Advanced Features
Redirect Short Links by Country (Geo Location)
Sending every visitor to the same page wastes traffic when your offer, language, or store differs by country. URL Shortify PRO's Geo Location redirection lets one short link route visitors to a different destination URL based on the country they are browsing from — a US visitor lands on your US store, a UK visitor on your UK store, and everyone else on a default page. Geo Location is a Dynamic Redirection type on the link form and is available in URL Shortify PRO.
PRO feature
Geo Location redirection is part of URL Shortify PRO. In the free version the Dynamic Redirection section shows only an upgrade prompt. Free plans still redirect every visitor to a single Target URL.
What is Geo Location redirection?
Geo Location redirection is a per-link rule that maps a visitor's detected country to a specific destination URL. URL Shortify reads the country from the click's IP address, then sends the visitor to the URL you assigned to that country. Visitors from a country you have not mapped fall back to your main Target URL, so a single short link can serve every region.
How to set up a Geo Location redirect
- Go to URL Shortify → Links and add a new link or click Edit on an existing one.
- Enter your default destination in the main Target URL field. This is where unmatched visitors go.
- Find the Dynamic Redirection section and select Geo Location from the dropdown.
- A country-to-URL table appears with Country and URL columns. In the first row, pick a country and enter the destination URL for it.
- Use the + (add) button in the Action column to add another row, and the trash icon to remove one. Map as many countries as you need.
- Click Save Link.
The country mapping table
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Country | The visitor country this rule matches, chosen from the dropdown. Pick Any to catch every remaining country in one rule. |
| URL | The destination visitors from that country are redirected to. |
How matching works
URL Shortify checks each row in order and uses the first country that matches the visitor. An Any row acts as a catch-all. If no row matches and there is no Any row, the visitor goes to your main Target URL.
When country detection is unavailable
Country is derived from the visitor's IP address at click time and stored with each click. If the IP cannot be resolved to a country — for example behind some proxies or VPNs — no geo rule matches and the visitor falls back to your main Target URL. If your site sits behind a proxy or CDN, set How does URL Shortify get IPs? correctly under URL Shortify → Settings → Reports so the right IP is read.
Geo Location vs. other dynamic redirects
Geo Location routes by country. If you instead need to route by device, operating system, or browser, use device, OS and browser redirection. To split traffic across weighted URLs — for load balancing or A/B split testing — use Link Rotation. Only one Dynamic Redirection type can be active on a link at a time.
Conclusion
Geo Location redirection turns one short link into a country-aware router, sending visitors to region-specific stores, pages, or offers while everyone else lands on your default Target URL. Combine it with UTM tracking to see how each region performs — see UTM Presets — or explore the other Dynamic Redirection types to route by device instead.
FAQs
How does URL Shortify know the visitor's country?
URL Shortify detects the country from the visitor's IP address at the moment they click the short link and stores it with the click record. It then matches that country against your Geo Location rules. If your server sits behind a proxy or CDN, configure How does URL Shortify get IPs? under URL Shortify → Settings → Reports so the real visitor IP is used.
What happens if a visitor's country is not in my list?
Visitors from any country you have not mapped are sent to the main Target URL you entered on the link form. You can also add a rule with the Any country option to act as an explicit catch-all destination for every unmatched country, giving you full control over the fallback.
Can I redirect a whole region instead of one country?
Geo Location rules match by individual country, not by continent or region. To cover a region, add a separate row for each country in that region and point them at the same destination URL. Use the + button in the Action column to add as many country rows as you need.
Is Geo Location redirection available in the free version?
No. Geo Location is a URL Shortify PRO feature. In the free version the Dynamic Redirection section on the link form displays an upgrade prompt instead of the mapping table, and every visitor is sent to the single Target URL. Upgrading to PRO unlocks Geo Location along with Technology and Link Rotation redirects.
Does Geo Location work with link rotation or A/B testing at the same time?
No. A link uses one Dynamic Redirection type at a time — you choose Geo Location, Technology, or Link Rotation from the dropdown. If you need both country routing and traffic splitting, create separate short links, or point a country's Geo rule at another short link that itself uses Link Rotation.