Bluesky Empowers Publishers with Enhanced Referral Tracking Tools

Bluesky, the innovative open-source social network, has recently implemented a significant change that enhances how publishers can track referral traffic from its platform. This update allows content creators and news organizations to gain valuable insights into how much traffic their websites receive via links shared on Bluesky, making it a potential game-changer in the realm of social media analytics.

New Tracking Features for Publishers on Bluesky

According to Emily Liu, a representative from Bluesky, the platform now routes referral traffic through its go.bsky.app subdomain. This change is designed to simplify the process for publishers, enabling them to identify when visitors arrive at their sites through links shared on Bluesky.

How It Works

When users click on a link within Bluesky, they will notice the URL briefly displays as go.bsky.app before redirecting to the actual publisher’s site. This redirection allows analytics tools to accurately track the source of the traffic, providing essential data for content publishers.

Why This Change Matters

Liu emphasized that many newsrooms reported higher engagement levels through likes and reposts, but had difficulty translating that engagement into actual website traffic. Thus, this enhancement is crucial for publishers aiming to leverage Bluesky as a source of real-time news.

Growing Interest from Publishers

Bluesky is actively attracting publishers, and many have already noticed an uptick in referral traffic. Some notable observations include:

• The Boston Globe reported a threefold increase in traffic from Bluesky compared to Threads, with a 4.5x increase in conversions to paid subscriptions.
• Guardian Australia shared that Bluesky traffic to its website was already double that from Threads, also surpassing referral traffic from X.
• Other smaller publishers, including The New York Times, have also reported heightened user engagement on Bluesky.

Comparative Analysis of Referral Traffic

According to market intelligence firm Similarweb, Bluesky generated approximately 38.6 million outgoing visits in November 2024 across various news websites, significantly outperforming Threads, which saw 24.5 million referrals. Notably, 42% of Threads’ traffic redirected users to its sister app, Instagram, rather than to external publishers’ websites.

Strategic Decisions by Bluesky

Bluesky COO Rose Wang highlighted that the increase in referral traffic is due to the absence of link de-promotion, a strategy used by platforms like Threads and X. The latter has adjusted its algorithms to prioritize on-platform engagement over external links, which has sparked criticism from some users.

Implementation Timeline and Future Updates

TechCrunch inquired about the exact timeline for the rollout of the new link tracking feature. Bluesky confirmed that this functionality was introduced with version 1.99 of the app, followed by a subsequent bug fix. Additionally, Bluesky announced enhancements to make it easier for newsrooms to track their traffic, stating:

“Starting this week, we’ve made it even easier for newsrooms and more to track how much traffic Bluesky is sending to their sites. For those setting up analytics, Bluesky’s referrer is go.bsky.app.”

This ongoing commitment to improving referral tracking reflects Bluesky’s dedication to addressing publisher needs. Liu previously noted that Bluesky had opted not to pursue a different referral solution that would allow users to opt-out, indicating a focus on transparency and usability.

As Bluesky continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how these changes will impact the broader social media landscape and the role of content publishers within it.

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