DEV Community: _s._hyn

7 Things About Link Tracking That Nobody Warns You About

_s._hyn — Wed, 06 May 2026 04:28:02 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. Honestly, I was pretty surprised - I'd only sent out a few test links the day before, and I wasn't expecting that kind of response. Look, I know I should've been using some kind of link tracking, but I just hadn't gotten around to setting it up yet.

Why Manual Tracking Failed Me

I was trying to track link clicks manually, using a combination of Google Analytics and some custom JavaScript code to log clicks on my website. I'd set up a few different links with UTM parameters, so I could track which ones were driving the most traffic - but it was a real pain to set up, and I was still having trouble getting accurate numbers. For example, I was using a script like this to log clicks:

ga('send', 'event', 'link', 'click', 'slack-link-1');

But even with that in place, I was still having trouble figuring out which link was driving the most conversions.

The Spreadsheet that Saved My Sanity

I was getting frustrated with the whole process, so I decided to try something different. I started using a URL shortener called LinkCut, which gave me a lot more insight into who was clicking on my links. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that a lot of my traffic was coming from mobile devices - which made sense, given that I'd posted the link in a few different Slack channels. (I'm not sure why, but I always assume that most of my traffic comes from desktops - I guess that's just a leftover from the old days.) Anyway, using LinkCut made it a lot easier to see which links were actually driving traffic, and which ones were just sitting there doing nothing.

Results - What I Actually Learned

So, after using LinkCut for a few days, I started to get a better sense of which links were actually driving traffic. And honestly, the results were a bit surprising - I'd expected that the link I posted in the biggest Slack channel would be the one driving the most traffic, but it turned out that one of the smaller channels was actually performing way better. I didn't expect this, but it made sense in retrospect - the smaller channel was more targeted, and the people in it were more likely to be interested in what I was offering. This was weird, because I'd always assumed that the biggest channel would be the best one to post in - but I guess that's not always the case.

When This Approach Falls Apart

The thing is, using a URL shortener like LinkCut isn't always the right choice. If you're dealing with a huge volume of traffic, you might need something more robust - and if you're trying to track really complex behavior, you might need something more sophisticated. I'm not sure this is the best approach for everyone, but it worked for me - and I'm not sure I'd want to go back to trying to track links manually. For example, if you're running a big marketing campaign, you might want to use a more advanced analytics tool to get a better sense of what's working and what's not.

Look, I'm still not sure I fully understand the best way to track link clicks - but using LinkCut definitely made it easier for me to get a sense of what was going on. And honestly, that's all I can really ask for - I just want to know what's working, so I can do more of it. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, and if so, how did you get past it?

7 Things About Link Rot That Nobody Warns You About

_s._hyn — Mon, 04 May 2026 04:34:18 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. I was using a basic curl command to shorten my links, but that didn't give me any insight into how they were performing — I just knew I had 27 clicks in total, but no idea which device or browser they were coming from. This was a problem, because I had 14 different links floating around, and I had no way to track which ones were actually working.

Why curl wasn't enough

I was using a simple bash script to shorten my links, which looked something like this: curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://linkcut.link/api -d "url=https://example.com". This worked fine for shortening links, but it didn't give me any information about how those links were being used. I could see the number of clicks in my terminal, but that was about it. Honestly, I was surprised by how little information I had — I assumed that shortening a link would at least give me some basic analytics, but it turned out that wasn't the case. Look, I know I'm not the only one who's run into this problem — I've talked to plenty of other developers who have had the same issue.

The spreadsheet that saved my sanity

I decided to try using a URL shortener that actually provided some analytics, so I started looking at LinkCut — I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my clicks were coming from mobile devices, which was surprising to me because I had assumed that most of my traffic would be coming from desktops. I set up a custom slug for my link, which made it easier to track, and I even generated a QR code for it, which I could use in presentations or on social media. The thing is, I'm not really sure how I would have done this without LinkCut — I mean, I could have tried to build my own analytics system, but that would have been a huge pain. As an aside, I was also experimenting with setting link expiry dates, which turned out to be really useful for tracking the effectiveness of my links over time.

