Features articles
Guides to getting more out of link management features: UTM tracking, QR codes, link-in-bio pages, deep links, CTA overlays, custom domains, and click analytics. Each article explains what the feature is for, how to set it up in minutes, and the mistakes that quietly break your data. Written how-to first, product tour second, so most of the advice works whichever tool you use.
FeaturesWhat Is Marketing Attribution? The Link-First Guide
What is marketing attribution? A plain-English definition, how it works for link and QR campaigns, what click data can't prove, and the privacy limits.
9 min read
FeaturesSMS Shortened Links Blocked? What Carriers Really Filter
Are SMS shortened links blocked? Carriers and CTIA single out shared public shorteners. See what gets filtered, what's unverified, and how to stay deliverable.
8 min read
FeaturesDo Branded Links Get More Clicks? What the Data Shows
Branded links click-through rate claims like 39% have no published method behind them. See what the evidence supports and how to A/B test your own lift.
9 min read
FeaturesShort Link Domain Name: How to Choose One That Lasts
How to choose a short link domain name: subdomain vs dedicated domain, TLD trust and registry rules, typeability, lookalike risk, spam reputation and DNS.
9 min read
FeaturesFirst Touch vs Last Touch Attribution: Models Compared
First touch vs last touch attribution, plus linear, time decay and position-based, scored on one QR-to-email journey, and what Elido's data supports.
10 min read
FeaturesApp Clip Codes Explained: Scan, Open, No Install Needed
App Clip codes let an iPhone open a slice of your app without installing it. How the invocation URL, registration, and Android's answer compare.
8 min read
FeaturesEPC QR Code: The SEPA Payment QR Standard Explained
An EPC QR code encodes a SEPA credit transfer, not a URL, so a banking app can prefill the form. What the payload holds, and why you cannot track it.
7 min read
FeaturesDo QR Codes Expire? What Breaks and How to Prevent It
The printed pattern never expires. What expires is the redirect behind a dynamic QR code - the five ways that happens, and how to survive all of them.
8 min read
FeaturesBarcode vs QR Code: Which One Belongs on Your Product
A barcode identifies an item to a system that already knows it. A QR code connects a person to content. Capacity, scanners, and the retail move to 2D codes.
8 min read
FeaturesWhat Is a QR Code and How Does Scanning Actually Work?
A QR code is a 2D barcode that stores text a camera can read. Here is what the squares mean, what a code can hold, and what happens between scan and page.
7 min read
FeaturesBulk QR Code Generation: From a CSV to Print-Ready Files
Generate QR codes in bulk from a spreadsheet: create a short link per row, render SVG and PNG through an API, and verify a sample before anything goes to print.
5 min read
FeaturesNFC Tags vs QR Codes: Which to Use for Your Campaign
NFC tags vs QR codes: QR is free, universal, and scannable from a distance; NFC is a premium tap. When to use each, and how to track both from one link.
6 min read
FeaturesDark Social: Why Analytics Miss Most of Your Shares
Dark social hides most link shares from GA4, which logs them as direct traffic. What dark social is, why analytics miss it, and how tagged short links help.
5 min read
FeaturesWhat Is a Deep Link? A Plain-English Guide
A deep link opens a specific screen inside an app, not the home screen. Deep links vs universal and app links, and life after Firebase Dynamic Links.
5 min read
FeaturesAI QR Code Art: How to Make One That Scans
AI QR code art blends a scannable code into an image with Stable Diffusion and ControlNet. How it works, how to keep it scanning, and the dynamic-link trick.
5 min read
FeaturesURL Shortener Browser Extension: One-Click Short Links
A URL shortener browser extension shortens the active tab in one click and copies the branded short link to your clipboard. What Elido's extension does today.
7 min read
FeaturesHow to Track QR Code Scans: The Analytics That Matter
Track QR code scans with a dynamic code that routes through a redirect. What scan data you get - count, location, device, time - and what stays hidden.
7 min read
FeaturesVanity URLs: Branded Links and Back-Halves Explained
A vanity URL is a branded short link like go.brand.com/careers. What branded links and custom back-halves are, how they differ, and how to set them up.
8 min read
FeaturesLink Cloaking and URL Masking: What's Safe for SEO
Link cloaking and URL masking cover three very different techniques - one safe, two risky. Which one protects your links and which one earns a Google penalty.
6 min read
FeaturesLink Retargeting Explained: Pixels on Your Short Links
Link retargeting puts an ad pixel on your short links, so anyone who clicks - even on content you don't own - joins your remarketing audience. How it works.
