European small businesses and independent marketers increasingly run the same promotion across several channels at once, Instagram, TikTok, email newsletters, and printed materials, and a plain link tells you nothing about which one actually drove the result.
What real click analytics show
A tracked short link reveals device type (mobile vs. desktop), referrer (which platform sent the click), and time patterns, genuinely useful data for deciding where to invest marketing effort next, rather than guessing. A custom short code (yourbrand.com/s/spring-sale instead of a random string) is also easier to include in print or read aloud.
Beyond tracking
A link shield, a brief safety interstitial before the redirect, adds a layer of protection when sharing a link to an audience that doesn't know your brand yet, useful for a first campaign or a cold audience.
A shortened link that doesn't tell you who clicked it is a missed opportunity, the tracking is the actual value, not just a neater URL.