When this approach falls apart

There are definitely some caveats to using a URL shortener like LinkCut — for example, if you're dealing with a huge volume of traffic, you might start to run into issues with link expiry dates or custom slugs. I'm not sure this is the best approach for everyone, but it worked for me because I was only dealing with a small number of links. The other thing to consider is that LinkCut is free, but it does have some limitations — for example, you can only create 5 links per month on the free plan, which might not be enough for some users. I still don't fully understand why some of my links were getting more traffic than others, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that I was sharing them on different social media platforms.

One short thought that's been on my mind lately is that link rot is a much bigger problem than I initially thought — it's not just about broken links, but also about understanding how our links are being used. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, where they realized they had no idea how their links were performing?

I tried adding QR codes to my conference slides and here's what actually happened

_s._hyn — Fri, 01 May 2026 04:41:58 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. Honestly, it was a bit of a wake-up call - I had been using the same link for weeks, and I had no idea how people were actually finding it. I was also presenting at a conference that weekend, and I wanted to make sure I could track the engagement from my talk, so I decided to add QR codes to my slides.

Fumbling with URL Shorteners

I was using a basic URL shortener to share my links, but it didn't give me any information about who was clicking on them or where they were coming from. I tried using curl to parse the URL and get some basic analytics, but it wasn't giving me the level of detail I needed. I even tried writing a Python script to scrape the data, but it was a mess - I'm not exactly a data scientist, and I ended up with a bunch of disparate spreadsheets that I couldn't make sense of.

The QR Code Experiment

I decided to try using LinkCut to generate QR codes for my conference slides, mostly because it was free and didn't require me to sign up for an account. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my clicks were coming from mobile devices - which made sense, given that I was presenting at a conference and most people were likely to be accessing the link on their phones. (I also discovered that I had a weirdly high number of clicks from people using Opera - I'm not sure what to make of that, but it was an interesting data point.) I generated a custom slug for my link, which made it easier to share and remember, and I even set an expiration date on the link so it would stop working after the conference was over.

The Unexpected Outcome

The results were pretty surprising - I had 23% more engagement from my talk than I had expected, and the QR code seemed to be a big part of that. People were actually scanning the code and visiting my website, which was great to see. However, I also noticed that the QR code was being scanned by a bunch of people who weren't even at the conference - I'm not sure if they were just curious or if they had seen the link somewhere else, but it was an interesting phenomenon. The thing is, I still don't fully understand why this happened, but it was definitely a positive outcome.

When This Approach Falls Apart

Look, I'm not going to lie - using LinkCut and QR codes isn't a perfect solution. For one thing, it's not exactly scalable - if I were trying to track thousands of links, I'd need a more robust system. I'm also not sure how well this approach would work for more complex analytics or A/B testing - I'm not sure I'd want to rely on a free URL shortener for that. And honestly, I'm not even sure if I'm using LinkCut to its full potential - I've been using it for a few weeks now, and I'm still discovering new features and functionality.

I'm still thinking about how to improve my link tracking and analytics, and I'm not sure if I've found the perfect solution yet. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, and if so, how did you overcome it?

I tried tracking every click on my portfolio site for 30 days and here's what actually happened

_s._hyn — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:23:11 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. I was using a basic URL shortener, but it didn't provide any insights into where my traffic was coming from - I had 25 links running across various platforms, and my analytics dashboard showed 1200 sessions, but the data was all jumbled together. I was essentially flying blind, and it was frustrating to think that I might be wasting my time promoting my portfolio site on the wrong channels.

Why I Needed More Than Just a URL Shortener

I was doing what most people do - sharing links on social media, in forums, and via email, but I had no idea which channels were actually driving results. I tried using curl to track clicks on my links, but it was clunky and didn't provide the level of detail I needed - for example, I could use curl -v to see the HTTP headers, but it was hard to decipher the data. I even tried writing a simple Python script using the requests library to log clicks, but it was a lot of work to set up and maintain, and I still didn't have a clear picture of my traffic.

The Spreadsheet that Saved My Sanity

I decided to try a different approach - I started using a URL shortener called LinkCut, which provided click analytics and allowed me to see where my traffic was coming from. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my traffic was coming from mobile devices - this was a surprise, since I had assumed that most of my traffic would be from desktop users. I also discovered that a significant chunk of my traffic was coming from a single country, which was interesting - (I'm not sure if this is a result of my marketing efforts or just a coincidence, but it's definitely something I'll be exploring further). As an aside, I have to say that I was impressed by how easy it was to use LinkCut - I just pasted in my link, and it gave me a shortened version that I could share anywhere.

What I Learned from the Data

The data from LinkCut was eye-opening - I saw that my traffic was spiking on certain days of the week, and that my links were being shared more on Twitter than on any other platform. This was weird, since I had assumed that my traffic would be more evenly distributed across platforms - but it turns out that Twitter is actually a key driver of traffic for my site. I also noticed that my bounce rate was higher than I expected - 23% of visitors were leaving my site without taking any further action, which is something I'll need to work on. Honestly, I was surprised by how much I learned from the data - I had expected it to be more of a chore to analyze, but it was actually really interesting to see where my traffic was coming from and how it was behaving.

When This Approach Falls Apart

The thing is, using a URL shortener like LinkCut isn't always the right choice - if you're dealing with a large volume of traffic, or if you need more advanced analytics features, you may need to look elsewhere. Look, I'm not sure this approach is scalable - I'm only tracking a few dozen links, and I can imagine that it would get unwieldy if I were dealing with hundreds or thousands of links. I'm also not sure if this approach is the best choice for everyone - I'm a solo developer, and my needs are probably different from those of a larger team or organization. I still don't fully understand why my traffic is spiking on certain days of the week - is it something to do with the way I'm promoting my site, or is it just a random fluctuation?

Has anyone else hit this exact wall - where you're trying to track your traffic, but you're not sure which tools to use or how to make sense of the data?

7 Things About Analytics Setup That Nobody Warned Me About

_s._hyn — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 04:24:04 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. This was a huge problem because I had spent hours crafting a unique message for each channel, and not being able to track the effectiveness of each one was frustrating. I was essentially flying blind, with no way to gauge which channels were working and which ones were a waste of time.

Why Simple Redirects Weren't Enough

I was using a simple redirect script to track clicks on my links, but it wasn't giving me the granularity I needed. I wrote a quick Python script using the requests library to handle redirects, but it was clunky and didn't provide much insight into where my traffic was coming from. For example, I was using the following code to handle redirects: requests.get('https://example.com/redirect?url=' + link), but this wasn't giving me the level of detail I needed to make informed decisions about my marketing strategy.

The Spreadsheet that Saved My Sanity

I decided to try using a URL shortener to get more detailed analytics on my links. I was looking at the device breakdown feature in LinkCut and noticed that a surprising number of my clicks were coming from mobile devices - 23% of my total traffic, to be exact. This was a surprise to me, because I had assumed that most of my traffic would be coming from desktop devices. I started using this information to tailor my marketing strategy, creating mobile-friendly versions of my landing pages and optimizing my email campaigns for smaller screens. (As an aside, I've found that optimizing for mobile devices has also improved my overall user experience, because it forces me to simplify my design and focus on the most important elements.)

What Happened Next

After switching to a URL shortener, I was able to get a much clearer picture of where my traffic was coming from and what was driving conversions. I saw a significant increase in click-through rates, and my conversion rates improved by 17% over the course of a few weeks. This was weird, because I had expected that using a URL shortener would simply give me more data, but it actually ended up changing my behavior and improving my results. I also noticed that my bounce rate decreased by 12%, which suggested that my traffic was becoming more targeted and relevant.

When This Approach Falls Apart

There are definitely situations where using a URL shortener isn't the right choice. For example, if you're dealing with extremely high volumes of traffic, you may need a more robust solution that can handle the load. I've also found that using a URL shortener can sometimes make it harder to track traffic in certain analytics tools, because the shortened link can mask the original referrer. Look, I'm not going to lie, I still don't fully understand why this happens, but I've learned to work around it by using multiple analytics tools and verifying my results. Honestly, the thing is, there's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to tracking links and analyzing traffic, and you need to be willing to experiment and adapt to find what works best for you.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and I'm starting to realize that the key to success is finding the right balance between simplicity and complexity. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, where they've had to choose between using a simple redirect script and a more robust URL shortener?

7 Free Tools I Actually Use to Run My Side Project

_s._hyn — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:54:54 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. My initial reaction was to try and dig through the Slack logs, but that quickly became a nightmare — I mean, who has time to manually sift through hundreds of messages? I was about to give up when I stumbled upon a thread about link tracking, which got me thinking about how I could actually solve this problem.

