What is a smart link?
A smart link is a short, branded URL that redirects visitors to any destination while tracking every click. Instead of sharing a long, unwieldy URL, you create a clean link like 1smart.link/my-offer that is easy to remember, easy to share, and gives you full visibility into who clicked and when.
On 1smart.link, smart links are one of the two core link types — the other being bio pages. Where a bio page is a mini-website with multiple destinations, a smart link is focused: one link, one destination, maximum clarity.
Why it matters
Every time you share a link — on packaging, in an email, on social media, in an ad — you want two things: a clean experience for the person clicking, and data about the click for you.
Raw URLs are long, ugly, and tell you nothing. A smart link solves both problems. It gives your audience a short, professional URL and gives you click-level analytics, UTM tracking, and retargeting pixel support — all without requiring any technical setup.
For Amazon sellers, smart links are especially useful for driving external traffic to product listings. For marketers and creators, they are the fastest way to share a trackable, branded URL anywhere.
How it works
When you create a smart link, the platform generates a short URL with your chosen slug (the path after the domain, e.g. /my-offer). You can pick your own slug or let the system auto-generate a short random one. If a slug is already taken, the system automatically retries with a new one.
When someone clicks your smart link, the platform records the click — including source, device, location, and any UTM parameters — then redirects the visitor to your destination URL.
Smart link types
1smart.link offers three types of smart link, each suited to a different use case:
| Type | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Redirect link | Sends the visitor to any URL with full tracking | General sharing, ads, packaging inserts |
| Amazon SFB keyword link | Redirects through a weighted Amazon search URL with keyword rotation | Amazon external traffic campaigns |
| vCard link | Opens the visitor's native Add-to-Contacts sheet with your details | Networking, business cards, email signatures |
Redirect methods
When you create a redirect link, you can choose how the redirect behaves at the HTTP level:
- 302 (default) — A temporary redirect. The most flexible option. Browsers and search engines treat it as non-permanent, so you can change the destination at any time without side effects.
- 301 — A permanent redirect. Useful when you want search engines to pass link equity to the destination. Note that browsers cache 301 redirects aggressively, so changing the destination later may not take effect for returning visitors.
- 307 — A temporary redirect that preserves the original HTTP method (e.g. POST stays POST). Rarely needed for marketing links, but available if your use case requires it.
For most users, the default 302 is the right choice.
Tracking and parameters
Every smart link supports five standard UTM fields: source, medium, campaign, term, and content. These are appended to the destination URL automatically, so your analytics platform (such as Google Analytics) can attribute the traffic correctly.
A Forward URL parameters toggle lets you pass through any query-string parameters the visitor arrives with. This is useful if an upstream platform appends its own tracking data to your link — the parameters flow through to the destination intact.
Safety and expiry
At creation time, every destination URL is checked against Google Safe Browsing. Known malicious URLs are blocked outright, suspicious ones are logged, and accounts that trigger three strikes are auto-suspended. This keeps the platform safe for everyone.
You can also set a link expiry — a date and time after which the link stops redirecting and instead shows a branded expired-link page.
When to use a smart link vs a bio page
The choice is straightforward:
- Use a smart link when you have one destination and want the visitor to get there as fast as possible. Think product launches, ad campaigns, packaging inserts, or social-media posts where every extra click costs you conversions.
- Use a bio page when you want to offer the visitor multiple destinations in a browsable, branded experience — like a social-media bio link that points to your shop, blog, and mailing list all at once.
Note: Smart links on 1smart.link are a Pro feature. Free-tier users can explore the platform but will need an active Pro plan to create and manage smart links.
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