How to track number of clicks to a link shared in a cell

[Janet_Yen]

Hi, I’m creating a table that includes links to external websites like facebook pages, instagram profiles, personal websites, etc. I’d like to track how many people click on each of the unique links. Is there a way to do that? Airtable’s Support team told me this is not a native feature. Anyone have creative ideas on how to do this? Thanks.

[ScottWorld]

Create a button field that runs a JavaScript. The JavaScript can increase the value in a number field by 1, and then take the user to the URL.

[Janet_Yen]

:thumbs_up: I don’t know how to write javascript :frowning_face: …would you be able to write an example one here that I can use and insert open URL and reference the number field in the respective places? thank you for the help!

[ScottWorld]

I don’t know JavaScript, but other people here do.

[Jason]

Another option could be to use a link shortener service like bit.ly or rebrandly - both services include analytics to track clicks for links that you load into them.

Once you add a link within their services, you can use the shortened link they provide in your base. You can also route that click data back into your base (I’d recommend rebrandly if you want to go that route).

[Janet_Yen]

Thanks Jason! Great idea - any reasons why rebrandly?
Would you do the same if you want to track the number of views to your Airtable view - bitly or rebrandly your airtable link before sharing? I was trying to do Google Analytics but it doesn’t seem to be working.

[ScottWorld]

Jason:

Once you add a link within their services, you can use the shortened link they provide in your base. You can also route that click data back into your base (I’d recommend rebrandly if you want to go that route).

Wow!! Now THAT is something cool that I never knew about, and never would have thought of! That’s an incredibly cool insight there, @Jason! Thanks for sharing that with us! :slightly_smiling_face:

Would people need to use Integromat/Zapier to get the information from Rebrandly into Airtable, or can Rebrandly communicate natively with Airtable’s API?

[Jason · Accepted solution]

Janet_Yen:

any reasons why rebrandly?

Their zapier integration is more robust than bit.ly’s, which would be a key factor in sending click data back to a base. You should be able to use the free version of both Zapier and Rebrandly to set that up, so I think that’d be the easiest way to get going with this quickly.

Janet_Yen:

Would you do the same if you want to track the number of views to your Airtable view - bitly or rebrandly your airtable link before sharing

Yep! Once you generate the view share link, you could use the shortened URL instead to share it with other people and have the benefit of click data (and other analytics they offer!).

ScottWorld:

Would people need to use Integromat/Zapier to get the information from Rebrandly into Airtable, or can Rebrandly communicate natively with Airtable’s API?

Zapier or Integromat would be an easier/quicker startup (especially for those without developer resources to leverage an API), but it looks like both bit.ly and Rebrandly have APIs that could be used.

[Janet_Yen]

you’re amazing @Jason !!