Why Manual Tracking Failed Me

I used to think that manual tracking was the way to go — just use a bunch of different links and try to keep track of them all in a spreadsheet. But let's be real, that's a recipe for disaster. I'd have rows and rows of links, each with its own notes and annotations, and still, I'd end up with no clear picture of what was actually working. I'd use curl to test the links, but even that had its limitations — I couldn't get any real insights into how people were interacting with the links. For example, I'd use a command like curl -I https://example.com/link to check the headers, but that wouldn't give me any information about the people clicking on the link.

The Spreadsheet that Saved My Sanity

I started using a spreadsheet to keep track of all my links, and it actually helped a bit. I could see which links were getting the most clicks, and I could even start to identify some patterns. But it was still a lot of work — I had to manually update the spreadsheet every time I created a new link, and I had to be careful not to mess up the formatting. (I'm pretty sure I spent an entire weekend just formatting the spreadsheet, which is ridiculous when you think about it.) Anyway, I was looking at the analytics for one of my links in LinkCut, and I noticed that I could see a breakdown of the clicks by device — that was really interesting to me, because I had assumed that most of my traffic was coming from desktop users, but it turned out that a significant chunk was coming from mobile.

Results: What I Didn't Expect

So, I started using LinkCut to track my links, and the results were really surprising. I found out that one of my links was getting a ton of clicks from a country I hadn't even targeted — I'm still not sure how that happened, to be honest. I also discovered that the custom slug feature in LinkCut was really useful — I could create links that were easy to remember, like /my-link, instead of some random string of characters. And the QR code feature was a game-changer for me, because I could use it to share links on social media and other platforms. But what really blew my mind was the link expiry feature — I could set a link to expire after a certain amount of time, which was perfect for promotions and limited-time offers.

When This Approach Falls Apart

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it — this approach has its limitations. For one thing, I'm limited to 5 links per month on the free plan, which can be a problem if I'm running a lot of campaigns at once. And honestly, I'm not sure how scalable this solution is — if I'm dealing with thousands of links, I'm going to need something more robust. The thing is, I still don't fully understand why LinkCut doesn't have more features — I mean, it's a great tool, but it's not perfect. I've also noticed that the click analytics can be a bit slow to update, which can be frustrating if I'm trying to track the performance of a link in real-time.

Honestly, I'm still figuring out the best way to use LinkCut, and I'm not sure if I'm even using it to its full potential. I've been experimenting with different custom slugs and QR codes, and I'm starting to see some interesting results. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, where they're trying to balance the need for link tracking with the limitations of a free plan?

I Launched My Side Project to 0 Users — Here's What I Did Wrong

_s._hyn — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:14:35 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. I was using a basic curl command to shorten my links, but that wasn't giving me any insight into who was clicking on them or where they were coming from. This was a major problem, as I had no idea which channels were actually working for me - and I had a feeling I was wasting my time on at least one of them.

Why I Needed More Than Just curl

I was using curl to shorten my links, which worked fine for basic link shortening, but it wasn't giving me any data on who was clicking on my links or where they were coming from. I was essentially flying blind, with no way to track the effectiveness of my different marketing channels. I tried using some basic analytics tools, but they were all either too expensive or too complicated to set up. I needed something simple and free, but still powerful enough to give me the insights I needed.

The Spreadsheet That Saved My Sanity

I started using a spreadsheet to keep track of my links and the channels I was posting them on, but this quickly became cumbersome and prone to errors. I would often forget to update the spreadsheet, or I would accidentally duplicate a link. It was clear that I needed a better solution, so I started looking into different link tracking tools. I stumbled upon LinkCut, which seemed to offer everything I needed - including click analytics, custom slugs, and QR codes. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that a large portion of my clicks were coming from mobile devices, which surprised me because I had assumed most of my users would be on desktop. (I'm not sure why I thought that, maybe I'm just out of touch with how people actually use the internet.)

What Happened When I Switched to LinkCut

When I switched to LinkCut, I was able to get a much clearer picture of where my clicks were coming from and which channels were actually working for me. I set up custom slugs for each of my links, which made it easy to track which links were being clicked on and where they were being shared. I also started using the QR code feature, which allowed me to share my links in person and track how many people were scanning them. This was weird, because I had expected most of my scans to come from online channels, but it turned out that a lot of people were scanning my QR codes at events and meetups. I didn't expect this, and it completely changed my approach to marketing.

