exposes the same reporting the dashboard uses, so a scheduled job can pull yesterday's numbers into a warehouse or a spreadsheet without anyone clicking export.
- CSV export of aggregates and of raw events
- Signed, retried webhooks per click
- Reporting endpoints in the REST API
- Stable link identifiers for joining to your own tables
Privacy and retention
Analytics only stays useful if it is defensible. IP addresses can be hidden or truncated so they are never stored in full, retention periods are configurable so data ages out on your schedule, and a data protection agreement is available.
Because you can export everything, you are never in a position where leaving the platform means losing your history.
- IP hiding and configurable retention
- DPA available and full data export at any time
- Aggregates retained even where raw events have aged out
Questions
Do you count every click, including duplicates?
Every request is logged as an event. Automated traffic is classified separately, and the raw log lets you apply your own deduplication rules if you need something stricter than the default view.
How accurate is city-level location?
It comes from IP geolocation, which is reliable at country level, good at region level and approximate at city level. Mobile networks and VPNs reduce accuracy, so we show city as an indication rather than a fact.
Can I connect this to my own analytics tool?
Yes, through UTM parameters on the destination, through webhooks for event-level data, or through the API for scheduled pulls into a warehouse.
How long is data kept?
Retention is configurable. Aggregates outlive raw events by design so long-term trends survive a shorter raw-event retention window.
Can I see analytics for a link someone else created?
If it is in a team or folder you have access to, yes. Roles and per-link permissions decide who can view and who can edit.
Does editing a link reset its stats?
No. Changing the slug, the destination or the targeting rules keeps the existing history attached to the link.
See the raw click stream behind your next campaign.
Start Free — no credit card
The free plan includes 1,000 links, 6 custom domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month, free forever. Choose a free subdomain from six shared domains. Paid plans start at $4 a month when you outgrow it, and you keep everything you have built.