Tracked links: track a PDF or report and see who read it
A tracked link is a link you send instead of an attachment, so you can see who opened your PDF or report, which pages they spent time on and whether they came back. Qelvra is an SEO and AI-visibility tool, and tracked links are built in: the audit, the Brand Explorer report or the PDF you made there can be sent to a client as one link per person. Making a link uses no credits.
- Want to send something now? Open Tracked links in the app.
- Want the thinking behind it? Read how to know if a client actually read your SEO audit.
- Comparing tools? See DocSend alternatives, compared in rupees.
Which part of SEO work does it help?
Tracked links help with winning and keeping clients, not with ranking. They matter at the moment you hand something over: a Full Audit for a prospect, a Brand Explorer report that shows how ChatGPT and Gemini talk about a client, a proposal PDF, a monthly report. You find out whether it was opened and what was read, so your follow-up can be specific instead of "did you get a chance to look?".
What can I share?
| You share | Name in Qelvra | Where you make the link |
|---|---|---|
| A Full Audit | Full Audit | The audit's own page |
| A Brand Explorer report | Brand Explorer report | The Brand Explorer page |
| A document written in Qelvra | Document | The document's page |
| A PDF you upload | Tracked links | |
| A YouTube or Vimeo video | Video | Tracked links, under "Your videos" |
| Several of the above together | Data room | Tracked links, under "Data rooms" |
Videos are YouTube (public or unlisted) and Vimeo links only. You cannot upload a video file, and Loom links are not supported. Watch time is counted in 10-second parts, or per minute for videos over 30 minutes.
A data room is a set of files behind one link: PDFs, audits, reports, documents and videos, with one level of folders. You can have up to 50 rooms with up to 100 files each. A room link counts as one active link. Each link can show every file (including ones you add later) or a set you pick. Step by step, with folders and per-file stats: Data rooms guide.
When is a plain attachment enough?
- You do not mind not knowing whether it was opened.
A tracked link is worth it when the next step depends on the reader: a proposal that is waiting for a yes, an audit you sent to a prospect, a report you want to talk through on the next call. An attachment tells you nothing once it is sent, while a link shows what happens and can be switched off.
Plans and limits
Tracked links are on the free trial, Pro, Ultra and Agency. Free and Starter accounts cannot make them. The limit is on active links: a link that has expired or been revoked does not count.
| Trial (7 days) | Pro | Ultra | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active tracked links | 2 | 10 | 20 | 100 |
| PDF uploads | Not on the trial | 1 GB storage | 3 GB storage | 10 GB storage |
| Your own link domain | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Your own logo and colours on the reader page | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Pro is ₹5,899 and Ultra is ₹8,299 (see Pricing). Agency starts from ₹19,999 a month and is set up with you (talk to us from the pricing page). If you move to a smaller plan, links you already made keep working until they expire, but you cannot make new ones past the new limit.
PDFs can be up to 25 MB each, with up to 20 uploads in 24 hours. Every upload is checked for known malware and scripts, and password-protected PDFs are refused. A check like this lowers the risk. It does not prove a file is safe. "Replace" on a PDF makes a new version: the old file is deleted, and your stats stay with the version they were collected on.
Links expire after 30 days unless you choose otherwise. The choices are 7 days, 30 days, 90 days or never.
How do I make my first tracked link?
- Open the thing you want to send. For an audit, a Brand Explorer report or a document, use the panel on its own page (in Brand Explorer, press "Tracked links" beside the report's date). For a PDF, a video or a room, open Tracked links from the sidebar.
- The panel says "One link per person you send this to. See when they open it and what they read." Press "New link".
- Under "Who is it for?", type a name, for example "Rahul (Acme)". Only you and your team see this name.
- Choose when it expires under "Expires".
- Under "Who can open it", pick "Anyone with the link", "Ask for their email" or "Ask for a confirmed email".
- For an audit, PDF or room, "Allow PDF download" is on by default. Turn it off if you want the reader to read it on screen only.
- Open "More access rules: password, only certain people, watermark, NDA" if you need any of those.
- Press "Make and copy link". Paste it into your email or WhatsApp message.
Make one link per person. If you send the same link to three people, you cannot tell them apart.
Who can open it?
You choose how much to ask of the reader. The more you ask, the fewer people will get through, so ask for only what you need.
| Setting | What the reader does | What you know |
|---|---|---|
| "Anyone with the link" | Opens it | That someone opened it |
| "Ask for their email" | Types an email address (or uses "Continue with Google", which confirms it) | The address. A typed one is not checked, so Qelvra marks it "(typed, not confirmed)" |
| "Ask for a confirmed email" | Uses "Continue with Google" or types a 6-digit code sent to their email | That they can read mail at that address |
On top of that, "More access rules" offers:
- Password. At least 8 characters. You cannot see it again after you set it, so keep your own copy. It is asked before the email step.
- Only certain people. A list of emails, or whole domains such as
@acme.com. Sub-domains are not matched. This forces a confirmed email. - Watermark every page. The reader's email and the date are printed on every page, and on a downloaded PDF. With no email, a reference code ("Ref") is used. A watermark makes people think twice before forwarding or taking a screenshot. It cannot stop either.
- NDA. Save the agreement once with "New agreement" on the Tracked links page, then pick it on the link. The reader confirms their email, reads the agreement, types their full name and ticks "I agree". This is a click-to-accept record. It is not an e-signature, and Qelvra does not write or check agreements for you. You can keep up to 50 agreements. If you edit one, it becomes a new version and readers are asked again.
