markQR

Retargeting

Re-engage visitors with retargeting pixels, ad platform integrations, and click-based audiences

Overview

MarkQR Retargeting turns every short link into a passive audience-building tool. Attach tracking pixels to your links and MarkQR fires server-side events to the advertising platform the moment a link is clicked — no page load, no visible delay, and no need to control the destination website. Even when a link points to a third-party article, a partner's landing page, or an app store listing, the click is still captured for your ad audiences.

The Retargeting workspace at Dashboard → Retargeting has three tabs:

  • Tracking Pixels — pixel configurations that fire events when assigned links are clicked.
  • Integrations — connected ad platform accounts used for audience syncing.
  • Audiences — retargeting audiences built from your real click data and synced to ad platforms.

What Problem It Solves

Retargeting traditionally requires visitors to land on a website where you've installed a tracking pixel. That creates blind spots: clicks on links pointing to external sites, curated content, affiliate pages, or app store listings never build your audience.

MarkQR eliminates that gap by capturing the click at the redirect layer and reporting it directly to the ad platform's server-side API. The result is larger, more accurate retargeting audiences that include visitors you'd otherwise lose.

How It Works

  1. Add a pixel in Dashboard → Retargeting → Tracking Pixels with the platform's pixel ID (and an access token for server-side events).
  2. Assign the pixel to links using the Assign to links (link icon) action on the pixel card. Toggle the pixel on for any of your short links.
  3. Visitor clicks an assigned link. During the redirect, MarkQR sends a server-side PageView event to the platform's conversion API with the click context (IP, user agent, country, source URL). The redirect itself is never delayed or blocked — event delivery happens in the background.
  4. Track results on the pixel card: the events fired counter and last-fired time update on every successful delivery.

Supported Platforms

PlatformServer-side events (on redirect)Requirements
Facebook (Meta)✅ Conversions APIPixel ID + access token
Google Ads✅ Measurement ProtocolMeasurement ID + API secret (access token)
TikTok✅ Events APIPixel ID + access token
LinkedIn✅ Conversions APIConversion rule ID + access token
Twitter (X)Script embed onlyPixel ID
SnapchatScript embed onlyPixel ID
PinterestScript embed onlyTag ID
CustomScript embed onlyCustom JavaScript snippet

Platforms without server-side support still get a client-side embed script: click the code icon on the pixel card to copy a ready-to-paste snippet for your own landing pages.

Plan Requirements

  • Retargeting pixels, integrations, and audiences are available on the Growth plan and above.
  • Custom JavaScript pixels require the Scale plan and above.

Step-by-Step Usage

Adding a Tracking Pixel

  1. Navigate to Dashboard → Retargeting → Tracking Pixels.
  2. Click Add Pixel.
  3. Select the platform and enter a name and your pixel/tracking ID. For example:
Platform:      Facebook (Meta)
Name:          Facebook Pixel - Main
Pixel ID:      123456789012345
Access Token:  (optional — required for server-side events)
  1. Click Add Pixel. Pixels with an access token show a green CAPI badge, meaning server-side events are enabled. Access tokens are write-only: they are never returned by the API after being saved.
  2. Use the switch on the pixel card to activate or pause a pixel at any time. Paused pixels never fire.

Assigning a Pixel to Links

A pixel only fires for links it's assigned to:

  1. On the pixel card, click the link icon (Assign to links).
  2. Toggle the pixel on for each short link that should fire it.
  3. Changes take effect immediately — no need to reshare links. Reopen the dialog at any time to review or change assignments.

Getting an Embed Script

For platforms without server-side support (or to also fire pixels on your own landing pages):

  1. Click the code icon on the pixel card.
  2. Copy the generated snippet and paste it into your landing page's <head>.

Connecting an Ad Platform Integration

Integrations connect your ad accounts so audiences can be synced:

  1. Go to the Integrations tab and click Add Integration.
  2. Select the platform, enter a name, your ad account ID, and an API access token.
  3. Use the pencil icon to rename an integration, update its account ID, or rotate the access token (leave the token field blank to keep the existing one).
  4. Integration status is shown on each card: Active, Paused, Error, or Expired. Sync failures increment the error counter.

Building and Syncing Audiences

Audiences are built from your real click data and pushed to ad platforms:

  1. Go to the Audiences tab and click Create Audience.
  2. Choose the platform, an audience type (click-based, conversion-based, geo, device, campaign, or custom rules), optionally scope it to a campaign, and link an integration if you plan to sync it.
  3. Click Build on the audience card. MarkQR segments your click history by the audience's rules (campaign, countries, devices, minimum clicks, date range) and updates the member count.
  4. Click Sync to push the audience to the linked ad platform. Syncing is currently supported for Facebook and Google integrations. Sync state is shown as Pending, Syncing, Synced, or Error on the card.

Best Practices

  • Provide access tokens for the big four. Facebook, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn pixels only fire server-side events when an access token is configured — without one, they can only be used as embed scripts.
  • Assign pixels deliberately. A pixel fires for every click on every assigned link. Use separate pixels for different audience segments (e.g., one for blog content links, another for product links) for granular audience control.
  • Rebuild audiences before syncing. The member count reflects the last Build; rebuild after major campaigns to include the latest clicks.
  • Respect privacy regulations. Ensure your privacy policy discloses the use of retargeting on redirected links. In regions subject to GDPR or CCPA, confirm your consent management approach covers pixel-based tracking on short links.
  • Verify delivery with platform tools. Use the ad platform's event diagnostics (e.g., Meta Events Manager) to confirm server-side events arrive, and watch the events fired counter on the pixel card.

Example Workflows

Content Curation Audience Building

  1. You share links to industry articles, partner blog posts, and news coverage on social media and in newsletters.
  2. Assign your Facebook pixel (with a Conversions API token) to every curated content link.
  3. Over 30 days, your pixel audience grows to include thousands of engaged readers — people who clicked your curated links even though the destination wasn't your website.
  4. Create a lookalike audience in Facebook from this seed audience and run a conversion campaign against it.

Event Promotion

  1. Create a campaign for your upcoming webinar and add its short links.
  2. Create a campaign-based audience scoped to that campaign, linked to your Facebook integration.
  3. After the promotion window, Build the audience from the campaign's click data and Sync it to Facebook.
  4. Run a retargeting ad two days before the event with a "Last chance to register" message.

Affiliate and Partner Traffic

  1. You drive traffic to an affiliate partner's product page using MarkQR links.
  2. Assign your Facebook pixel to the short link. Even though visitors land on the partner's domain (where you can't install your pixel), the redirect-layer event captures them.
  3. Build a custom audience of affiliate-driven visitors and use it to cross-sell related products on your own store.
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