How to track clicks on links you share on WhatsApp
Updated · Sutly team
You share a link in a WhatsApp group or status and people visit your site, but your analytics shows them as "direct" traffic with no source. That's because WhatsApp, like most messaging apps, doesn't tell websites where a visitor came from. Here are two simple fixes. You can use either one, or both together.
Method 1: Use a short link for each message
The easiest way to count clicks is to share a short link instead of the original address.
- Make a Sutly short link for your page, for example
sutly.onrender.com/offer. - Share that link in your WhatsApp message, group or status.
- Open the link's stats page to see clicks per day.
Tip: make a separate short link for each place you share, such as /offer-status for your status and /offer-group for a group. Then you can compare which one brought more people. No analytics setup is needed.
Method 2: Add UTM tags for Google Analytics
If your website uses Google Analytics, add UTM tags to the link. These tell Analytics exactly where each visit came from.
- Open the campaign URL builder and paste your page address.
- Tap WhatsApp. This fills in
utm_source=whatsappandutm_medium=social. - Add a campaign name such as
diwali_offer. - Press Shorten so the long tagged link becomes a neat short link.
In Google Analytics 4, go to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition and change the first column to Session source / medium. Your WhatsApp visits now appear as whatsapp / social, and you can also see what those visitors did on your site, such as purchases or sign-ups.
Which method should I use?
| Short link only | UTM tags + short link | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts clicks | Yes | Yes |
| Needs Google Analytics | No | Yes |
| Shows what visitors did on your site | No | Yes |
| Works for any link, even sites you don't own | Yes | Clicks yes; Analytics only on your site |
Why WhatsApp clicks show as "Direct / unknown"
When someone taps a link in WhatsApp, the app opens the page without sending a "referrer" (the address of where the visitor came from). Email apps, SMS and QR code scans behave the same way. That's normal, and it's exactly why short links and UTM tags are useful.
Try it now, free. No app to install; it works in your phone's browser.
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