A link that has expired shows the reader "This link has expired". To stop a link earlier, open "Manage link" and press "Revoke this link". It stops at once, and the views you already have stay.
How do I read the results?
Press "Views" on a link's row to see:
- Time on each page. For a PDF, a chart of time per page. For an audit or report, time per section. For a data room, time per file. When one person has read a PDF or report, a "Stopped here" marker shows where they left.
- Readers. One row per person, by email when you have it, otherwise "Visitor 1", "Visitor 2" and so on. Each row has a score, how far they read, their reading time and how many visits they made.
- A score out of 10. Up to 4 points for how far they got, up to 4 for time spent and up to 2 for coming back. 7 to 10 is High, 4 to 6 is Medium and 0 to 3 is Low. Treat it as a rule of thumb for who to call first. It is not a measure of intent.
On a report's panel, "How it's read across these links" adds up the readers of all its links, so you can see which sections people spend time on.
What counts as a view?
Only time when the page is visible and the reader has done something (scrolled, clicked, typed) in the last 30 seconds. A tab left open in the background does not add reading time. Link previews and bots do not count. Visits by your own signed-in team do not count either, so to test a link, open it in a private window.
Alerts
Under "Views", "Manage link" holds the link's expiry, who can open it, access rules, "Email me on every open" and "Revoke this link". You see it on links you made, or on any link if you are an owner or admin.
While someone has a link open, a "Reading now" strip above your links and a badge on the link's row show who had it open and in use in the last 45 seconds, with the page, their device and their city. This is an estimate.
Qelvra emails you the first time a link is opened, and again when the same browser comes back after 3 or more days. A new reader on another browser is not emailed unless "Email me on every open" is on. "Came back" emails are limited to 3 a day per link, and you get at most 20 alert emails a day across all your links. If you want an email on every open, switch on "Email me on every open" in "Manage link" (up to 20 a day per link). The workspace switch is "Tracked link alerts" in Settings, under Emails.
The access log
Each link keeps a log of what happened: Opened, Email entered, Email confirmed, Password entered, Agreement accepted, Downloaded, and Turned away (wrong password, wrong code, not on the list, expired or turned off). Qelvra shows the latest 50 entries per link, and "Download access log (CSV)" saves the whole log. Owners and admins also get "Access log of all links (CSV)". The log and your views are kept for 12 months.
Leads
When a reader of a Full Audit, a Brand Explorer report or a document saved with a site gives an email at the gate, typed or confirmed, it is added as a lead on that site, with the source "Tracked link:" followed by the name you gave, once per address per link. PDF, video and data room links add no leads. A typed address is not marked as unconfirmed in Leads, so check the "(typed, not confirmed)" note in the link's Views if it matters.
Can the agent suggest a follow-up?
Yes. In the chat, ask something like "Who opened the audit I sent Rahul, and what should I say in my follow-up?". The agent reads the opens, the people, the reading time, the sections read most and the visits. It then suggests a follow-up based on what they read most and when they came back. It cannot make or revoke links, and reading link data costs nothing. Chat messages use credits as usual.
If you use Qelvra from Claude or ChatGPT, the list_tracked_links tool returns the same data on Pro and above, and while the trial runs (not on Starter). It does not run on its own: you ask for it.
Ask: who opened my latest audit?
What does the reader see, and what do you store?
The reader sees the page you shared, with a note that the sender can see that it was opened. If you turned on a gate, they see that first. A PDF has a "Present" button for full-screen slides, and time per page is still tracked.
Qelvra records when the link was opened, how long it was in use, which pages or sections were viewed, scrolling, downloads, device type, and a city and country estimated from the IP address. It stores the email if you asked for one. The IP address is kept only as a one-way hash, to spot abuse, and the access log stores no IP. There is no fingerprinting, no Google Analytics on reader pages, and only first-party cookies. YouTube and Vimeo players load only when the reader presses play. See the privacy page for the full wording.
Your own link domain and branding
On Ultra and Agency you can send links from your own subdomain, such as links.yourcompany.com, and only your shared links open on it. Under "Your link domain", add the subdomain, then add the DNS records shown (a CNAME and one or two TXT records) and press "Check now". You get one per workspace. On your domain there is no "Continue with Google" (readers use a code or a typed email) and no Qelvra logo or name on the page. Ultra and Agency can also set a name, logo and accent colour for each link. Step by step, with the DNS records and branding: Custom link domain guide.
What does it not do?
- It does not track a PDF sent as an email attachment, or one the reader has already downloaded.
- It does not upload video files, and it does not support Loom.
- It is not an e-signature tool, and it does not write proposals or give you templates.
- It cannot stop a reader copying or screenshotting what they can see.
- Opens are not the same as reading every word. Qelvra shows opened, time on page and how far they got.
What to do next
Open Tracked links, pick the audit or report you last sent, make one link for one person, and send it instead of the attachment. Check "Views" the next day.
Frequently asked questions
Can you track a PDF sent as an email attachment?
No. Once a PDF is attached to an email, you have no way to see what happens to it. Upload it to Qelvra, make a tracked link and send the link. You will see opens, time on each page and return visits.
Does Qelvra charge credits for tracked links?
No. Making links, tracking views and sending alerts use no credits. Your plan limits how many links can be active at once. Chat messages with the agent use credits as usual.
How many tracked links can I have?
2 on the free trial, 10 on Pro, 20 on Ultra and 100 on Agency, counting only active links. Expired and revoked links do not count.
Is the NDA a legal e-signature?
No. It is a click-to-accept record: the reader's confirmed email, their typed name, the time and the box they ticked. Qelvra does not write or check the agreement text. Ask your lawyer if you need more.