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An Open a link button sends the customer to a web page when they tap it. Popcorn wraps every link button in a tracking link, so you can see who clicked, and lets you personalise the destination per customer, for example a link straight to their own cart. This page covers the three destination types, how clicks are counted, and what happens when a customer taps.

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Before you start

  • You add link buttons in the template editor: Add buttons, then Open a link. See Templates.
  • Links must start with https://. A template can have up to 2 link buttons, each with a label of up to 25 characters.
  • The Their cart or checkout option needs a connected Zid or Shopify store. See Integrations.

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Choose where the button goes

When you add an Open a link button, answer Where should this button go? The editor shows Opens: with a preview of the final address. You never type a {{1}} placeholder yourself; Popcorn builds it from your choice. Three examples of what a customer ends up opening: If Their cart or checkout is greyed out and reads “(connect your store first)”, no Zid or Shopify store is connected. Salla stores cannot use this option; use a fixed address or your own link with an ID instead.
Carousel card links are always fixed addresses: each card gets its own Web address.

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Where the value comes from

For Their cart or checkout and Your link + each customer’s ID, something has to supply the per-customer value at send time.
  • One-time campaigns. In the Message panel, a field named Button link followed by the button’s label appears under the variables. For an ID-style button, enter only the value that goes on the end (“Enter only the parameter value”); the hint says what it replaces in the template URL. For a link with no variable part, the hint reads “This link has no variable part.” and you enter nothing more. You cannot send while a link button’s value is missing: “Enter the value for this link.” See Send a campaign.
  • Automated campaigns. The value comes from the store event, for example the cart’s checkout link. In the Message panel, the variable is marked Used in a button link and Link preview shows where the button will go. See Automated campaigns.

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How tracking works

When you submit a template, Popcorn replaces each link button’s address with a tracking link on api.trypopcorn.ai/link/…. Meta reviews and approves the template with that link in it, which is why you may see it in Meta Business Manager instead of your own address. When a customer taps the button:
  1. Popcorn records the click against the campaign and, when it can identify the recipient, against that contact.
  2. The customer is redirected to the real destination.
Clicks are counted for link buttons only. Call us, Quick reply and Copy a code buttons are not tracked.

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Where clicks appear

  • On the campaign page, Clicks counts recipients who tapped a link button at least once. A customer who taps twice counts once.
  • In the Recipients table, the Clicks column shows the number of taps for each contact.
Click counts are available for both one-time and automated campaigns.

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What the customer sees

In WhatsApp the button shows your label. Tapping it opens the customer’s browser, passes through the tracking link, and lands on the destination. If the destination cannot be resolved, the browser shows Not Found. instead of your page; the reasons are below. Popcorn refuses to redirect rather than send a customer somewhere unexpected. A tap ends on Not Found. when:
  • The per-customer value was missing or empty when the message was sent, or was longer than 2,048 characters.
  • For Your link + each customer’s ID, the value would change the domain of your address. The value can only fill in the part after your domain.
  • For Their cart or checkout, the link points at a domain that is not your connected store. Popcorn checks the destination against your store’s own web address (your Zid store URL, or your Shopify store’s myshopify.com address and primary domain). If you move your store to a new domain, submit a new template so the check uses the new address.
  • The tracking link is not one Popcorn recognises, for example because it was edited or shortened before being shared.
Send the campaign to yourself first with a small test audience, for example one Phone number condition with Equals, and tap the button on your phone before sending to everyone.