Can you trust the numbers in Linkly?
Linkly is a URL shortener for creating short links, QR codes and smart redirects and tracking every click on them. Its own help pages give 4 reasons its numbers can look different from what you expect. The first to rule out: The unique clicks figure is an estimate, as Linkly's help pages say, so it may not match a true count of people.
What does Linkly keep track of?
Linkly keeps two click counts for every link: total clicks and unique clicks.
In Linkly's own words:
Linkly reports both total clicks and unique clicks for every link.
Click Tracking, read 2026-11-12.Linkly keeps a record of every visit to your links, people and bots alike.
In Linkly's own words:
Linkly records all traffic by default, both human and automated.
Inflated Click Figures, read 2026-11-12.
What can make Linkly's numbers look wrong?
The unique clicks figure is an estimate, as Linkly's help pages say, so it may not match a true count of people.
In Linkly's own words:
Because no cookies are involved, unique clicks are an estimate rather than an exact count of people.
Click Tracking, read 2026-11-12.Clicks can show up that no person made, as Linkly's help pages say, because software on your own computer may open links automatically.
In Linkly's own words:
Software on your computer may be opening links automatically.
Inflated Click Figures, read 2026-11-12.Linkly's click totals can be higher than Google Analytics shows, since Linkly's help pages say bots usually do not show up in Google Analytics.
In Linkly's own words:
Bots typically don't execute JavaScript, so they don't appear in GA reports.
Bot Traffic, read 2026-11-12.Clicks from paid mobile ads can include automated clicks that look real, as Linkly's help pages explain, so a big click count is not always real interest.
In Linkly's own words:
Automated clicks can blend seamlessly with legitimate phone traffic.
TikTok Ad Traffic: Why You See Fake Clicks & What to Do, read 2026-11-12.
How do I check Linkly's numbers myself?
You can switch bot traffic on and off in a report to see how much of a total comes from bots.
In Linkly's own words:
Turning this on adds them back into the view, so you can compare filtered and unfiltered totals.
Inflated Click Figures, read 2026-11-12.The Robots tab shows which bots made up part of a click total.
In Linkly's own words:
This counts bots in your totals and adds a Robots tab that breaks the bot traffic down by name.
Bot Traffic, read 2026-11-12.
How does Linkly work with Feder?
Connect Linkly to Feder and it joins your Visits apps. Feder only reads. It never changes anything in Linkly.
When you connect Linkly, Feder checks the connection straight away and shows Connected only when that check passes. If a reading cannot be taken later, Feder shows it as not read, never as zero.
Other apps that feed Visits
- Google Adsad clicks
- Google Analyticspage views and sessions
- Everflowunique clicks
- Pendopage views
Questions owners ask about Linkly
- Why don't my Linkly clicks match between reports?The dashboard's time zone cannot be changed, so if your plan lets you set another time zone on traffic reports, the same day can hold different clicks in each.
- Why did my Linkly clicks suddenly drop?Clicks are counted only when people go through a Linkly short link, so visitors who use the original address are not counted.
- Why does Linkly show clicks from the wrong country?Links work for people on a VPN, but Linkly explains that it cannot reliably place those visitors in the right country.
Where do these answers come from?
Everything this page says about Linkly comes from Linkly's own pages, quoted above with the date we read them. Last reviewed 2026-11-12. We read them again by 2027-11-12. If one changes, this page changes or comes down.
Know the day a number breaks, not the month after.
Some numbers are too quiet to judge daily, such as a form filled in a few times a week. Until there is enough of your own history to judge a change, Feder says it is still learning and scores nothing, rather than guessing.