How to Use Smart Routing in UTM.io
What is Smart Routing?
Smart Routing lets one short link send each visitor to the right destination based on their device. iPhone visitors can land in the App Store, Android visitors in the Play Store, and everyone else on your regular landing page. All of it from a single link, with your UTM parameters intact.
It's perfect for app-install campaigns, social bios, email footers, and printed QR codes where you can't know the visitor's device in advance.
Table of Contents
- What Can You Do with Smart Routing?
- Which Plans Include Smart Routing?
- Who Can Do What? (Permissions Matrix)
- How to Set Up Smart Routing
- How to Edit Routing on an Existing Link
- How Visitors Are Routed
- The "Append query parameters" Toggle
- How to Test Your Smart Routing
- Tips & Troubleshooting
- FAQs
What Can You Do with Smart Routing?
Send iOS visitors to one URL and Android visitors to another
Keep your link's destination URL as the automatic fallback for everyone else
Carry your UTM parameters onto every routed destination automatically
Configure routing right inside the Link Builder, in the web app or the Chrome extension
Use it with QR codes: scans of the same short link follow the same rules
Edit or turn off routing on a link at any time without changing the short URL
Which Plans Include Smart Routing?
Smart Routing is available on Plus, Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans (and the equivalent legacy paid plans). On the Free plan the Smart Routing section appears locked in the Link Builder; upgrading unlocks it instantly.
If a workspace is downgraded below an eligible plan, existing routing rules are kept but stop firing: those links simply send everyone to their destination URL until the workspace is upgraded again.
Who Can Do What? (Permissions Matrix)
| Action | Account Owner | Account Admin | Workspace Admin | Member | Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add Smart Routing to a link | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Edit routing rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Turn routing off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| View a link's routing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
If you can create or edit links in a workspace, you can manage their Smart Routing.
How to Set Up Smart Routing
- From the left panel, click Links, then click Create Link.
- Enter your destination URL. This is also your fallback: anyone who doesn't match a device rule lands here.
- Fill in your UTM parameters (campaign, medium, source, and so on) as usual.
- In the Shortener field, pick the built-in utm.io domain or one of your branded custom domains. Smart Routing runs on the short link, so this step is required.
- Find Smart Routing at the bottom of the builder and click Edit.
- In the Device targeting section, turn on iOS and/or Android.
- Paste the destination for each platform you turned on, for example your App Store and Play Store listing URLs. Destinations must start with https://.
- Leave Append query parameters on if you want your UTMs carried to the routed destinations (recommended, and on by default).
- Click Save Routing. Back in the builder, the Smart Routing row now shows a chip for each active rule.
- Click Shorten. Your routed short link is ready to share.
The same flow works in the Chrome extension: open the extension's link builder, scroll to Smart Routing, and follow steps 5-10.
How to Edit Routing on an Existing Link
- Go to Links and click the edit (pencil) icon on the link.
- Click Edit next to Smart Routing.
- Add, change, or toggle off rules, then click Save Routing and save the link.
The short URL never changes, so everything already printed or published keeps working.
How Visitors Are Routed
- Rules are checked top to bottom: iOS first, then Android. The first match wins.
- Anyone who matches no rule (desktop and laptop visitors, unknown devices) goes to the link's destination URL.
- Routing happens server-side at the moment of the click with a standard temporary (302) redirect. There's no interstitial page and nothing for you to install on your site.
- Bots and crawlers (link previews, search engines, monitoring tools) are sent to the destination URL, so your link previews always reflect your landing page.
- QR codes that point to the short link follow exactly the same rules; a phone scanning the code is routed like any other visitor.
- Clicks on routed links are tracked in your click stats as usual.
The "Append query parameters" Toggle
With Append query parameters on (the default), everything after the ? in your tracked link, including all UTM parameters, is added to the routed destination. If the destination already has its own query string, the parameters are merged cleanly.
Example with routing to the App Store:
https://utm.io/ur23c → https://apps.apple.com/app/instagram/id389801252?utm_campaign=app_launch&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram
Turn the toggle off if a destination breaks with extra parameters (rare, but some in-app pages are strict). Your click tracking on the short link itself still works either way.
How to Test Your Smart Routing
- Open the short link on an actual iPhone and Android phone. Use a private/incognito tab so a cached redirect doesn't mislead you.
- No phone handy? In Chrome, open DevTools, toggle device emulation (an iPhone or Android profile), and load the short link. Routing keys off the browser's user agent, so emulation works.
- Check that your UTM parameters arrived on the destination URL.
Tips & Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| "Smart Routing only works with a built-in or branded domain shortener" | Routing needs the short link. Pick the utm.io domain or a branded custom domain in the Shortener field, or turn routing off. Bitly links and unshortened links can't route. |
| The Shorten / Copy & Save button is disabled | Same cause as above: rules are on but no compatible shortener is selected. |
| A destination URL won't save | Destinations must be full URLs starting with https://. |
| Everyone lands on the fallback | Confirm the routing chips (iOS / Android) show on the link, your plan includes Smart Routing, and you're testing on a real phone or with device emulation, not just a desktop browser. |
| Smart Routing shows a lock in the builder | Your current plan doesn't include it. Upgrade to Plus or above to unlock. |
| Parameters missing on the destination | Check that Append query parameters was on when routing was saved. Edit the link's routing to change it. |
FAQs
Which links can use Smart Routing?
Links shortened on the built-in utm.io domain or on any branded custom domain you've configured. Bitly-shortened and unshortened links aren't supported.
Do my existing links change?
No. Nothing changes until you open a link and add routing rules yourself.
Does routing work on QR codes?
Yes. A QR code encodes your short link, and every scan is routed by the same rules.
What do bots and link previews see?
The destination URL. Social preview cards and crawlers never follow your device rules.
What happens if I downgrade my plan?
Rules are kept but paused: the link keeps working and sends everyone to the destination URL. Upgrading reactivates the rules as saved.
Can I route by country or split traffic for A/B tests?
Not yet. Device targeting (iOS/Android) is the first Smart Routing module; keep an eye on our changelog for what's next.