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Which Linktracking for beginners?

by Kaizen5
4 replies
Hi everybody,

I have seen some topics on thise, but I am still not sure which services is the best for my needs. I am working for some years in IM and had some minor success. I think the worst thing is not having accurate data to measure clicks and track the success of any ad. So I am looking for a way to track and short my links with a reliable service and without the annoying popups that could distract my potential customers.

I was thinking of setting up a own URL shortener with yourls.org, but I am not sure if this is the right thing I need. I mean I could implement ads while users are being redirected, but is it a reliable service? Any experiences?

I heard of some solutions like linktrackr.com, hypertracker.com, linktrack.info plus bevomedia and AdTrackz Gold.

I probably would need the following functions to start with a better way of doing affiliate marketing:
- Tracking IDs
- no expiration of links
- IP geo-location
- Re-directs regarding geo-location
- custom vanity-url
- click statistics (unique clicks)

I could probably live with a link and tracking restriction per month for the start.

Any recommendations? :rolleyes:
#beginners #linktracking
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Luck
    As silly as it sounds, I use Google Analytics for all of this.

    I've tested just about every click tracking software on the market over the last decade, and I keep coming back to Google Analytics.

    You can setup funnels to do everything (and more) than all these other 3rd party services.

    My advice would be to spend some time digging deep into Google Analytics... watch their in-house tutorials on the platform... and head over to YouTube for specific things you can't find (like funnel visualization, etc)

    You'll be glad you did (and save thousands of dollars)

    Enjoy!
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  • Profile picture of the author MrPete2000
    Google Analytics is very powerful, but also has a steep learning curve if you want to fully understand it and take full advantage… and even then I'm sure there are limitations. I am not a Google Analytics user (I avoid a lot of their services in general) so I can't really comment on this.

    As far as taking care of things like link cloaking, redirection, and split testing; you may be better off with a specialized solution. The related costs are not that high.

    There are paid and free software/services available, some are self-hosted and others are SaaS solutions. Don't write off the paid/SaaS solutions until you fully consider the costs of self-hosted software (which in most cases will run terribly slow, if at all, on shared hosting), downtime, administration, backups, etc.

    I think most paid services (some of which you already mentioned) will give you a free trial and often have starter plans for about $10/m which should be well worth the investment.

    If you can't decide, round up the ones with the lowest cost of entry and risk, then flip a coin to decide. Any solution is better than none.
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    • Profile picture of the author Cram
      GA would do most, not sure about redirects based on geo-location.
      With Bevomedia you can do everything your asking and can setup geo targeting links. you can even redirect based on state and city. Unlimited links and no tracking restriction per month.
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  • Profile picture of the author cuie
    I'd recommend Ad Trackz Gold ($77) without geo-redirect. It will get your money back in couple of days if you are selling your products through ads.

    For much heavier link tracking and rotating, I'd recommend Quality Click Control. It has geo-based redirects + tons of more. Retail price is $297 but I have a direct link where you can get it for $177. PM me if that is what you are looking for.

    I used to use GA for tracking. It is the most advanced solution, which means it is also most difficult to use. Other, more simpler click tracking software are the ones that you actually use.

    Just my 5 cents
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