How can link shorteners affect tracking accuracy?
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You've probably seen link shorteners like bit.ly or tinyurl.com used in emails. They look clean. But from a tracking standpoint, they introduce a problem: another redirect in the chain between your click and the destination.
Every redirect is a chance for something to go wrong. Some corporate security gateways scan shortened URLs and refuse to follow them, which means the click tracking pixel might fire but the user never actually reaches your page. Some privacy tools strip or block known shortener domains entirely. And in some cases, UTM parameters get dropped during the redirect chain, so your analytics platform sees a click but can't tell you where it came from.
There's also a spam filter concern. Public link shorteners (bit.ly in particular) have been abused by spammers, so some filters flag them automatically. That can hurt your inbox placement even when your content is clean.
If you need short links in email, the safer option is to use a branded short domain controlled by your ESP or your own DNS. Something like links.yourdomain.com gives you the same clean URL without the baggage. Test any shortened link across a few email clients before your campaign sends, and always verify your UTM parameters survive the redirect.
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