A/B testing links & URL rotator
Split one short link across 2 to 10 destinations by weight. A/B test landing pages and offers, or rotate URLs for affiliate campaigns — with every variant tracked separately and weights that add up to 100.
What is an A/B testing link (a.k.a. link rotator)?
It's one short link that fans out to several destinations. On each click, the link picks one destination and redirects the visitor there, governed by the weights you set. Marketers call it an A/B testing link — the goal is to find the best-converting page. Affiliates call it a URL rotator or link rotator — the goal is to distribute traffic across offers. It's the same feature, and one U2L link does both.
How weighted rotation works
You give each destination an integer weight, and all the weights add up to 100 — so a weight is just the percentage of clicks that variant gets. On every click, the link picks a destination at random in proportion to those weights. Assignment is per-click and independent, so over many clicks the split converges to your configured percentages (small samples wobble — 50/50 might read 47/53 at a hundred clicks).
Rotation uses a temporary (302) redirect on purpose: a permanent redirect would be cached by the browser and lock every future visit to one destination, defeating the whole point. Because it re-decides each time, it also works on every QR scan.
For marketers
Test 2 to 10 variants (an A/B or A/B/n test), then send the winner more traffic.
Test landing pages
Send half your traffic to page A and half to page B from one link, and see which converts better.
Test offers & pricing
Pit two offers, price points, or funnels against each other without building separate campaigns.
Gradual rollout
Ramp a new page from 10% to 100% as it proves out — a safe canary release, one link.
For affiliates & media buyers
Rotate, round-robin, and load-balance — one link, full control over the split.
Rotate offers
Point one link at several affiliate offers and weight them however you like — beat ad fatigue and link boredom.
Respect click caps
Round-robin traffic across offers so no single network cap gets blown.
Load-balance
Spread clicks across mirror storefronts or destinations to keep everything within limits.
A/B testing links vs. on-page A/B testing tools
An A/B testing link tests which destination wins — a whole page, offer, or funnel against another — by splitting the traffic and measuring each variant's clicks. On-page tools like Optimizely and VWO swap elements inside a single page and compute statistical significance for you. They solve different problems: U2L splits and measures at the link level with no code on your pages; if you need statistical-significance testing of on-page elements, pair it with your own conversion goal or an on-page tool.
A/B testing links FAQ
How many destinations can one A/B testing link have?+
Between 2 and 10 destination variants on a single short link, labeled A–J. Two variants is a classic A/B test; three or more is an A/B/n test.
How do the weights work?+
Each variant gets an integer weight, and all weights add up to 100 — so a weight is simply the percentage of clicks that variant receives. Set 60/40 and roughly 6 of every 10 visitors go to A, 4 to B. Each click picks a destination at random in proportion to its weight, so the split converges to your percentages as volume grows.
How do I pick a winner?+
Every variant is tracked separately, so compare clicks (and conversions, if you track them) per variant. Give the test enough data — a common rule of thumb is at least ~1,000 clicks and ~7 days — and don't call it early. When one variant clearly leads, raise its weight to send it more traffic. No new link needed.
Is this the same as website (on-page) A/B testing?+
Not quite. On-page tools like Optimizely and VWO swap elements inside one page — a headline or button — and compute statistical significance. An A/B testing link tests entire destinations against each other by splitting the traffic and measuring each variant's clicks. It's simpler and needs no code on your pages; pair it with your own conversion goal if you need on-page significance testing.
What's the difference between an A/B testing link and a URL rotator?+
They're the same feature under different names. Marketers say 'A/B testing link' — the goal is finding the best-converting page. Affiliates and media buyers say 'URL rotator' or 'link rotator' — the goal is distributing traffic across offers. One U2L link does both.
Can I use it to rotate affiliate offers or load-balance traffic?+
Yes. Point one link at multiple offers and weight them however you like — rotate to beat ad fatigue, round-robin to respect a network's click caps, or load-balance across mirror storefronts. Check your affiliate program's terms, as some restrict direct rotation.
Does it work with QR codes?+
Yes. A dynamic QR code re-resolves the short link on every scan, so scans are split across your variants just like clicks — and because the destinations are separate from the printed code, you can A/B test or swap offers without reprinting.
Can I change destinations or weights after sharing the link?+
Yes — edit destinations and adjust weights live, and the short link (and any QR code) stays the same. That's how you ramp traffic to a winning variant.
Will each visitor always land on the same destination?+
By default each click is assigned independently, so a returning visitor may see a different variant. Rotation uses a temporary (302) redirect specifically so it can re-decide each time — a permanent redirect would cache and lock one destination.
How is this different from just making two Bitly links?+
Two separate links means splitting your audience by hand and comparing two dashboards. An A/B testing link is one link, one QR code, and one report that splits traffic automatically and shows each variant side by side — and Bitly and Rebrandly don't offer native traffic-splitting at all.
Test your way to the best destination
Create one link, split it across up to 10 destinations, and let the numbers pick the winner.