This week we introduced a cool new method to download link data via the Linktrack API. This kind of thing is useful if you want to integrate our site’s tracking data with another web site or application.

The new API method is called “getLinkHistory” and it’s documented on our API documentation page. There you’ll find a code sample or two and everything you need to get started.

We get a lot of requests to white label our service, so this tool is designed with that in mind. The API is available to anyone with an account – just look for it under your “Account” tab.

Cheers,

Keeton

We’ve recently rolled out a new version of our Linktrack software, and I thought this was as good a time as any to get some more users participating in our bug bounty program.

Note: This program is intended to last for one month. If this post is more than a month old and you found something, please email us to see if there’s any reward money left.

The rules are simple: Find a bug on the site, and we’ll pay you for your efforts according to the fee schedule below.

Bug reports must include a reasonable number of the following to to find and duplicate the problem (explain it to us like we’re five):

• screenshots
• links
• notes
• browser information
• steps
• examples

Payments will be made via PayPal a day or so after you submit your report. We’ll run this program for one month or until our $250 budget runs out.

Bugs are worth the following:

• Typos: $.50
• Layout (this looks weird in my browser): $1.00
• User interface (I’m clicking the button, but it’s not working!): $3.00
• Broken features (I’m getting an error page): $15.00

Please send your bounty request and supporting documentation via email along with your PayPal email address for payment. We’ll reply to let you know if you’re eligible.

If you have to submit more than one request that’s OK, but please try to group your stuff together whenever possible.

Thank you!

Keeton

Update: bugs reported
The following issues have been reported and are no longer eligible:

• Typos in the “Follow Linktrack on Twitter” box have been reported.
• The ‘recent’ link in the footer shows an unfriendly XML page.
• You have a post titled “Unique Selling Propostion (USP)” – in the title, proposition is spelled incorrectly.
• on the FAQ page, “yardwork” is not a real word. It should be “yard work”
• Usability concern, not a bug – On the signup page, please have your terms of service open in a new window or popup
• Footer needs to be fixed, the year is right next to Danifer Web Services I think there should be a space there and there’s a > floating on the bottom.
• On http://linktrack.info/p/affiliate the word “affiliate” is spelled incorrectly
• on http://linktrack.info/p/faq — “ebay” should be “eBay”
• Unlimited Clicks, Links Won’t Expire, Turn Links On And Off links not working properly (Under “Features”, left side of page

A quick update for those users using the API:

We’ve noticed a serious decline in the use of XML for APIs for online applications. This is followed by an increase in the JSON format. Personally, I’m not partial to either but there’s no denying the trend.

Going forward our API will default to XML as usual, but will also include a JSON format parameter as standard practice going forward. The current API (1.0) implements this with the [format] parameter. Just append &format=json to your request to get JSON format.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Keeton

ROI, or Return On Investment is a critical metric for success in online marketing. It’s important to know where your clicks are coming from, but it’s even better to know which ones are turning into sales.

Measuring ROI with Linktrack is simple thanks to our Conversion Tracking feature. If you have a Professional account, just click the “Track Conversions” check box when you make or edit a link. Once it’s turned on, you can download a snippet of HTML code that can be placed on any successful sale or conversion page.

When a click turns into a conversion, it’s recorded in our system!

At Linktrack, we use our own Conversion Tracking feature to measure the success of our advertising campaigns. Here’s an example from our latest Google AdWords ad:

Use conversion tracking to measure ROI from:

• Pay-Per-Click marketing
• Banner advertising
• Traffic exchanges
• Affiliate marketing
• and more

Try it now with a Professional account and get your first month free for only $1!

We’ve been running the Linktrack.info web site for years and years and we’ve never offered a discount on our premium account upgrades. Seriously – we’re like the worst sales people in the world.

But all that ends today! Try any of our premium accounts for a whole month for just a buck. That’s $0.03 a day to try email click alerts, downloadable reports, custom domain names and more. If you don’t completely love it, cancel at any time – no questions asked.

Click here to get the $1 upgrade now

Need more info? Drop me a line and ask me anything.

Cheers,

Keeton

We’ve made a few upgrades in the last month or so and one of the most notable is the Groups tool for link organization. If you’re a power user with several hundred links this is a great tool for you, and even if you’re not it will help keep your stuff organized. We’ve made it available to all of the accounts (including the free account) so you can start using it today!

Make as many groups as you want, add your links to groups as needed and remove them when you’re ready. Look for the “manage” and “add group” links when you make a link, on your links page, or under your Account page.

Last month we launched the Custom Domain Beta program and it was a huge success!

Today I’m pleased to announce that we’ve added the Custom Domain feature and made it available to all of our Professional account holders at no additional charge.

Yes – you read that last part correctly. We originally intended to charge extra for the awesome new feature, but decided to roll it into our increasingly popular Professional account.

If you don’t have a Professional account yet, you can get one here.

To add and edit custom domains (yes – you can have more than one) just look for the custom domain management panel on your “My Account” page:

We’ve recently added a feature for managing web site preferences on the “My Account” page. The new preferences options will let you set the number of links and tracking records to display per page.

If you have a Professional account, you can also set your preferred domain name so you don’t have to select it manually when making a new link.

Look for the “preferences” link on the “My Account” page:

We’ve added a new report for referrer hosts, available to Professional level account holders.

This report lists the top referrer hosts for your link, sorted by the most active referrers.

It’s similar to the top 10 referrers report you’ll find on the charts page, but we’ve expanded it to include all traffic sources. Use the it to get an idea of which web sites are sending the most traffic.

If you have questions about the referrer report, check out our post on referral tracking.

Update 11/12/2010: This feature is no longer in beta and is now available to all Professional account holders.

Read more: custom domain tracking.

We’re currently beta testing a new feature for custom domain names. If you would like to use your own custom domain name with our tracking service and are interested in the beta program, please let us know.

The final custom domain feature will be available under a new pricing option above the Professional account.

Domains brought on during beta testing will be grandfathered in with no additional cost.

Requirements:

• You must have a Professional level account to participate in the beta program
• You will need to register and configure your own domain name
• Your domain can’t be in use for any other purpose. If you already have web site, you will need to make a subdomain (like subdomain.mydomain.com)
• Your profile must have a valid contact email (in case we need to contact you about your domain).

Checklist:

1. Let us know what domain you want to use
2. Point the A record DNS of your domain to our server
3. Tell us your account name, and notify us when the DNS is configured

Some Notes:

• This program is being beta tested. We expect to make changes to it based on customer feedback
• DNS configuration changes can sometimes take 24-72 hours to take effect
• Please let us know if you have trouble finding the IP address for linktrack.info