Tracking Link Types

When you generate a Katalys Tracking Link, you can choose what type of link. This page will help guide you to the correct type.

Type

Managed By

Notes

Landing Page
ALWAYS AVAILABLE

Advertiser

Most common type. A Landing Page is a named link configured and managed by the Advertiser. Most landing pages are checked weekly to ensure they are valid web pages.

If a Landing Page needs to be updated, the advertiser can modify the Landing Page Destination URL, fixing traffic to the link without Partners needing to updating their links.

Deep Link
SOMETIMES AVAILABLE

Partner

Used for product-specific pages. A Deep Link is used when there is no available Landing Page for a product-specific or funnel-specific URL. Deep links are not checked by Katalys.

If a Deep Link breaks, it is the responsibility of the Partner to update the deep link to the proper URL.

Direct Link
ONLY CERTAIN OFFERS

Partner

Used commonly in media buying. A Direct Link is a link that bypasses the Katalys redirection endpoint, going directly to the brand’s website. This link requires that Katalys Tracking is directly integrated on the target web page and is only available for compatible programs.

If a Direct Link breaks, Katalys will have no visibility into the issue. It is the responsibility of the Partner to ensure Direct Links stay updated.

Where possible, we recommend using Landing Pages as this gives you the most confidence in your monetization potential. For specialized use cases such as media buying on Google Ads or Meta Ads to compatible programs, we support Direct Links that are fully compatible with our tracking and postback features.

Reporting on Link Types

You can report on where your traffic is going by using the following dimensions.

Landing Page Name
Used to report on what Landing Pages you’ve deployed to your publishing properties.
Landing Page URL
Used to give an easy preview of where Landing Pages are configured to go.
Destination URL
Used to report on where your traffic is going after clicking any Katalys Tracking Link.

Use the following table to understand how link type affects the value displayed in these dimensions.

For the dimension…	If the click was…	The value displayed will be…
Landing Page Name	Landing Page	The name and ID of the Landing Page Example: `My Landing Page (1234)`
	Deep Link	The fixed-value `(deep link)`
	Direct Link	The fixed-value `(direct link)`
Landing Page URL	Landing Page	The Preview URL property of the Landing Page, as was recorded when the click happened.
	Deep Link	The `null` value
	Direct Link	The `null` value
Destination URL	Landing Page	A sanitized copy of the user’s browser URL after clicking on the tracking link. This should match the Preview URL of the Landing Page configuration. If it does not, this might mean that the advertiser has changed their website and the Preview URL is no longer correct.
	Deep Link	A sanitized copy of the Deep Link’s destination.
	Direct Link	A sanitized copy of the Direct Link’s destination.

The dimension Destination URL will likely contain the most-accurate and full picture of where your clicks are landing on an Advertiser’s website.