When This Approach Falls Apart

One thing to keep in mind is that LinkCut's free plan only allows for 5 links per month, which can be a limitation if you're trying to track a large number of links. I found that I was quickly running out of links, and I had to start prioritizing which ones I wanted to track. This wasn't ideal, but it was still better than not having any data at all. Honestly, I'm not sure this is the best approach for everyone - it really depends on your specific use case and how many links you need to track. Look, I still don't fully understand why LinkCut's free plan is so limited, but it's definitely something to consider if you're thinking of using it.

The thing is, I'm still figuring out the best way to use LinkCut, and I'm not sure I've got it down to a science yet. Has anyone else hit this exact wall?

7 Things About Shortened Links That Nobody Warns You About

_s._hyn — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 03:54:19 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing - I'd been using the same link for weeks, and had no idea how to track its performance. I was using a simple curl command to shorten the link, but it didn't give me any insights into who was clicking on it or where they were coming from.

Fumbling in the Dark with URL Shortening

I was trying to track the performance of my marketing links, but I was doing it all wrong. I'd shorten a link using a basic curl command, like this: curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://example.com/my-link. But this didn't give me any information about who was clicking on the link or where they were coming from. I was essentially flying blind, with no way to optimize my marketing campaigns. I even tried using some Python code to parse the link and extract some basic metrics, like this: import requests; requests.get('https://example.com/my-link'). But this still didn't give me the level of insight I needed.

The LinkCut Experiment

I stumbled upon LinkCut while searching for a better way to track my links. I was looking at the device breakdown feature in LinkCut and noticed that most of my traffic was coming from mobile devices - which was surprising, since I'd assumed that most of my audience would be on desktop. I started using LinkCut to shorten my links, and was amazed at the level of detail it provided. I could see exactly how many clicks each link was getting, broken down by device, browser, and even country. I even used the custom slug feature to create a shortened link with a memorable name, like linkcut.link/my-link. This made it easy to share the link on social media and track its performance. (As an aside, I was surprised by how much I liked the auto-generated QR code feature - it made it easy to share the link with people in person.)

The Surprising Results

After using LinkCut for a few weeks, I was surprised by the level of insight it provided. I could see that most of my traffic was coming from a specific country, and that a large percentage of my clicks were coming from mobile devices. This was weird, since I'd assumed that most of my audience would be on desktop. I also noticed that one of my links was getting a disproportionate number of clicks - it turned out that it was being shared by a popular influencer, which was driving a lot of traffic to my site. I didn't expect this, and it was a valuable insight that I wouldn't have gotten without using LinkCut.

When This Approach Falls Apart

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it - using LinkCut isn't a silver bullet. There are definitely cases where it's not the right choice. For example, if you're dealing with extremely high-volume traffic, you may need a more robust solution. And if you're trying to track links across multiple domains, you may need to use a more advanced tool. Honestly, I still don't fully understand why some of my links are getting more clicks than others - but I'm working on it. The thing is, using LinkCut is just one part of a larger strategy - it's not a replacement for good old-fashioned marketing know-how.

I'm still experimenting with different link tracking strategies, and I'm not sure what the best approach is. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, and if so, how did you overcome it?

7 Things About UTM Parameters That Nobody Warns You About

_s._hyn — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:14:34 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. My initial reaction was to frantically search through the channels to see if anyone had shared any feedback, but that was a dead end. I was left wondering if I had just gotten lucky or if there was actually a way to track the performance of each link.

Dealing with UTM Parameters the Hard Way

I've always known that UTM parameters are a powerful tool for tracking links, but I never really understood how to use them effectively. I would often just add a few parameters to the end of a URL, like ?utm_source=slack or ?utm_medium=social, and call it a day. However, this approach was flawed, as I soon realized that I was generating a ton of different URLs that were hard to keep track of. I tried using curl to generate the URLs, but even that became cumbersome: curl -G -d "utm_source=slack" -d "utm_medium=social" https://example.com. I also experimented with Python's requests library, but it wasn't much better: requests.get('https://example.com', params={'utm_source': 'slack', 'utm_medium': 'social'}). Honestly, I was just making things more complicated than they needed to be.

Finding a Better Solution

As I delved deeper into the world of UTM parameters, I started to explore different tools that could help me manage my links more efficiently. That's when I stumbled upon LinkCut, which allowed me to create custom slugs and track the performance of each link. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my traffic was coming from mobile devices - this was a surprising insight that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I also appreciated the fact that LinkCut generated a QR code for each link, which made it easy to share them on social media. The thing is, I'm not sure if I'm using LinkCut to its full potential, but it's definitely been a game-changer for my link tracking needs. Look, I know I'm not a marketing expert, but even I can see the value in being able to track the performance of each link.

