Bitly is a URL-shortening service that allows users to shorten, create, share, and track links (URLs) and has allowed businesses to manage, measure, and optimize their online links. By using Bitly, businesses can break bottlenecks in their operations by effectively collecting and analyzing their web presence and marketing campaigns. In this blog, we will explore how to integrate your Bitly data into Bold BI®.
Let’s see how to extract data from Bitly to interact with your data.
Extracting data from Bitly
Bitly offers REST APIs that allow users to scrutinize and extract data housed in their Bitly accounts. The following table visualizes data to help select the appropriate APIs to connect to Bitly data.
| Use | API Endpoints |
| Creates a Bitlink from a long URL and allows additional parameters to be set. | https://api-ssl.bitly.com/v4/bitlinks |
| Returns the country of origin for click-traffic for the specified link. | https://api-ssl.bitly.com/v4/groups/ group_guid/countries |
| Returns the click count for the specified link in an array based on a date. | https://apissl.bitly.com/v4/bitlinks/bit.ly/12a4b6c/clicks |
| Updates the details of a group. | https://api-ssl.bitly.com/v4/groups |
| Returns metrics by referring networks for the specified link. | https://apissl.bitly.com/v4/bitlinks/bit.ly/12a4b6c/referring-networks |
| Returns the device types generating click traffic to the specified link. | https://apissl.bitly.com/v4/bitlinks/bit.ly/12a4b6c/devices |
After extracting data, you can integrate and render it in an appealing presentation using Bold BI.
Integrating Bitly data into Bold BI
To integrate Bitly data to Bold BI:
- Click the data source button on the dashboard home page to navigate to the data source creation page.
- Click CREATE NEW to begin a new data source connection on the data source pane.
- Move to the data source file type from the connection panel to select Bitly.
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Authenticate with your Bitly login credentials.
- The linked account will appear as depicted in the subsequent image. Choose the account by clicking Next.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1193"]
Connected Bitly Account[/caption] - Give the data source name after authentication. Click the preferred file to preview and connect.
- In the popup, edit by selecting the required fields, preview, then connect.
- The data source page design opens with the selected table schema. Proceed with drag-and-drop and save.
Once you've linked your data source to your Bold BI account, you can make its data visible by creating a dashboard.
How to create a Bitly dashboard
Bold BI® facilitates flawless incorporation with Bitly, resulting in the production of interactive dashboards. By simply dragging widgets into the dashboard designer, you will construct a visually appealing Bitly Links Analysis Dashboard, enabling performance monitoring that provides data on link activity and aids in campaign assessment, social media analysis, and strategic decision-making in marketing.
If you're starting a dashboard from scratch and want a visual demonstration, this video is for you!
Using a Bitly links analysis dashboard, you can track the following essential metrics:
- Total Links: Evaluate the overall link diversity across various campaigns and platforms.
- Total Clinks: Measure the overall effectiveness and reach of all shortened links.
- Total Clicks by Referrers: Identify which sources or platforms are driving the most traffic to the links.
- Total Clicks by Device Type: Understand user behavior across different devices to optimize the user experience.
- Total Clicks by Date: Analyze temporal link click trends to identify peak activity periods.
- Total Clicks by Country: Identify the geographical distribution of an audience and potential markets.
- Top 5 Links by Clicks: Identify the most successful content pieces or campaigns.
- Total Links Created by Date: Analyze link creation patterns to manage workload and productivity.
- Links by Tag: Measure grouping links based on specific campaigns, channels, or content types.
Users get insights into the performance and management of shortened links, enabling data-driven decision-making and more effective link marketing strategies in their organizations.
Let's see how to present Bitly data visually:
Visualizing metrics using Bitly data
After finding the right data, add the necessary widgets to the dashboard you initially created. After this, proceed with setting up these widgets in the dashboard and link them to their corresponding data sources. For guidance on how to align each widget with its appropriate data source, see the following table.
| Metric/KPI | Configuration |
| Total links | Type: Radial gauge Value: Total |
| Total clicks | Type: Radial gauge Value: Clicks |
| Total clicks by referrers | Type: Doughnut chart Value: Clicks Column: Referrer |
| Total clicks by devices | Type: Doughnut chart Value: Clicks Column: Device_type |
| Total clicks by date | Type: Spline chart Value: Count Column: Date |
| Total clicks by country | Type: Map chart Value: Clicks Location Name: Country |
| Top 5 links by clicks | Type: Bar chart Value: Clicks Column: Link |
| Total links created by date | Type: Spline area Value: Count Column: Created date |
| Links by tag | Type: Spline area Value: Count Column: tags |
Schedule data refresh for your Bitly Dashboard
The scheduling refresh feature in a Bitly integration dashboard is essential for effective data management. It allows automatic updates of your data at set intervals, which ensures that your data is always current and accurate. This feature prevents the need for manual updates, saving time and increasing productivity in your operations. Check out this blog to explore more of this feature.
I hope this article has effectively conveyed the significance of Bitly integration, which stands to revolutionize the way you manage and analyze web links. I am confident the information provided will help you better understand this system.
If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out through the Bold BI website; simply log in to submit your inquiries if you already have an account. If you’re not yet a customer, get started with Bold BI now by signing up for a free trial!
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