Link retargeting: add a pixel to any short link

Link retargeting adds an advertising pixel to a shortened URL, so anyone who clicks the link is added to your retargeting (custom) audience — even if the link points to a page you don't own. You can then show them targeted ads on platforms like Meta, Google, and LinkedIn.

A plain 301/302 redirect can't run JavaScript, so a pixel can't fire on a bare redirect. Instead, the click briefly resolves on a lightweight page we control that fires your pixel in the browser, then forwards to the destination in under a second — the visitor doesn't notice.

No. The pixel fires during the redirect on our domain, so you can build audiences from clicks even when the destination is a third-party page you don't own — a news article, an affiliate or merchant page, a podcast, or a YouTube video.

Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel, Google Ads remarketing tag, Google Tag Manager, TikTok Pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag, with more platforms added over time. You can attach up to five pixels to a single link.

Yes. A single click can populate audiences on multiple platforms at once — for example Meta, Google, and LinkedIn together. You add each pixel once, then reuse it across as many links as your plan allows.

Barely. The page that fires the pixel adds roughly 0.1–0.3 seconds before forwarding to the destination, which visitors don't perceive. Links without a pixel keep redirecting instantly.

Yes. You can't place your pixel on Amazon or a merchant's site, but you can wrap the link — your affiliate ID stays intact, and everyone who clicks joins your audience, so you can retarget the ones who didn't convert.

The technique is legal in major markets when you follow privacy law. For EU and UK visitors, GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive require prior consent before the pixel fires; California's CCPA/CPRA uses an opt-out model. The tracking is yours, so the consent duty is yours — disclose the pixels you fire in your privacy policy and use a consent banner where required.

Website retargeting only captures visitors to your own site. Link retargeting captures anyone who clicks any link you shorten, regardless of destination — a much larger top-of-funnel pool that includes clicks on content you didn't create.

It depends on the platform. Meta, for example, generally needs at least around 100 people in a custom audience before you can run ads to it, and more is better for stable delivery — so give the audience time to accumulate clicks first.

It still works, with caveats. ATT mainly affects in-app tracking and shrank some audiences industry-wide. Most short-link clicks resolve in the browser, so link retargeting remains a useful way to rebuild top-of-funnel audiences — best paired with server-side tracking such as the Conversions API for durability.

Retargeting clickers of curated and third-party content, affiliate links, newsletter-sponsorship links, link in bio, social posts, product links for cart recovery, and B2B assets like whitepapers or webinar sign-ups.