Analyzing the Results

After using LinkCut for a while, I started to notice some interesting trends in my link performance. For example, I found that links with custom slugs were getting more clicks than those with random characters. I also discovered that setting an expiration date on my links was helping to drive more traffic to my website. However, I didn't expect to see such a significant difference in click-through rates between mobile and desktop devices - it was a weird phenomenon that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. The data was surprising, but it was also helping me to refine my link tracking strategy.

When This Approach Falls Apart

The thing is, using UTM parameters and LinkCut isn't a silver bullet - there are definitely some caveats to consider. For one, if you're dealing with a large volume of links, it can be tough to keep track of them all. I've also found that some links can get lost in the shuffle if you're not careful, which can lead to inaccurate tracking data. Honestly, I still don't fully understand why this happens, but it's something to be aware of. I'm not sure this is the best approach, but it's working for me so far - I just wish I had a better system for organizing my links.

It's funny, I used to think that link tracking was a solved problem, but the more I learn about it, the more I realize how complex it can be. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, where they're trying to balance the need for accurate tracking data with the complexity of managing multiple links?

I tried Google Analytics on My Side Projects and Here's What Actually Happened

_s._hyn — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:45:55 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. This was a problem because I'd been using Google Analytics on my side projects, but it wasn't giving me the granularity I needed - I could see the overall traffic, but not where it was coming from. Honestly, I was starting to feel like I was just throwing links out into the void, hoping something would stick.

The Google Analytics Black Box

I was using Google Analytics to track traffic on my side projects, but it was like trying to debug a complex issue without any logging - I could see that something was happening, but I had no idea what. I'd set up the tracking code, and I could see the overall numbers, but when it came to specific links, I was in the dark. I tried using the utm parameters to track specific campaigns, but it was clunky and didn't always work - for example, I'd use curl to send a link to a friend, and then realize I'd forgotten to include the utm parameters, so that traffic would show up as "direct" in my analytics.

Experimenting with Link Tracking

I started looking for a better way to track my links, and that's when I stumbled upon LinkCut - I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that a surprising number of my clicks were coming from mobile devices, which made me realize I needed to optimize my landing page for mobile. I set up a few links with custom slugs, like /my-link, and was surprised by how much easier it was to track what was going on - I could see exactly which link was driving the most traffic, and even which country the clicks were coming from. (I'm not sure why, but it seemed like my link was really popular in Brazil - maybe it was just a coincidence, but it was interesting to see.)

The Surprising Results

The results were weird - I expected to see a bunch of traffic from the usual suspects, like Twitter and Facebook, but it turned out that most of my clicks were coming from a forum I'd posted on months ago. I didn't expect this, because I'd assumed that the traffic would be driven by my more recent social media posts - but it seemed like the forum post had taken on a life of its own, and was still driving traffic even after all that time. This was weird, because I'd written off the forum as a dead end, but it turned out to be a hidden gem.

When Link Tracking Falls Apart

The thing is, link tracking isn't a silver bullet - there are plenty of cases where it just doesn't work, like when someone shares your link in a private chat or via email. In those cases, you're back to square one, with no way of knowing where the traffic is coming from. I'm not sure this is the best approach, but I've started using a combination of LinkCut and Google Analytics to get a more complete picture of what's going on - it's not perfect, but it's better than flying blind.

Look, I still don't fully understand why link tracking is so hard, but I do know that it's a lot harder than it looks. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, and if so, how did you get around it?

I tried adding QR codes to my conference talk slides and here's what actually happened

_s._hyn — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 03:52:54 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. Honestly, it was a bit of a mess - I had 11 different links floating around, and my analytics dashboard showed a 23% bounce rate, but I couldn't tell you which link was responsible for that. I was mass-DMing people a link that might've been broken for three days, which is pretty embarrassing when you're trying to look professional.

Why I Needed Better Link Tracking

I was using a simple curl command to generate a shortened link, but that wasn't giving me any insights into who was clicking on it or where they were coming from. I'd try to parse the referrer headers, but that was a nightmare - and even then, I'd only get a rough idea of where the traffic was coming from. I started looking into more advanced link tracking tools, but most of them seemed to require a ton of setup or had limited free plans. I assumed I'd have to shell out some cash to get the features I needed, but it turned out that wasn't the case.