7 min read
FeaturesServer-side conversion tracking with short links: a guide
Server-side conversion tracking with a short-link click ID: purchases to Meta CAPI and GA4, dedup keys, hashing, retries, and what Elido forwards today.
8 min read
FeaturesWhat Is a URL Shortener? A Clear, Simple Explainer
A URL shortener turns a long web address into a short link that redirects to it. Here is what one is, how it works, and when you actually need one
9 min read
FeaturesPassword Protected Short Links: What Works and What Doesn't
How password protected short links work, where the security ends, which vendors offer them, and what Elido ships today.
7 min read
FeaturesLink Expiration and Self-Destructing Links Explained
What link expiration and self-destructing links do, when to use date, click-count, and one-time rules, and what the edge returns the moment a link expires
9 min read
FeaturesGeo-Targeting Short Links: Route Clicks by Country
Geo-targeting short links: how country routing works at the edge, what Elido stores about the IP, GeoIP accuracy limits, and stacking country with device rules.
6 min read
FeaturesBranded QR Codes That Stay Scannable: A Design Guide
How to design branded QR codes with a logo, brand color, and frame that still scan. Error correction, quiet zones, print size, and dynamic vs static
9 min read
FeaturesSocial Login for URL Shorteners: Sign In Without a Password
Sign in to Elido with Google, GitHub, Slack, and five more providers. How social login works for a link tool, and what it means for EU data residency.
6 min read
FeaturesWhite-Label URL Shorteners: What the Label Really Covers
What white-label means for a URL shortener: domain, dashboard, billing, identity and API, how Bitly, Rebrandly, Short.io and Dub list it, and what Elido ships
6 min read
FeaturesWebhooks for Link Events: Payloads, Signatures, Retries
URL shortener webhooks for link and click events: the payload envelope, click.created, X-Elido-Signature checks in Node and Python, retries and dedup keys.
11 min read
FeaturesURL Shortener API: Shorten a URL in Python, JS and Go
Shorten a URL with one API call in Python, JavaScript, Go, Java, C#, PHP, Ruby or PowerShell, then add the idempotent retries and bulk limits it needs.
30 min read
FeaturesLink Shortener With UTM Builder: Tag, Check, Shorten
How to use a UTM builder with a link shortener without tag drift: five-field rules, lowercase values, bulk CSV tagging, and a pre-launch check
7 min read
FeaturesLink rot prevention: a playbook for short URL campaigns
Why short links rot, how a daily destination check catches dead pages, and how to repair or retire links without losing click history. Honest gaps included.
6 min read
FeaturesSCIM and SSO for Marketing Tools: What Enterprise IT Asks
SSO and SCIM for SaaS, the procurement-checklist version: SAML 2.0 vs OIDC, IdP compatibility, deprovisioning as audit artefact, the marketing-tool gap.
9 min read
FeaturesDeep Links Without an SDK: Universal Links and App Links
Open your app from a link with two JSON files and no SDK. How iOS Universal Links and Android App Links work with a short-link domain.
10 min read
FeaturesBio page for creators: what goes above the fold and why
What to put on a creator bio page: three links above the fold, how to order and label them, and which numbers to check every week to keep it working
8 min read
FeaturesLink Analytics: What to Measure and What to Ignore
Which short link analytics metrics change decisions: unique visitors, referrers, bot-filtered counts, decay curves and a 15-minute weekly review, with limits.
8 min read
FeaturesQR Code Campaign From Scratch: Plan, Print, Measure
Plan a QR code campaign in seven steps: goal, UTMs, a short link per placement, print design, scan analytics, and changing the destination after print.
7 min read
FeaturesElido MCP Server for Claude Desktop, Cursor and Claude Code
Connect Claude Code, Cursor and Claude Desktop to the hosted Elido MCP server with an API key, or run it locally. Five tools, configs and limits.
8 min read
FeaturesCustom Domain TLS for Short Links: Setup in 5 Minutes
Custom domain TLS on Elido: add one TXT and one CNAME record, and the certificate is issued on first use. What each step does and what breaks if it fails.
8 min read
FeaturesDynamic QR Code vs Static: How to Choose Between Them
Dynamic QR code or static? A decision framework with real trade-offs: editing, scan analytics, redirect speed, cost over time, and what happens if you leave.
10 min read
FeaturesCustom domain short links: DNS, TLS, and the edge
How custom domain short links work: DNS verification, ACME on-demand TLS issuance, edge latency budgets, and three failure modes seen in production
12 min read
CornerstoneFeaturesSmart links explained: edge routing without an extra service
What smart links are, where they run, and the routing dimensions Elido supports: cache purge on edit, first-match semantics, and when not to use one.
11 min read