Skip to content
English
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Smart URLs

When advocates share a referral link through social media, it's normally impossible to tell which platform drove the share — or which channel actually brought in the clicks and conversions. Smart URLs solves this by automatically embedding channel-specific tracking into every share link, giving you visibility into exactly where your program's growth is coming from. 📊

What Smart URLs Does

Smart URLs is a tracking feature that identifies where a share came from and which social channel drove downstream clicks and conversions when an advocate uses Ambassador's built-in sharing buttons (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

It works across three touchpoints:

  • Email automations — sharing widget buttons in emails
  • SMS automations — sharing actions in SMS flows
  • Website Sharing Widget — embedded social share buttons on your site

How It Works

When an advocate clicks a share button:

  1. Ambassador generates a platform-specific link (e.g., a WhatsApp intent URL).
  2. The prefilled message contains a smart-tracked shareable link unique to that channel.
  3. When the recipient clicks that shared link, Ambassador records which channel the click came from.
  4. That channel attribution is then available for reporting and conversion analysis.

Smart URL Format

your-custom-domain/{tracking-id}/{share-code}
Example: refer.your-website.com/-i34/johndoe

For other tracked links (landing pages, sign-up links in emails/SMS), Ambassador replaces the link with a short tracking URL:

your-custom-domain/{tracking-id}
Example: refer.your-website.com/-t55

Example Flow

  1. Advocate receives an email automation with social share buttons.
  2. They click "Share on WhatsApp."
  3. Ambassador records a share event for WhatsApp.
  4. WhatsApp opens with a prefilled message containing a tracked referral link.
  5. The advocate sends it to a friend.
  6. The friend clicks the link — Ambassador records the click as: Source = WhatsApp.
  7. Any signups or purchases can now be attributed to WhatsApp and the specific email automation that triggered the share.

What Data You'll See

  • Share events broken down by social platform (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
  • Click-throughs attributed to each social channel
  • Downstream performance by channel when paired with Communication Outcomes tracking

Why Most Social Platforms Don't Track Without This

Most social media apps do not pass referrer information when a link is clicked inside their mobile app — which normally makes channel attribution impossible. Smart URLs solves this by encoding the channel directly into the link itself.

Platform Native referrer tracking
WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack ❌ Does not pass referrer
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (app) ❌ Does not pass referrer
X / Twitter (app), Pinterest (app) ❌ Does not pass referrer
Facebook, Instagram (web) ✅ Passes referrer
Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitch ✅ Passes referrer
X / Twitter, Pinterest (web) ✅ Passes referrer
Gmail ✅ Passes referrer

Requirements

  • A custom share link domain configured in Ambassador
  • The Smart URLs feature flag enabled on your account (contact your Ambassador team)
  • Use of the email sharing widget for email share button tracking

Good to Know

  • Smart URLs only tracks shares and clicks going forward from when the feature is enabled — it does not apply retroactively to emails or SMS already sent.
  • Clients must use the email sharing widget to track shares from email. Direct links in email body copy are tracked as click-throughs but not as social channel shares.
  • Copy-link behavior in the sharing widget is also tracked as a share action.
  • Related articles: Emails Overview, SMS Overview, Communication Outcomes Overview, Visitors Overview