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Help Guide

Short Links

Create branded, trackable short links for your booking page. Perfect for business cards, posters, stickers, and anywhere you need a clean URL.

4 min read

What Are Short Links?

Short links are compact URLs (like https://guidewinds.com/l/abc123) that redirect to your booking page. Each click is tracked, so you can measure which marketing materials drive the most traffic.

Creating a Short Link

  1. Go to Dashboard → Marketing
  2. Find the Short Links section
  3. Click Create Link
  4. Enter the destination URL — this is where the short link will redirect to (e.g., your booking page or a specific trip)
  5. Add an optional label to remember what it's for (e.g., "Marina Poster", "Business Card")
  6. Click Create

Instant Copy

After creating a link, click the copy button to grab the short URL. It's ready to use immediately.

UTM Tracking Parameters

For advanced tracking, you can add UTM parameters when creating a short link. These show up in your analytics so you know exactly where traffic comes from.

  • utm_source — Where the link is placed (e.g., "business_card", "instagram")
  • utm_medium — The marketing medium (e.g., "print", "social", "email")
  • utm_campaign — The campaign name (e.g., "summer_2025", "marina_promo")

Pro Tip

Create separate short links for each marketing channel — one for your business card, one for your marina poster, one for your Instagram bio. This way you can see exactly which one drives the most bookings.

Use Cases

  • Business cards — Print a clean, short URL instead of a long booking page link
  • Posters & flyers — Add a QR code or short link to physical marketing materials
  • Stickers & decals — Put a short link on your vehicle, gear, or storefront
  • Social media bios — Use a tracked link in your Instagram or Facebook bio
  • Text messages — Send a short link when someone inquires via phone

Tracking Clicks

Every short link tracks its click count automatically. From the marketing dashboard, you can see:

  • Total clicks per link
  • Which links perform best
  • When clicks happen (via analytics)

Real-Time Tracking

Click counts update in real-time. Check your marketing dashboard anytime to see which links are driving traffic.

Managing Links

From the short links section, you can:

  • Copy — Copy the short URL to your clipboard
  • Open — Test the link in a new tab
  • Delete — Remove a link you no longer need

Deleting Links

Deleted links stop working immediately. If someone clicks a deleted short link, they'll see a 404 page. Make sure the link isn't printed on active materials before deleting.

What's Next?

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