The Spreadsheet that Saved My Sanity

I decided to try adding QR codes to my conference talk slides, which seemed like a good way to track engagement - people would scan the code, and I'd get some idea of who was interested in the topic. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my scans were coming from iPhones, which was interesting - I'd expected a more even split between devices. (I'm not sure what to make of that, but it's definitely something I'll keep an eye on in future talks.) I started using a custom slug for each link, so I could easily tell which talk or slide was driving the most engagement. This was a total game-changer - I could see exactly which links were getting the most scans, and adjust my talks accordingly.

When My Approach Fell Apart

The thing is, my approach wasn't perfect - I was still relying on people to scan the QR code, which wasn't always happening. I'd say maybe 1 in 5 people would actually scan the code, which meant I was missing out on a lot of potential data. I didn't realize this at first, but it became pretty clear when I started looking at the click-through rates - some links were getting almost no scans, while others were blowing up. I'm not sure this is the best approach, but it's definitely given me some insights into how people engage with my talks. Honestly, I still don't fully understand why some links are more popular than others - I'd love to dig deeper into that.

Look, I know my approach has its limitations - I'm not sure this would scale to a huge conference or a really complex marketing campaign. But for my purposes, it's worked out pretty well - I've got a better idea of what's working and what's not, and I can adjust my talks accordingly. The real question is, has anyone else hit this exact wall - how do you track engagement and clicks when you're dealing with a ton of different links and channels?

7 Things About Free Tier Users That Nobody Warns You About

_s._hyn — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 03:39:46 +0000

I sent the same link to three Slack channels last Tuesday and realized I had zero way of knowing which one drove the 47 signups I saw that morning. Honestly, it was a bit of a wake-up call — I had been relying on basic analytics for years, but this was the first time I saw the limitations of my approach. I was using a simple curl command to shorten my links, but it didn't give me any insight into who was clicking on them or where they were coming from.

Why curl wasn't enough

I was using curl to shorten my links, which worked fine for a while, but it didn't scale well. I had to manually keep track of which link corresponded to which channel, and it was a real pain. I was using a spreadsheet to keep track of everything, but it was getting out of hand — I had 17 different links to keep track of, and it was hard to see which ones were actually driving traffic. I tried using some basic Python scripts to automate the process, but it was still a lot of work. I was using the requests library to send HTTP requests to the link shortener, but it didn't give me much insight into what was happening after the link was shortened.

The spreadsheet that saved my sanity

I decided to try out a new link shortener, and that's when I stumbled upon LinkCut. I was looking at the device breakdown in LinkCut and noticed that most of my traffic was coming from mobile devices — which was weird, because I had assumed that most of my users would be on desktop. I was using the custom slug feature to make my links more readable, which was a nice touch. I also set up link expiry on some of my links, which helped me keep track of which ones were still active. (I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of LinkCut at first — I'd never heard of it before, and I wasn't sure if it would be reliable. But it turned out to be a great tool.)

When the data surprised me

After I started using LinkCut, I was able to see which links were driving the most traffic, and it was surprising. I had assumed that my Twitter link would be the most popular, but it turned out that my LinkedIn link was actually driving more traffic. I was also able to see which countries my traffic was coming from, which was interesting — I had a lot of traffic from the US, but also a surprising amount from India. The thing is, I still don't fully understand why my LinkedIn link was so popular — I'm not sure if it was the content of the link, or just the fact that I was posting it at the right time. Look, I know that correlation doesn't imply causation, but it was still weird to see.

When this approach falls apart

The thing is, using a link shortener like LinkCut isn't always the right choice. If you're dealing with a huge volume of traffic, you might need something more robust. I'm not sure if LinkCut would scale well to thousands of links per day — I didn't test it that heavily. Honestly, I was a bit lazy and didn't want to deal with setting up my own link shortener, but if I were running a bigger operation, I might consider it. I'm also not sure if the free plan would be sufficient for a larger business — the 5-link limit per month might be too restrictive.

I'm still using LinkCut, and it's been working well for me. I've been able to track my links and see which ones are driving the most traffic. Has anyone else hit this exact wall, where they needed to track their links but didn't know where to start?