Track outbound links

Outbound link tracking shows when visitors click a link to another website—for example to partners, documentation, or affiliate shops. It is most useful for content whose job is to send people onwards.

When it is useful

It helps when a page’s job is to send people on to other websites:

Documentation and resource pages
Partner directories
Affiliate posts

A simple company website whose only external link goes to a privacy policy usually does not need it.

PureMetrix setup

In WordPress, open PureMetrix > Settings. Outbound Link Clicks under Enhanced Measurements is on by default. On other stacks, send a custom event on clicks to other hosts. Turn it off if you will never look at the report.

Privacy and usability

PureMetrix only listens for clicks; it does not reroute your links. Avoid tools that rewrite every link into an ugly redirect—they hurt usability and accessibility.

Reporting

Review the most-clicked external destinations once a month. Broken partner links deserve the same attention as 404 errors on your own site.

Campaigns

If you pay for traffic to a page whose main goal is a click to another website, add UTM parameters to the landing page URL and treat outbound clicks as the success measure—alongside or instead of a thank-you goal.

Keeping affiliate and partner links tidy

Outbound tracking shows which partner and documentation links people actually follow. Use consistent partner URLs. Clicks to your own domain are ignored automatically, but links to your own subdomains (such as a separate shop subdomain) count as outbound. If clicks to a partner drop while pageviews stay the same, the partner link or programme may be broken.

Clicks on social icons are counted too. If nobody reads that part of the report, simply ignore it and focus on the destinations that matter.

Usability and new tabs

Links that open in a new tab are counted too. After theme changes, test once on a phone to make sure clicks still arrive.

Affiliate disclosure and measurement

If you earn money from outbound links, both measurement and disclosure matter. Do not quietly rewrite every external URL when editors rely on predictable links. PureMetrix stores the full destination address with each outbound click, so you can see which partner received it.

Look into sudden drops—partner sites change their URLs often.

Documentation sites

Documentation that sends readers to GitHub or API portals shows which external references people actually use. That tells you which integrations to document in more depth next.

Links to authorities and legal information

Clicks on links to regulators, data protection authorities, or licence registers can show that you offered required information—but they are not marketing conversions. Keep them apart in your reports so compliance clicks do not mix with affiliate interest.

PureMetrix only listens for clicks and does not change your links, so rel=noopener and the sponsored/ugc values editors set stay intact.

If you add your own click scripts, test that links still open in a new tab and work with the keyboard; analytics must never make external links less accessible.

Links in comments

If comments allow links, your outbound report can fill up with spam destinations. Filter by destination when you review it, or restrict links in comments. PureMetrix reports stay useful when you know which links your editors placed.

If a partner contract requires click reports, note in the contract which PureMetrix report and date range you will deliver, so nobody has to dig through server logs.

Documentation sites should check external links regularly and remove dead ones; the outbound report shows which links are used at all.

Social share buttons

Clicks on share buttons are only worth reviewing if you act on the data. Otherwise, do not let Facebook icon clicks that nobody analyses distract you in the outbound report.

Links to standards bodies and technical documentation in your articles carry more meaning; look at those first.

After theme or plugin updates, click an external link once as a test to confirm outbound clicks still arrive.

Write down how outbound clicks are measured, who is responsible, and when it will next be reviewed, so PureMetrix reports stay in line with how your team actually works.