How do I tell which short links lead to sales or sign-ups?
Clicks don't tell you what happened next. How conversion tracking ties a sale or sign-up back to the short link that sent the visitor, and how to report one.
Shortlen Editorial · · 3 min read
The short answer
Turn on conversion tracking for the link. Each real click carries a signed code; when that visitor buys or signs up, you report it back — from your website, Shopify, Stripe or your own server — and Shortlen credits the link if the conversion falls inside an attribution window you set. You see which links actually drive results, not just clicks.
Key points
- A click count tells you a link was opened, not whether it led anywhere worth measuring.
- Conversion tracking tags each real click with a signed code so a later sale or sign-up can be tied back to the link.
- You report conversions from your website, Shopify, Stripe or your server — whichever fits how you already work.
- A conversion is credited to the last click within an attribution window you choose (up to 90 days).
- Bots never get a conversion code, and each conversion is de-duplicated by an event id so it's counted once.
On this page
A short link can tell you how many people clicked. What it can’t tell you on its own is the thing you actually care about: how many of those people went on to buy, sign up, or do whatever the campaign was for. Conversion tracking closes that loop by connecting the result back to the link that earned it.
Why clicks aren’t the whole story
Two links can pull the same number of clicks and be worth wildly different amounts — one sends curious browsers, the other sends buyers. Judging a campaign on clicks alone rewards the link that gets attention, not the link that gets results. To compare links fairly you need to measure what happened after the click.
How conversion tracking works
- Turn it on for the link (or set it as your account default). From then on, each real click carries a signed click code — bots never get one.
- Report the conversion when it happens, including a value and currency if there is one.
- Shortlen credits the link if the conversion falls inside your attribution window — the last click within that window gets the credit. You choose the window, up to 90 days.
Every conversion carries an event id, so the same sale reported twice is still counted once.
Four ways to report a conversion
You don’t have to change how you work — pick the one that fits:
- Your website: add a small script and a single line where the sale or sign-up completes.
- Shopify: a customer-events pixel reports completed checkouts with their value.
- Stripe: connect Stripe and paid checkouts become conversions automatically.
- Your server: send the conversion from your backend with an API call.
What you get back
Your reports show conversions and their value alongside the clicks, a rate, and which links convert best — so you can put budget behind the links that actually earn, and the same drill-downs (by country, device and source) apply.
A quick, honest note: attribution is last click within the window, so a conversion is credited to the most recent qualifying link, and anything outside the window is kept but marked unattributed. That’s a sensible default, not a claim that it captures every possible path.
Conversion tracking pairs well with UTM tags and A/B tests. See the features page for the full picture, and start free to try it on your own links.
Questions people ask
How is a conversion linked back to the right short link?
When conversion tracking is on, each real click carries a signed click code. When you report a conversion, that code tells Shortlen which link and which click to credit — so you don't have to guess which campaign drove the sale.
What are the ways to report a conversion?
Four, so you can use whatever suits you: a small script on your website, a Shopify customer-events pixel, a Stripe connection that turns paid checkouts into conversions, or a call from your own server. No one way is required.
What's an attribution window?
The period after a click during which a conversion still counts for that link — you set it, up to 90 days, and the last click within the window gets the credit. Conversions outside the window are kept but marked unattributed.
Does this track individual people?
No. It ties a conversion to a click and a link, with an event id to avoid double-counting, so you can measure results by link and campaign — not build a profile of a named person.