For any link or QR Code you share, the number of engagements displayed in Bitly could be different from what you see in your social media, email, or analytics accounts. This is because each platform measures traffic differently.
Keep in mind that data like clicks are just one part of the analytics you'll use to measure engagement with your content. Bitly link metrics are designed to complement other engagement data.
What's in your Bitly data?
Engagement data on the Links page and your Analytics dashboard includes all:
- Short Link clicks
- QR Code scans
- Clicks from your Link-in-bio
When you see "Engagements" in Bitly, the number includes all of these clicks and scans. On the Engagements over time graph on the Link Details page, we show both total engagements and also engagements from specific sources (Short Link, QR Code, Link-in-bio).
Why are there differences in your data?
When you compare your metrics in Bitly to the data in your social media or email marketing platform, you may be seeing more engagements in Bitly. This could be because we show all engagements, everywhere you've shared the link — including if you've also created and shared a QR Code for it.
Meanwhile, other platforms may only show clicks that came through the accounts you manage there (for example, via email or your social media accounts).
Email opens
Remember that Bitly counts clicks as each time the Short Link is expanded to the long URL. This is different from an email open or some other metrics you may see on other platforms.
Filtering by date
Check to make sure you don't have a date filter applied. If you do, follow the steps in How do I filter my data for a specific date range? to change your selected dates.
"All-time" data"
The amount of data available in your Bitly account varies according to your subscription plan. There's a maximum of two years of data for our Enterprise customers, with shorter periods for other plans.
There are a few places where we show the total number of engagements for the maximum amount of time available in your plan. This isn't the total since the link was created. Those include:
- On the Links page
- In the "Engagements" section on a specific link
- When you export data from the Links page
Other things that affect click counts
Other platforms and apps measure clicks using different methods, using code on their pages or trackers added to the links that you paste into their apps. For example, Google Analytics measures events on the page using Javascript.
Bots, applications like browser plug-ins, and spam checkers in email programs might expand a shortened link without taking a user to the destination page. For instance, if you use a browser plug-in that automatically expands short URLs, it looks a lot like a human user to an analytics program.