Link Analytics for Business: What Should You Measure?
Which link metrics matter for a business — clicks, unique visitors, devices, countries, referrers and QR scans — and how to interpret them.
The short answer
Measure the metrics that tell you whether your links are doing their job: total clicks for reach, unique visitors for audience, destinations for what people choose, and referrers for where attention comes from.
Total clicks
Total clicks is the simplest signal of how much traffic a link generates. It is a useful baseline, but it only tells part of the story.
Unique visitors
Unique visitors tells you how many distinct people engaged with the link, rather than how many taps it received. A few people clicking repeatedly can inflate total clicks.
Click-through rate (CTR)
CTR puts clicks in context — it is the share of people who saw the link and chose to open it. Compare CTR across placements to see which ones actually persuade.
Destinations
When a link routes to multiple destinations, the destination split shows what your audience actually wants — which product, platform or page they choose.
Devices
Knowing whether your audience is on mobile or desktop helps you build the right experience and the right destination.
Countries
Geography shows where your audience is. If you route by country, this also confirms the routing is behaving as expected.
Referrers
Referrers show which channel sent the click — social, email, search or direct. That tells you where to invest next.
QR scans
If you use QR codes, scans tell you which physical placements are working. A code on a poster and a code on packaging can perform very differently.
Conversions where available
When a link leads to a purchase, sign-up or other goal, tie the result back to the link. Clicks become much more meaningful when connected to outcomes.
Interpreting results
One metric in isolation rarely tells the whole story. Pair clicks with destinations and referrers to understand not just how much traffic you got, but what people did with it. A business link gives you these numbers in one place.
Avoiding vanity metrics
Avoid optimizing for raw clicks alone. A high click count with no meaningful outcome is a vanity metric. Focus on the numbers that connect to your business goals.