Glossary
Link glossary: short links, redirects, UTM, QR and tracking terms
Plain definitions of the terms you meet when you share links, with the detail that actually matters in practice.
Bot traffic: the clicks no person ever made
Bot traffic is automated requests that look like visits. Where it comes from on a short link, how gc.mw separates it, and why your first minute of clicks is usually fake.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Branded link: a short link that says who sent it
A branded link is a short link on a domain or namespace people recognise. What actually carries the brand, what it changes, and the three ways to get one on gc.mw.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Click-through rate: the metric and its denominator
Click-through rate is clicks divided by impressions. The clicks are easy and we count them; the denominator is where the metric goes wrong, and it never comes from a shortener.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
CNAME record: the DNS entry behind a custom domain
A CNAME record points one hostname at another. It is how links.yourbrand.com becomes a gc.mw short-link host, why it cannot sit on your root domain, and what breaks when it does.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Custom domain: short links on a host you own
A custom domain is a hostname you control, pointed at a service that serves it. What you gain by moving short links onto yours, what you take on, and how gc.mw verifies it.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Deep link: sending a tap to a screen, not a homepage
A deep link opens a specific screen inside an app rather than the app's front door. The three kinds, why custom schemes fail silently, and what gc.mw device rules can and cannot store.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Link cloaking: hiding a destination, and where it crosses
Link cloaking means concealing where a link really goes. Some of it is ordinary marketing hygiene; the version that shows reviewers one page and visitors another is banned on gc.mw.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Link in bio: one page for the single link you get
A link-in-bio page is a landing page holding every link you want to share, used where a platform allows only one. What belongs on it, what does not, and how gc.mw builds one.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Link rot: what it is and how short links change it
Link rot is the slow death of URLs as pages move or disappear. A short link does not prevent it, but it moves the repair job to one place you control.
5 September 2026 · 3 min read
QR code: what the squares hold and why length matters
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode holding text — usually a URL. How length changes the module count, what error correction buys, and how gc.mw generates one per link.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Redirect: the status codes and what each one costs
A redirect is an HTTP response that sends the browser somewhere else. What 301, 302, 307 and 308 actually promise, and why gc.mw defaults to 302.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Referrer: the header that says where a click came from
The referrer is the page a visitor was on before they clicked. Why so much of it says direct, what a shortener can and cannot see, and how gc.mw groups it.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Short link: definition, anatomy and what it costs
A short link is a URL on a short domain that forwards visitors to a longer one. What it is made of, what it costs you in trust, and how gc.mw builds one.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
UTM parameter: tagging a link so analytics can read it
A UTM parameter is a query key on a URL that tells the destination's analytics where the visit came from. The five keys, the trap of inconsistent values, and how gc.mw stores them.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read
Vanity URL: a link with words instead of a code
A vanity URL is a short link whose path you choose — gc.mw/launch rather than gc.mw/a4Kp. What makes a good one, what the rules are, and where they fail.
5 September 2026 · 2 min read