Creating a Link Rotator
What is a link rotator?
A link rotator, sometimes called an URL rotator, is a link that automatically redirects a user to different destinations based on random chance.
You might use a link rotator to:
- Test different landing pages
- Test different offers or affiliates
Creating a Link Rotator
Linkly allows you to create a free link rotator for up to 1000 clicks per month.
How to Create a Link Rotator with Linkly
Click Create New Link from the menu.
Give the link a nickname to help you find it later.
This isn't shown outside Linkly and is just for your convenience.
Enter a Destination for the link.
This is one of the destinations you want to test.
In the Targeting section, click Rotate.
Enter the second destination here.
You can assign a percentage of traffic to redirect to this destination.
Click Save Link.
You can now test the effect of the link rotator by opening the link multiple times.
Facts about Link Rotators
- If a user clicks a link again, they may go to a different destination.
- You can add as many destinations are you like to the link rotator.
- Percentages in the rotator settings do not need to sum to 100%. Any residual traffic will go to the main destination at the top.
- You can see which destinations were redirected to using the Destination tab in the traffic reports.
Sticky Link Rotators
Sticky link rotators record which destination URL an individual has been rotated to, and then always sends the user to the same destination with subsequent clicks.
Linkly’s rotators do not work this way.
A user clicking the link a second time may be directed to a different URL.
How Link Rotator Destination URLs are Decided
Linkly’s algorithm for URL rotation is probabilistic.
This means that every time a user clicks on a Linkly rotator link, a destination URL is drawn from a hat, based on the probabilities set in the URL rotator’s settings.
This means that a user can potentially see the same destination twice on two consecutive clicks.
This also means that small traffic figures may be unevenly distributed, just as flipping a coin is not guaranteed for any individual flip, but will balance out over a large number of tosses.
When sending enough traffic (200+ clicks) through a rotator, the distribution of destinations will be approximately as defined in the rotator’s settings.
You can see the exact number of redirects to each destination in the traffic reports.
Link Rotator FAQ’s
What happens if a user clicks a link rotator twice?
If a user clicks a link again, they may go to a different destination. Users are redirected by random chance, not by clockwork.
How many destinations can I add to a link rotator?
You can up to 100 destinations to the link rotator. You can add more than 100 by stacking link rotators together.
What happens if the percentage traffic splits don’t add up?
Percentages in the link rotator section do not need to sum to 100%. Any residual traffic will go to the main destination at the top.
Why can't I add more than x links to a rotator?
The limit is 100. Make sure the percentages are less than 100, and you'll be able to add another link.
The smallest percentage you can use is 1%.
How can I see the proportion of traffic redirected to each destination?
You can see which destinations were redirected to using the Destination tab in Linkly’s traffic reports.
Can I add more than 100 destinations in a rotator?
You can stack rotators by feeding them into each other, leading to a virtually unlimited number of destinations.
