A link in a bio, on a poster, or in an ad is clicked by people with different needs. Some are in Canada and some in Chicago, some are on an iPhone and some are on a desktop computer, and some read Spanish while others do not. Sending everyone to the same page means many of them land somewhere that is not quite right. Targeting rules on a short link solve that without any code. The address stays the same, while the destination is chosen when someone clicks.
What a targeting rule can check
Every short link on Digily Link has a default destination and, optionally, a list of rules. Each rule pairs a condition with a different URL, and the first matching rule wins. The available conditions are continent, country, city, device type (mobile, desktop, or tablet), browser, browser language, and operating system. There are also two ways to split traffic without checking anything about the visitor. Rotation divides visits equally among several URLs, while percentage chances lets you set each share yourself, such as 80 percent to the current page and 20 percent to a test page. Targeting is included on every plan, including Free.
Six situations where it pays off
App downloads by operating system
Use one link that opens the App Store on iPhone, Google Play on Android, and a landing page on desktop. This is the most common use, and it removes the "choose your platform" page entirely.
Stores that serve more than one country
A U.S. visitor lands on the dollar-priced store, a Canadian visitor on the Canadian store, and everyone else on the international page. The same rule can keep customers in countries you do not ship to away from a page where they cannot place an order.
Language
Send visitors to the version of a page written in their browser language. If you publish in English and Spanish, or English and French, one printed link can serve both audiences.
Mobile and desktop
A long form may be fine on a laptop but frustrating on a phone. Send mobile visitors to a short form, a WhatsApp chat, or an app, and send desktop visitors to the full page.
Businesses with several locations
City targeting can send a Chicago visitor to the Chicago location page and an Austin visitor to the Austin page, while a single QR code appears on a nationwide flyer. Cities are estimated from the network address, so treat this as a strong indication rather than a guarantee.
A/B tests
Put two versions of a landing page behind one link using rotation, wait for a few hundred clicks, and compare the results. Give each version its own UTM parameters with the UTM link generator so the results appear separately in your analytics.
How to set it up step by step
- Create a short link in the dashboard using the destination most visitors should see. This is the default.
- Open the link's settings and find Targeting. Choose the targeting type, such as country.
- Add a rule for each audience. A rule consists of a value, such as CA for Canada, and the URL those visitors should receive. Add as many as you need.
- Save the link, then test it. Change your browser language, use another device, or ask a friend in another country to click the link. The URL redirect checker shows the redirect from its own location, and the User agent parser shows what your device reports about itself.
Rules are evaluated on Digily Link's server before the redirect, so the visitor never sees a choice page, and the short link remains identical everywhere it is printed or posted. The short links page explains the other settings available alongside targeting.
Settings that work well with targeting
- App linking. Targeting decides which page opens, while app linking decides whether it opens in the app. A YouTube destination with "auto open app on mobile" and an OS rule for the download page is a common combination. See what deep linking is.
- UTM parameters. Add source, medium, and campaign parameters to every destination so your analytics can distinguish targeted visits.
- Scheduling and click limits. On the Starter and Pro plans, a link can start and stop on set dates, or stop after a specified number of clicks and send later visitors to an expiration URL.
- Splash page. Add a short branded page before the destination, which is useful when the destination is not your own site.
- Your own domain. On Starter and Pro, the targeted link can use an address such as go.yourbrand.com/offer. The custom domain documentation lists the DNS records.
Understanding the results
The link statistics break down clicks by country, city, device, browser, operating system, and language, so you can see which rules were used and whether the audience you expected actually exists. If a country rule matches 10 visits a month, maintaining a separate page for it may not be worthwhile. Statistics are collected without a tracking cookie, so you do not need to add anything to the destination pages.
Frequently asked questions
Will visitors notice the redirect?
No. The redirect happens on the server in a fraction of a second, and visitors arrive at the selected destination as if they had clicked it directly.
How accurate is location targeting?
Country targeting is reliable. City targeting is an estimate based on the network the visitor uses, and mobile networks in particular can place someone in the wrong city. Use city rules for convenience, not for anything that must be exact.
What happens if no rule matches?
The visitor goes to the default destination. Always choose a sensible default because it is the page most of the world will see.
Can I use targeting on a bio link page?
Targeting applies to short links. Create the targeted short link, then use it as the destination for a button on the page. The button behaves the same for everyone, while the short link handles the routing.
Do targeted links work with QR codes?
Yes. Generate the QR code from the short link instead of the destination. The code remains fixed, while the rules behind it can change at any time.
Final checks
- The default destination is the page most visitors should see.
- Each rule has been tested from a device or location that matches it.
- Destinations include UTM parameters so you can distinguish the visits later.
- QR codes and printed materials use the short link, not the destination.
- You have reviewed the statistics once to confirm that the rules are working.
