From Google Event Tracking Guide Event Tracking is a method available in the ga.js tracking code that you can use to record user interaction with website elements, such as a Flash-driven menu system. URL shorteners typically work by redirecting users using a special server response commonly referred to as a "301." This tells the browser that the resource at your short URL has been permenantly moved to the full URL's location. Click on the category “Links” and select event label and there you will be able to see the specific links clicked on your website. The regEx is a bit more complex than one would expect but it’s addressing a couple of use cases. When we shorten a link, it appears like so: Our URLs are shortened and we can still use the tracking features in Bit.ly, but instead of our readers seeing Bit.ly in the shortened links, they see our custom domain.
Keep your website safe Running a periodic check on your website's links will ensure that your website remains protected against spam and hackers. You can also get a visual glimpse of your engagement for a different perspective.
The Click Map shows you a visual representation of how each link performed in your campaign. In this example we have used Twitter. utm_medium parameter is used to describe what kind of medium we have used, in this example we have used a Tweet. utm_campaign parameter to define a campaign name, slogan, promo code, etc. utm_term parameter is used to identify paid search keywords. utm_content You could be using a variety of content types in a campaign, this element allows you to differentiate among them. Sometimes a short URL is useful simply to give someone over a telephone conversation for a one-off access or file download, and no longer needed within a couple of minutes. These activities include searching for link sources and processing link source moves.
You need to make sure tag manager associates the event with this tag. When you Googling something like “Bitly alternatives” you will see so many options.
You can’t deny the usefulness of them with social media (especially Twitter) and the additional layer of analytics you can get on your links. Bitly also allows you to customize the actual shortened link (if your customization is still available). It's usually a good idea to announce, on any of your social media services you plan to use the shortener on, that you'll be shortening links through a custom domain form now on just so users feel comfortable clicking the links. This can be added to existing JavaScript files or in a script block as long as it’s loaded somewhere within the HTML body (ideally, just before the closing tag). jQuery (or your alternative) must be loaded first although the Google Analytics tracking code can appear anywhere on the page. /* Track outbound links in Google Analytics */ (function($) { "use strict"; // current page host var baseURI = window.location.host; // click event on body $("body").on("click", function(e) { // abandon if link already aborted or analytics is not available if (e.isDefaultPrevented() || typeof ga !== "function") return; // abandon if no active link or link within domain var link = $(e.target).closest("a"); if (link.length != 1 || baseURI == link[0].host) return; // cancel event and record outbound link e.preventDefault(); var href = link[0].href; ga('send', { 'hitType': 'event', 'eventCategory': 'outbound', 'eventAction': 'link', 'eventLabel': href, 'hitCallback': loadPage }); // redirect after one second if recording takes too long setTimeout(loadPage, 1000); // redirect to outbound page function loadPage() { document.location = href; } }); })(jQuery); // pass another library here if required The event is recorded with the category name ‘outbound’, action name ‘link’ and the value set to the URL of the outbound page. Techniques[edit] In URL shortening, every long URL is associated with a unique key, which is the part after its top-level domain name. You're probably using Google for other things, so why not keep all your data where you can find it and use your existing Google Account? There are other masking or cloaking techniques but most are frowned on by search engines due to potential for abuse and usually make use of javascript, server configuration or scripting languages such as php or perl. Consider alternate extensions: If your top choice isn't available, consider using a country code TLD (ccTLD) such as .to or .co. And as with YouTube, if that limit was hit, they just have to add another number, which raises the limit to 1,152,921,504,606,846,976. Click the name of the report you want to work with. Other Features If you hang out in Bitly.com long enough, you’ll discover several other features for further customizing your links and stats page. Once you are set, you can now view cool stats and detailed charts of your links (e.g. unique and non-unique clicks). Tag Name: You can name a tag anything you like: “Link Click Listener” seems like a pretty obvious place to start.