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How Tracked Links Work

In short​

When you build an Edition and send it as a Broadcast, the platform automatically rewrites the links in your content so each click can be counted. Instead of pointing straight at the destination, a tracked link points at a short-lived redirect. When a subscriber clicks, the platform records the click, then forwards the browser to the real destination — usually in a few milliseconds, so the subscriber notices nothing.

Why it matters​

Click tracking is what turns a Broadcast into measurable engagement. Because each rewritten link carries an identifier tied to the individual subscriber, reports can tell you not just how many clicks a link got, but who clicked and which link they chose. That attribution powers click-through rates, top-links reports, and automation that reacts to clicks. It also means the URL a subscriber sees on hover will look different from the one you typed — expected behavior, not a defect.

How it works​

  1. Rewrite at send time. As the Broadcast is prepared, links in your content are replaced with redirect URLs on a tracking domain. Each redirect encodes which Edition, which link, and which subscriber it belongs to.
  2. Click and record. A subscriber clicks. The request hits the redirect first, and the click is logged against that subscriber and link.
  3. Forward to the destination. The platform immediately sends the browser on to your original URL.

Example: a button pointing to https://example.com/spring-sale becomes something like https://links.yourbrand.com/c/AbC123. The subscriber lands on https://example.com/spring-sale; your reports gain one attributed click.

A few links are typically left untracked by design — such as unsubscribe and preference links, and mailto: addresses. You can usually exclude a specific link from tracking as well. (Confirm the exact steps in your account.)

Canonical terms: Author, Edition, Folder (Project Folder), Broadcast. See the Glossary.