What it does
Tracking tags and shortens the links you share so you know which post and which network bring you visits. When you publish, ōrbita:
- Adds to the link which network and which post it comes from (the UTM tags, which your website’s analytics tools read).
- Swaps it for its orbt.es short link and counts how many times it is pressed, even if your website has no analytics.
What you write does not change: the text and the link in ōrbita stay as you wrote them; the change happens when you publish. With tracking off, links are published as they are.
Where to turn it on
In Connections, the Link tracking row says ON or OFF and has the Settings button. The Add UTM to links when publishing switch applies to all the company’s posts and comes turned off. Changing the settings requires Editor level or higher.
Links are only detected if they start with http://, https:// or www.. If you write one without that, for example clinica.es/reservar, it will not be tracked and the editor warns you to put https:// in front.
Networks, posts and channels
- By network: in Networks and channels you turn tracking off for one specific network and its links are published as they are. Networks you connect later come turned on.
- By post or by network of a post: in the editor, the UTM mark next to links shows how each one will be published and lets you choose No tracking in this post or No tracking on this network.
- Instagram: in Instagram text, links cannot be pressed, so the short link is for copying or typing.
- Google buttons: in the buttons of a Google post the link carries the UTMs, but it is not shortened, because Google does not accept short links on the listing.
The UTM template
In Template you choose the parameters added to each link. By default:
| Parameter | Default value |
|---|---|
utm_source |
{red}: the network or channel |
utm_medium |
social |
utm_campaign |
{id}: the first 8 characters of the post’s identifier |
utm_content and utm_term |
empty (if you leave them empty they are not added) |
Besides {red} and {id}, you can use {titulo}, the post’s title (it will be visible in the link). A preview shows you an example link, and Reset goes back to the default values. Changes apply to whatever you publish from that moment on.
Create a link to share
For the links you share outside your posts (WhatsApp, email, direct messages or your bio), the settings have Create a link to share:
- Write the link (it starts with
http://orhttps://). - Choose Where you share it: one of your networks or one of your channels. Your own channels are added in Other channels, with suggestions such as WhatsApp, Email, Instagram (direct message), TikTok (bio) or Newsletter. In them,
utm_sourceandutm_mediumare those of the channel. - Give it a name: it is the one you will see in Metrics.
- Press Create link. You get the link with UTM and the short link, with a button to copy them; the ones created stay in Created links.
If the link goes to another website, the UTMs are only seen by whoever manages that website; the clicks are counted by ōrbita all the same.
Limit: each company can create 200 new short links per day, counting those from posts and those created by hand (a link that a post already has is not counted again). If you reach it, ōrbita tells you that you can create more tomorrow.
Check for dangerous destinations
Only links from your ōrbita account are shortened: those in your posts and the ones you create here. Before shortening each link, ōrbita checks its destination with Google Web Risk, so that nobody uses short links for scams:
- If Google flags the destination as dangerous, the link is not created and ōrbita tells you.
- If Google does not respond and it cannot be checked, it is not shortened: share the link with UTM.
- If someone uses a company’s short links abusively, ōrbita can turn them all off; the company sees it when creating one and can write to orbita@orbitasolutions.org. A turned off link answers that it does not exist.
Clicks in Metrics
The Clicks on your links card is in Metrics (Spanish), below the totals and on any tab. With tracking off it is not drawn. It shows:
- The clicks in the chosen period (7, 28 or 90 days, within what your plan allows) with their change against the previous period.
- A table with the post (or “Link created by hand”), the network or channel, the short link and the clicks, sortable by more or fewer clicks.
These are clicks, not visits: ōrbita does not count bots or the previews that networks generate when they see a link. What happens after the click (how many people stay, what they do) is seen in your own website’s analytics. While there are no links, the card tells you so and takes you to the settings.
With your agent
If you have connected your agent with the permission to read metrics, it can check the clicks on your links, by period and by link.
Who it is for
Included in the Satellite, Star and Galaxy plans. It comes turned off: whoever has Editor level or higher turns it on.