Bluesky is now redirecting links through its ‘go’ subdomain for publishers to track referral traffic from its platform. According to the platform, when users click a link on Bluesky, it briefly redirects through "go.bsky.app" before landing on the publisher’s website. 

The goal is for publishers to see referers in their site's web traffic. This update enables website analytics tools to recognize Bluesky as the traffic source instead of leaving publishers guessing based on likes or reposts.

Why this matters for publishers 

Bluesky claims its approach gives publishers an advantage. Previously, news organizations could see engagement on Bluesky through likes, reposts, and replies, but they struggled to determine how that engagement translated into actual website visits. The new system aims to solve this problem.

Bluesky COO, Rose Wang previously explained that the platform does not "de-promote" links, unlike competitors that prioritize in-app engagement over external referrals. This means that links shared on Bluesky are more likely to be seen and clicked. Data from Similarweb further supports this claim. In November 2024, Bluesky generated 38.6 million outgoing visits, compared to Threads' 24.5 million. 

Knowing where their traffic comes from is important to media companies. If a social platform drives significant traffic, it could become a higher priority in content distribution strategies. 

Bluesky has been making a case for itself as a valuable traffic source for news publishers. In December 2024, the platform claimed it generated more engagement and traffic for publishers than X and Threads. 

To back this up, the company shared data from major publishers like The Boston Globe, which reported receiving three times more traffic from Bluesky than Threads and 4.5 times higher conversions to paid subscriptions.

The Guardian and Democracy Docket also reported significant traffic from Bluesky, with Guardian Australia editor Dave Earley noting that Bluesky had already surpassed Threads in referral traffic and was outperforming X’s referral traffic in 2024.

Kevin Rothrock of The New York Times described engagement on Bluesky as “nuts” compared to X, despite its much smaller user base. Marc Elias from Democracy Docket also noted that Bluesky traffic to his site was “surging,” while X’s was declining and Threads remained stagnant.

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