Social platforms make link tracking hard on purpose — they want you to stay on their platform. Here's how to track clicks from Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and YouTube anyway.
Start tracking social clicks free →Every major social platform has its own redirect system, link shortener, or privacy policy that affects how referrer data reaches your analytics tool. The result: traffic from social media often shows up as "direct" in Google Analytics, making it impossible to know which platform is actually driving clicks.
The solution is to capture the click before it reaches your analytics platform — at the redirect layer, with a URL shortener that records the click independently.
The challenge
One bio link. App strips UTM params on mobile. Stories links only work with 10k+ followers or paid ads.
The solution
Use a Brevly link-in-bio page at brevly.link/@yourhandle. Each link on the page is individually tracked. UTM params pass through even when Instagram tries to strip them.
The challenge
One bio link. Very limited link placement — no clickable links in captions. High mobile traffic makes referrer data unreliable.
The solution
Same as Instagram: a tracked Brevly short link in your bio. The click is captured at the redirect layer before referrer data is lost.
The challenge
Twitter shortens all links to t.co URLs, which strips your UTM parameters in some analytics tools. Third-party referrer data is often incomplete.
The solution
Use UTM-tagged URLs shortened with Brevly. The short link preserves UTM params through the t.co redirect. You get both Brevly's click data and UTM attribution in your analytics.
The challenge
LinkedIn redirects through their own link tracker, which can strip UTM parameters. B2B attribution is notoriously difficult.
The solution
Brevly captures the click before LinkedIn's redirect interferes. Pair with UTM params for redundant tracking across both platforms.
The challenge
Links in descriptions and pinned comments are clickable but referrer data often shows as "direct" in analytics.
The solution
Short links with UTM tags in YouTube descriptions ensure traffic from YouTube is correctly attributed in your analytics platform.
Regardless of platform, use this setup for every social link you share:
Start with your destination URL
Add UTM parameters (utm_source=[platform], utm_medium=social, utm_campaign=[campaign-name])
Shorten with Brevly to create a tracked short link
Share the short link in your bio, post, or caption
Check Brevly dashboard for click data (device, geo, velocity)
Check your analytics tool for UTM attribution and session behavior
Track every social click with Brevly. Free to start.
Start tracking social links →