Short version. A click count includes the preview a chat app fetched, the bot that scanned the link, and the same person opening it four times.
Clicks are not people
A click count includes the preview a chat app fetched, the bot that scanned the link, and the same person opening it four times. Shopmycode counts opens and then tells you the people: how many distinct, how many came back, who is on the page now. The difference between 1,200 clicks and 640 people is the difference between a report and a decision.
What a link can see on any page
The app the open came from (WhatsApp, Instagram, a browser), the city, the device, second visits, and a forwarding estimate when the link travels through chats. That is the standard level, on any page, with nothing installed.
What it can see on your own page
Add one line to your page and you also see the pages visited, the time on each, and the result — a sign-up, an order — attributed to the link that brought the person. That is the full view, and it is what lets a link become something you can pay for.
From tracking to paying
Every tracked link can be handed to a person, who sees its numbers, and every result can carry a reward from a budget the brand locked. A link-management tool stops at the click; this is where it goes on.