Tracking Pixel

A tracking pixel is a special Pretty Links redirect type that doesn’t actually redirect anyone. Instead, it serves a 1×1 invisible image and records the request as a click.

It’s a counter, not a navigation tool — and that’s what makes it effective for measuring impressions.

Anmerkung: Diese Funktion ist in den Tarifen „Beginner“, „Marketer“ und „Super Affiliate“ verfügbar. Wenn Sie Pretty Links Lite nutzen, können Sie Erweitern Sie Ihren Pretty Links-Tarif um es zu nutzen.

Wie es funktioniert

When you set a link’s redirect type to Tracking Pixel and embed the pretty URL as an <img> tag (or hotlink it from an email or page), Pretty Links:

Receives the request.
Records it as a click in your reports.
Returns a tiny transparent 1×1 pixel image.

The visitor never sees anything visible. They never navigate anywhere. But you get a count of how many times the pixel loaded.

When to Use Tracking Pixels

Email open tracking — Embed the pixel in an email’s HTML. Each time the email is opened (and images are loaded), you get a “click” recorded for that pretty link;
Newsletter analytics — Add a pixel per newsletter to count opens for each issue;
Page view counting — Drop a pixel onto a third-party page you can’t add full analytics to. Each load counts;
Confirmation tracking — Place a pixel on a thank-you or confirmation page to count successful actions;
Cross-site impression tracking — Embed in partner content to know how many times your message was seen.

How to Embed the Pixel

In your email or HTML, use a standard <img> tag with your pretty URL as the source:

<img src="https://yoursite.com/your-pixel-slug" width="1" height="1" alt="" />

When the email or page loads and the image is fetched, the click is recorded.

Embedding With the Shortcode or Block

Inside WordPress content, you have two more ways to place a pixel. Use the pixel shortcode in any post, page, or widget:

[pretty_link_pixel id=123]

Replace 123 with the pixel link’s ID. Pretty Links renders the invisible pixel where the shortcode sits.

The block editor also includes a Pretty Links Pixel block (pretty-links/pixel-block). Add it from the block inserter and choose your pixel link.

What Gets Recorded

A pixel hit shows up in your reports just like a regular click:

Timestamp;
Visitor IP (subject to IP-Anonymisierung);
Referrer (the page or email client that loaded the pixel);
User agent;
Country, device, browser, etc. (in Klick-Tracking-Modi Extended tracking mode).

The standard Bot- und IP-Filterung bot filter and IP filters apply, so common image-prefetching bots and your own IPs won’t pollute the count.

Anmerkung: Pixel hits feed your reports like any other click. Build conversion views from them on the Custom Reports page in Pretty Links Pro.

Limitations and Caveats

Image-blocking email clients — Many email clients (and many people!) block images by default. Pixel-based open tracking systematically undercounts opens for those audiences;
Image caching — Some email clients cache images aggressively, so the same recipient opening twice might only count once. The Pretty Links Erläuterungen zu Cookies prli_dedup cookie also prevents fast double-counts;
Privacy regulations — Pixel tracking in email is increasingly regulated. Check your jurisdiction’s rules around email tracking and consent before deploying it;
Apple Mail Privacy Protection — Apple proactively loads images on the recipient’s behalf, which inflates open counts for Apple Mail users.

Setting It Up

Create a new link via Links erstellen und bearbeiten. The target URL doesn’t really matter for a pixel, but it’s a good idea to point it at something sensible like your homepage in case anyone visits the URL directly.
Set Redirect type zu Tracking pixel.
Set a memorable slug like /news-issue-42 so you can recognize it in reports.
Speichere den Link.
Copy the pretty URL and use it as the src attribute on an <img> tag in your email or page.

Kombination mit anderen Funktionen

Tracking pixels are usually used standalone — there’s no destination to target, rotate, or split-test toward. But they do work with:

Klick-Tracking-Modi — pixel hits are recorded with the same detail as regular clicks;
Bot- und IP-Filterung — keeps automated requests out of your counts.

Pixel links don’t combine with Ablauf, Zielsetzung, Drehung, oder Split-Tests — the pixel response has no destination URL to redirect, retire, or rotate.