Insert links into your campaign – Dotdigital Help Centre

Learn to insert different link types to your campaign by using the add a link manager.

Overview

With the Add a link manager, you can add links that have different purposes to your email campaigns:

Hyperlinks that you can add to text, images, and buttons
Link to an email address or a mailto link
Click-to-call links
Link to a preference centre

To learn more about the preference centre, check out Set up a preference centre.
Unsubscribe links
Link to view an email in a browser
Double opt-in links

To learn more about double opt-in, check out Using verified double opt-in.
Resubscribe links
Link to a new or existing anchor in your email campaign
Link to a document, or an existing page, form, or survey.

To learn more about pages and forms, check out the Pages and forms section in the help centre.

Reporting for links

Listed system-generated links are not included in your unique clickers report because they are not tracked:

Click to email links

Click to call links

Preference centre links

Unsubscribe links

View in browser links

Double opt-in links

Resubscribe links

Anchor links

To learn more about the unique clickers report, check out Unique clickers report.

Before you start

Things you need to know:

Don't use public link shorteners in your email campaigns
Spammers abuse public link shorteners, and using them can damage your sender reputation.

Add a hyperlink

When you add a hyperlink, you are adding a standard link from an email campaign to a web page.

To add a hyperlink:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Hyperlink from the left-side menu.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link (URL)
  Enter the URL of the page you want to link to. Select Visit to check the URL that the link works.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
- Link groups
  Use link groups to organise different links from your campaigns together. This is useful for link click reporting and link click segmentation.
  
  To learn more about link groups, check out Using link grouping to group campaign links together.
- Link name (for tracking)
  Enter a link name keyword, so you can track which links are selected when you view your reports.
- Do not track this link
  If you don't want to track clicks on this link, select the check box.
Select Insert.

Add a hyperlink to an image

You can make your images link to other content.

To add a hyperlink to an image:

Select the image you want to link from.
Select Link.
Complete the boxes:
- Link (URL)
  Enter the URL of the page you want to link to. Select Visit to check the URL that the link works.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
- Link groups
  Use link groups to organise different links from your campaigns together. This is useful for link click reporting and link click segmentation.
  
  To learn more about link groups, check out Using link grouping to group campaign links together.
- Link name (for tracking)
  Enter a keyword to be used to refer to the link, so that you can track which links are selected when you view your reports.
- Do not track this link
  If you don't want to track clicks on this link, select the check box.
Select Insert.

Add a hyperlink to a button

You can add a hyperlink to buttons so your contacts are redirected to contact details or payment pages.

To add a hyperlink to a button:

Select a button.
In the Settings panel, select Add a link.
Complete the boxes:
- Link (URL)
  Enter the URL of the page you want to link to. Select Visit to check the URL that the link works.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
- Link groups
  Use link groups to organise different links from your campaigns together. This is useful for link click reporting and link click segmentation.
  
  To learn more about link groups, check out Using link grouping to group campaign links together.
- Link name (for tracking)
  Enter a keyword to be used to refer to the link, so that you can track which links are selected when you view your reports.
- Do not track this link
  If you don't want to track clicks on this link, select the check box.
Select Insert.

Add a mailto link

When a contact selects a mailto link, it opens an email that is complete with an email address and subject line.

To add an email address link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Email.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Email address
  Enter the email address you want your contacts to reply to.
- Email subject
  Enter a default subject line you want your contacts to use.
  
  Your contacts can change this if they want.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Select Insert.

Add a click to call link

Your contacts can select a phone link in your campaign, so they can call a number by phone.

To add a click to call link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Phone.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Phone number
  Enter the number you want your contacts to call.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Select Insert.

Add a preference centre link

The preference centre link takes your contact to a form where they can edit their preference settings.

To learn more about setting up a preference centre, check out Set up a preference centre.

To add a preference centre link:

Add a Text block to your campaign or campaign template.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Preference centre.

If this option is not available, you must set up a preference centre.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
  
  To edit if your contacts see a default or a custom preference centre, check out Unsubscribe and preference centre settings.
Select Insert.

Add an unsubscribe link

All of our templates come with an unsubscribe link by default. You might want to also add an unsubscribe link somewhere else in your campaign.

