Catch dead Bitly links and QR codes before your customers do

On the first Monday of every month at 9am, audit my Bitly link estate for dead destinations and tell me exactly what to fix. This is a report, not a repair. Do not change any link or QR code as part of this run.

Start by resolving my Bitly group, since most Bitly list and analytics operations are group scoped. Use Retrieve Groups to get the group GUID. Then build the full inventory: use Retrieve Bitlinks by Group to list the group's short links, following the pagination object until there are no pages left, and use Retrieve Top Links and Decoupled QR Codes by Engagements to pick up standalone QR codes that are not backed by a bitlink.

For each link, use Expand a Bitlink to get the destination it points at today. Then use Exa Get Contents to fetch that destination and judge its health. Classify each one as healthy, genuinely broken (the page does not load at all), an error page (it loads but shows a 404, 410, or a page not found message), a parked or expired domain (registrar placeholder or a domain for sale page), or an intent mismatch (the page loads perfectly well but no longer matches what the link was created for, for example a specific product or campaign page that now redirects to a generic homepage). Treat intent mismatch as seriously as a hard 404, because it is the failure mode nobody notices. Use the link's title and tags as evidence of its original intent, and state your reasoning for each verdict.

Rank every problem by traffic at risk rather than by severity alone. Use Get a Clicks Summary for a Bitlink for short links and Get QR Code Scans Summary for QR codes, pulling volume over the last twelve months. Both take a unit, units, and unit_reference to define that window. A dead link with thousands of clicks must sit far above a dead link nobody has ever used.

For the worst offenders at the top of the ranking, use Exa Find Similar against the original destination URL to propose the closest live replacement page, and explain briefly why that page is the right substitute.

Post one prioritized message to Slack using Send a Message. List each broken link in rank order with the short link itself, its click or scan volume, where it points today, what is wrong with it, and the suggested new destination where you found one. Keep it scannable and send a single message, not one per link.

Flag printed QR codes and short links already distributed out in the world as urgent and lift them to the top of their tier. Codes printed on packaging, signage, business cards, and trade show collateral cannot be recalled or reprinted, so a dead destination behind one of those is far more damaging than a dead link in an email that has already been sent.

Never repoint anything automatically. Update a Bitlink and Update a QR Code Redirect can change a destination without altering the printed QR image, which is exactly why this problem is fixable after the fact, but only run them after I have explicitly approved a specific change. Close the Slack message by asking me which links I want repointed.