---
title: "Link Categories"
slug: "engage-link-categories"
status: "update"
updated: 2026-07-28T15:56:50Z
published: 2026-07-28T15:56:50Z
canonical: "docs.mapp.com/engage-link-categories"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Link Categories

## What Are Link Categories?

A link category is a label you attach to one or more links. Engage then reports on all links in a category together and can act on a click of any of them. A category must be created before it can be used.

---

## What You Can Use Them For

- **Statistics:** The **Link Category Analysis** tab shows which categories were used in a message and how recipients responded (see [Link Category Analysis (tab)](/v1/docs/link-category-analysis-tab)). Example: a travel agency labels offers as Cruises, Resorts, and Spa, then sees which offer types recipients prefer.
- **Automation:** Use a category in event-based automations — for example, **Message Link Clicked (C)** + **Store Data in Profile Attribute (C)** records each time a contact clicks a link in a category (see [Event-Based Automation](/v1/docs/event-based-automation) and [Product Interest Mapping](/v1/docs/product-interest-mapping)).
- **Selections:** Build targeted recipient lists — for example, everyone who clicked a link in the Cruises category receives a matching follow-up offer.

---

## How Categories Are Assigned

- **Manually, before sendout:** Assign categories to a message's links in the message editor (see [Manual Assignment of Link Categories](/v1/docs/assign-link-categories-window)).
- **Manually, after sendout:** Change the category of a sent message in the Outbox. The change takes effect from that point and is not applied retroactively.
- **Automatically:** By keyword or regular expression, evaluated at sendout (see [Automatic Assignment of Link Categories](/v1/docs/automatic-assignment-of-link-categories)).
- **Via a CMS:** When a Content Management System is used, the CMS template defines the assignment. Contact your customer representative for details.

For landing pages, only automatic assignment works: the message holds an Engage Variable, not a link, and the variable becomes a link address only when the message is processed.

> [!WARNING]
> Warning
> 
> Manual assignment of a link category is lost when the message is saved as a draft.

---

## Create a Link Category

Create categories and choose how they are assigned (manually, by keyword, or by Regex) in the [New Link Category (window)](/v1/docs/new-link-category-window). New categories get the lowest priority by default; change this in the [Link Category Overview (tab)](/v1/docs/link-tab).