Outbound and affiliate links
Links to partner shops, tools you recommend or sponsors, each with its own short link, so you see which recommendation readers followed.
How-to · WordPress
How to track clicks in WordPress without a plugin
WordPress links accept any address, so a Letlink short link records clicks on outbound, affiliate and download links in posts, buttons and menus without adding a plugin to your site.
Short answer
To track clicks in WordPress, use a tracked short link as the link address: in the block editor, select the text, click Link in the toolbar or press Ctrl+K (⌘+K on a Mac), paste the Letlink short link and press Enter; for a button, select it and use its Link control. Each click is recorded with country, device, browser, referrer and time. There is nothing to install — Letlink has no WordPress plugin and needs none. The free plan covers 1,000 links and 1,000 tracked clicks a month; Solo at $3.90 adds your own domain and 200 QR codes for print.
At a glance
- Plugin needed
- None
- Insert a link
- Link button or Ctrl+K (⌘+K on Mac)
- Free plan
- 1,000 links, 1,000 tracked clicks a month
- Own domain
- 1 on Solo, 3 on Growth
- Crawlers
- Never counted as clicks
Features
What you can track on a WordPress site
Buttons
Select a button in a Buttons block, use its Link control and paste the short URL. Clicks on the call to action are counted on their own.
Menus
Add the short URL as a custom link in your navigation menu to see how many visitors use a menu item that leaves the site.
Downloads
Point a short link at a PDF, an app or a file and count downloads from the post that offered them.
One place to update links
When a partner changes its URL, edit the destination once in Letlink and every post, button and menu item using that short link follows.
Your own domain
Run links on a subdomain such as go.yourblog.com from Solo, so readers see your name when they hover over the link.
QR codes for print
Generate a QR code for a link to print in a magazine, on a flyer or a slide that points to your post; scans are counted apart from web clicks.
Crawlers left out
Search engine crawlers and other bots are never counted as clicks, and with Block bots on — the default — they get a 403 instead of the destination.
Use cases
Who tracks WordPress links this way
Bloggers and reviewers
Count clicks on every product you recommend, by post, without another plugin slowing the site down.
Small business sites
Track clicks on booking, menu and map links that leave your site, and see them by device and hour.
Sites you don’t administer
On a hosted or client site where you cannot install plugins, a short link still tracks clicks.
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Create the short link
In Letlink, open Create link, paste the outbound URL and type a back-half you will recognise, such as camera-review. Use Link with UTM with source blog if the destination is your own campaign.
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Link text in the block editor
In a Paragraph or Heading block, select the text, click Link in the block toolbar or press Ctrl+K (⌘+K on Mac), paste the short URL and press Enter. Selecting text and pasting the URL also creates the link.
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Link a button
Select the button inside a Buttons block, click Link in its toolbar and paste the short URL. Under the link’s Advanced options you can turn on Open in new tab or Mark as nofollow.
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Add it to a menu
In your site’s navigation, add a custom link item and use the short URL as its address.
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Publish and check
Publish, open the page in a private window, click the link, and confirm the click appears on the link’s stats page in Letlink.
Pricing
Letlink plans and limits
Start free with no card. Paying yearly takes 20% off every paid plan.
| Plan | Free | Solo | Growth Most popular | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $0 | $3.90 | $8.90 | $39.90 |
| Active links | 1,000 | 3,000 | 8,000 | 15,000 |
| Tracked clicks a month | 1,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 | Unlimited |
| Custom domains | — | 1 | 3 | 50 |
| Team members | 1 | 1 | 5 | 50 |
| Click history | 7 days | 30 days | 365 days | Unlimited |
Mobile app
Your links, in your pocket.
Create short links, watch clicks arrive live and design QR codes from your phone. Free on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- Live click analytics
- Smart links and QR codes
- In sync with your dashboard
FAQ
Track clicks in WordPress: questions and answers
Anything else? Talk to us — or read the help center.
How do I track clicks in WordPress without a plugin?
Use a tracked short link as the link address. Create the link in Letlink, then in the WordPress block editor select your text, click Link or press Ctrl+K (⌘+K on Mac), paste the short URL and press Enter. Every click is recorded with country, device, browser, referrer and time — the free plan covers 1,000 tracked clicks a month.
Is there a Letlink WordPress plugin?
No. Letlink has no WordPress plugin, and you do not need one: the short link does the tracking, so nothing is added to your site’s code or database. It works on self-hosted WordPress, hosted WordPress and any other site builder.
Why did my pasted link turn into an embed?
WordPress may turn a URL pasted on its own line into an Embed block or a preview. To keep a normal text link, select existing text first and then paste the URL or use the Link control on it.
Do search engine crawlers inflate my click counts?
No. Bots and crawlers are never counted as tracked clicks. With Block bots on — the default on every plan — they receive a 403 instead of being redirected; you can turn it off on Country access if you need link previews in chat apps, and they still are not counted.
Should affiliate short links be marked nofollow?
That is your call and your affiliate programme’s rules. WordPress lets you turn on Mark as nofollow under a link’s Advanced options, and Buttons have a Link relation setting for other rel values. Letlink redirects with a temporary (302) status and does not change the link attributes on your page.
Can I see which post a click came from?
Give each post or placement its own short link. The referrer on a click shows your site as the source, but browsers often send only the domain rather than the full page address, so a separate link per post is the reliable way to count clicks post by post, on the stats page and in CSV export.
Get started
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