How to Add Retargeting & Tracking Pixels to Links

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a powerful advertising technique that lets you show targeted ads to people who have already interacted with your brand.

By adding a tracking pixel to your links, you can tag users who click them and add them to a special "audience."

This allows you to re-engage with a warm audience that has already shown interest in what you offer, leading to higher conversion rates and a better return on your ad spend.

Linkly is a privacy-focused platform. The retargeting is done by the ad networks themselves, not by Linkly. Linkly simply provides a way to fire the tracking pixels.

What is Retargeting?

Retargeting, sometimes known as remarketing, is the process of invisibly tagging a user as showing an interest in a product or service, with the intention of showing them targeted ads at a later date.

Users who have been tagged are called an audience.

Each ad network gives it its own name:

With Linkly, you can add users to retargeting audiences automatically as they click on links.

What is a tracking pixel?

A tracking pixel is an invisible piece of code inserted into a website that identifies a user and an action (e.g. ‘viewed a product’ or ‘clicked a link’).

The ad network then knows about this, and you can set up ads for users who completed those actions.

  1. First, you need to get the tracking pixel code from the ad network you want to use. Each network has its own process for this.

  2. In your Linkly dashboard, click Create New Link.

  3. Fill in the Nickname, Destination URL, and any other settings for your link.

  4. Click on the Retargeting & tracking pixels section to expand it.

    You'll see two boxes: one for head tags and one for body tags. Refer to your ad network's instructions to determine where to paste your code. Make sure to include the full code, including any <script> tags.

    Add Your Pixel Code
    Add Your Pixel Code

  5. Click Save Link. Now, when someone clicks this link, your tracking pixel will fire, and they'll be added to your retargeting audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adding retargeting pixels to your links allows you to:

  • Build custom audiences of people who have shown interest in your content.
  • Increase conversion rates by showing targeted ads to a warm audience.
  • Improve your return on ad spend by focusing your advertising efforts on people who are more likely to convert.
  • Gain valuable insights into who is clicking your links and what they're interested in.

Which ad networks are supported?

Linkly supports tracking pixels from all major ad networks, including Google Ads, Meta (Facebook), X, Reddit, and more. You can also use Google Tag Manager to manage all your tags in one place.

How do I know if my tracking pixel is working?

Most ad networks provide tools to help you debug your pixel implementation. For example, Meta has the Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome extension. You can also check your ad network's analytics to see if your audience is growing.

Yes, adding tracking pixels can slow down redirects. Linkly is designed to fire the pixel and redirect the user simultaneously, but there can still be a small performance impact. The tags have 500 milliseconds to fire after the DOMContentLoaded event. You can read more about slow redirects here.

Yes, you can add multiple tracking pixels to a single link by pasting them one after another in the tracking code boxes.

What about the deprecation of third-party cookies?

The advertising industry is moving away from third-party cookies, which will affect how retargeting works. However, the technologies that Linkly uses for retargeting are based on first-party data and are not affected by this change. Ad networks are also developing new privacy-preserving technologies to continue to allow for retargeting in a post-cookie world.

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