When a contact selects an unsubscribe, what it links to depends on your unsubscribe settings. To edit your unsubscribe settings, go to your Unsubscribe and preference centre settings area in Settings > Account > Account settings.

If you want all unsubscribe links to take your contact to the preference centre, select Show the preference centre chosen below.

To add an unsubscribe link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Unsubscribe.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Select Insert.

The Unsubscribe page is automatically translated into 24 different languages, depending on each contact's language settings. If you want a customised Unsubscribe page, contact your account manager. We can rebrand this page so it is similar to your website, or we can place your logo on the page.

Add a view in browser link

A view in browser link, also known as a can’t read email link, opens the campaign in your contact’s browser.

To add a view in browser link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select View in browser.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Select Insert.

Add a double opt-in link

A double opt-in link should be added to a double opt-in confirmation email. Although we send a default double opt-in confirmation email automatically on your behalf, it's also possible to create your own triggered double opt-in confirmation email. This is sent immediately after a contact opts into your campaigns by using a signup form.

To learn more about signup forms, check out Create a signup form.

When a double opt-in link is selected, a message or page confirms the contact's subscription. This process is regarded as best practice in email marketing.

Contacts that select the double opt-in link aren't recorded in a campaign report. If you want to find out who has selected this link, you can segment your contacts who have a verified double opt-in type.

To add a double opt-in link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Double opt-in.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
  
  To learn more about verified double opt-in, check out Using verified double opt-in.
Select Insert.

Add a resubscribe link

A resubscribe link should be added to a resubscribe confirmation email. Although we send a default resubscribe confirmation email automatically on your behalf, it's also possible to create your own triggered resubscribe confirmation email. This is sent immediately after a contact resubscribes to your marketing content.

To learn more about resubscribing a contact, check out Resubscribe a contact.

When a resubscribe link is selected, a page confirms the resubscription. This process is best practice in email marketing.

Resubscribe link clicks aren't recorded in campaign reports.

To add a view in browser link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Resubscribe.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Select Insert.

Add a new anchor link

Anchor links help your contacts find information in a long campaign by taking them directly to specific section. Before you can link to an anchor, you must create an anchor link.

Anchor links don't work in all email clients

Anchor links don’t work for some email clients:

Gmail on iOS

Apple Mail on iOS (iOS 8 and later)

Outlook (Mac, Android, and web app)

Anchor links might not work if your campaign is clipped in Gmail.

To create an anchor link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select New # anchor.
In the Anchor name box, enter a name for this anchor.

To change the selected text, edit it in the Text box.
Select Insert.

Link to an existing anchor

Once you create a new anchor link, it’s time to link to it.

To link to an existing anchor:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select To existing # anchor.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Expand the Anchor link drop-down menu, and select the name of the anchor you created in Step 1: Add a new anchor link.
Select Insert.
Select Preview or Test send and select the anchor link to make sure that it works correctly.

Add a document link

Depending on your team settings, you can upload documents and other files to your account that can be linked to one or more campaigns. When a contact selects a document link, it opens the document you uploaded.

File limitations

Files must be 50MB or less and can be any of the listed file types:

.csv

.doc

.docx

.dot

.eps

.gif

.ical

.ics

.indd

.jpg

.mp3

.pdf

.png

.pps

.ppsx

.ppt

.pptx

.pub

.rtf

.txt

.vcf

.vcs

.xls

.xlsx

.xps

To add a document link:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Link to a document.
Complete the boxes:
Select Insert.

If you want to upload a new document, select Show document manager. In the document manager, you can upload new files, delete existing ones, and create and delete folders to help you to manage your files.

Add a page link

If you are using the pages and forms feature, you can add a link to your campaign that opens up the page or form of your choice.

To learn more about pages and forms, check out Pages and forms.

To link to a page or form:

Add a Text block to your campaign.
Select the text you want to link from.
Select Link.
Select Link to a page.
Complete the boxes:
- Text
  Enter the link text.
- Link title
  Enter the hover over link text. Screen readers also use this text for accessibility purposes.
Expand the Page or form drop-down menu, and select the page or form you want to link to.

Only pages and forms that already have a link generated are listed here.
Select Insert.