Skip to content
OnLynk Docs

Direct link

Tip: Direct link maximizes conversions but is the most policy-sensitive path. Pair it with a landing page fallback and AI Shield to reduce risk.

What it is

Section titled “What it is”

A direct link sends people to a target URL with no intermediate page. Instead of landing on your onlynk.me/<slug> page first, the visitor is redirected immediately to the destination you configured.

This is the fastest possible path from social bio → destination, and removes the “extra tap” barrier.

Section titled “Should I use direct link?”

Use this decision flow to choose:

Is your destination sensitive (adult, affiliate, regulated, or policy-grey)?
  ├── YES → Use landing page. Direct link increases review risk.
  └── NO  → Is conversion rate your top priority?
              ├── YES → Enable direct link.
              └── NO  → Use landing page (more control, analytics, branding).
ScenarioRecommendation
Driving traffic to a newsletter signup✓ Direct link is fine
Sending fans to a YouTube video✓ Direct link is fine
Promoting an affiliate product⚠ Use landing page + cloaking
Adult content platform✗ Landing page required; check compliance
Fan subscription platform (OnlyFans, etc.)⚠ Platform-dependent; check each platform’s policies
Regulated financial product✗ Landing page + disclosure required

Risks on social platforms

Section titled “Risks on social platforms”

Social platforms (Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, and others) scan outbound links:

  • Automated review — Scrapers fetch the destination and classify it. A direct URL exposes the destination immediately; a landing page gives you one more layer of indirection.
  • Policy drift — Platform rules change. A destination that worked last month might be flagged today.
  • Account-level risk — Repeated policy violations accumulate. A direct link to a borderline destination can result in reach reduction or account suspension.

How OnLynk’s landing page helps

Section titled “How OnLynk’s landing page helps”

Your onlynk.me/<slug> page (when not using direct link) acts as a buffer:

  • You control what the automated scraper sees (your branding, not the destination)
  • Link cloaking hides the real destination URL
  • AI Shield serves bot-friendly content to scrapers and real content to humans
  • Geo-restrictions can serve different content by region

Query parameter forwarding

Section titled “Query parameter forwarding”

When direct link is enabled, OnLynk can forward UTM and custom query parameters from the original link to the destination. Example:

Visitor taps:   https://onlynk.me/myslug?utm_source=instagram
Lands on:       https://yourdestination.com?utm_source=instagram

Enable this option in the link editor alongside the direct link destination.

Configuration

Section titled “Configuration”
  1. Open your link page → Edit
  2. Find Direct link (requires a plan that includes direct links)
  3. Enter the destination URL
  4. Optionally enable Query parameter forwarding
  5. Save

Plan requirement: Direct link is available on Creator and Agency plans. On Free plan, the field is visible but locked.

Direct link + deeplink

Section titled “Direct link + deeplink”

Combining direct link with deeplink is the most aggressive conversion path:

  1. Visitor taps your link inside Instagram
  2. OnLynk detects the in-app browser → deeplink kicks in, redirects to Safari/Chrome
  3. Inside Safari/Chrome, the direct link redirect fires → visitor lands on your destination

This gives the visitor the cleanest possible experience: no in-app browser, no intermediate page.

Section titled “Related”