Universal Link (or UniLink for short) is a powerful and versatile tool that takes a different approach to sharing media online. A UniLink is generated for each file you publish, regardless of its format, and acts as the universal gateway for anyone wishing to access it. It allows to serve the file directly, process it on the fly, retrieve file metadata, or share it with UniLink Preview.

How do Universal Links work?

Universal Links are powered by UniLink Engine - a smart processing and delivery engine that can automatically determine the form of content to serve based on request.

When you request a file via Universal Link, the UniLink Engine first determines whether to serve the file via a Data Source or show the Preview page (see next section to learn more). Preview page can be accessed for any file by appending / to the end of the URL.

“Binary” means that the file itself will be served, be it an image, video, or document. If on-the-fly transformation parameters are present, the file is processed and then served. Otherwise, it’s served as is. JSON Data Sources include varying sets of metadata depending on the file format and media type.

flowchart TD
	id1(Request)--Without /-->id2(Direct file)
	id1(Request)--"With /"-->id8(UniLink Preview)
	id2-->id3(Binary)
	id2--.json-->id4(JSON)
	id3--?param=value&...-->id5(Process)
	id3-->id6
	id5-->id6(Serve file)
	id4-->id7(Serve metadata)

Read more about Data Sources and how they work.

UniLink Preview

UniLink Preview is an SEO-optimized web page that contains file metadata, licensing information, links to your portfolio and social media profiles, and quick links to share or reuse the content in accordance with the license you had previously specified.

Besides, with native support for web rights and licensing metadata used by Google Images, all your published photos get the Google Licensable badge. No additional effort is needed.

Learn about Google Images Licensable badge and how it can boost your exposure in our blog post.

A typical UniLink Preview page looks like this:

Benefits of Universal Links

1. Retain control over content. Share images using UniLinks instead of uploading them to third-party platforms. This lets you retain control of your original work (and all its versions) while maximizing exposure across all your distribution channels.
2. Gain extra exposure, always with attribution. Creative works deserve to be seen, shared, and used on the creator’s terms. Universal Links make sharing and attributing much easier with
   • Preview pages: Showcase your work beautifully.
   • Built-in web rights and metadata: Ensure proper attribution.
   • Clear licensing terms: define usage rights, they’ll be shown with the image preview.
3. Save time & optimize. With on-the-fly transformations, your content becomes infinitely scalable without any extra effort. Deliver perfect image renditions for portfolio sites, blog posts, social media, and more without preparing anything in advance.
4. Learn how your content is used with built-in analytics. Macula comes with a comprehensive analytics suite that helps you see how the content performs across different platforms and devices. Run content-centric marketing campaigns or simply check who views your files without having to rely on another service. Step up your marketing game with built-in support of UTMs and access to raw statistics data ready for programmatic processing.

Universal Links and copyright traceability

Ensuring copyright discoverability and traceability is a critical part of Universal Links and Macula as a whole. Media files you publish and all their transformations always carry essential copyright and licensing metadata: