Customize Your Survey URL
Shortcuts, parameters, and branded URLs — everything that makes your link work harder.
- You need admin access to do this. About roles
- Set Up a Feedback Link must be set up first.
- Set Up a Link Survey must be set up first.
Want a shorter URL? Add a Touchpoint Alias or Stream Shortcut in your settings.
Every feedback link follows the same structure. Understanding it lets you create short branded URLs, route respondents to the right place, and pre-fill their details automatically.
acme.ombea.com/london/kitchen?email=anna@example.com
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
acme.ombea.com | Your survey domain — comes from the Website you select in the Stream settings |
/london | A touchpoint shortcut — identifies which Touchpoint (and therefore which Location) the response belongs to |
/kitchen | A stream shortcut — identifies which Stream to open |
?email=anna@... | A parameter — pre-fills respondent data that gets stored with the response |
Without shortcuts, the plain domain URL still works. But if multiple Locations or Streams share the same domain, the respondent lands on a selection screen. Add shortcuts and they go straight to the right survey.
Configured on the Touchpoint (when editing a feedback link). A touchpoint shortcut identifies the Touchpoint — and by extension the Location — so the response gets tagged correctly.
- Go to Admin > Touchpoints in the sidebar.
- Navigate to the Location that has the feedback link.
- Single-click the Location to open the details panel, then click the pencil icon.
- Go to Step 2 — Touchpoints and click the feedback link you want to edit.
- Under Add shortcuts to this Touchpoint, type an alias in the Alias field (e.g.
london) and press Enter. - Click Done, then Save the Location.
Configured in the Stream wizard (Settings tab). A stream shortcut identifies which Stream to open, sending the respondent straight to the right survey.
- Open your Link Survey Stream and go to the Settings tab.
- Under Choose the Website where you will publish this survey, select your domain from the Website dropdown.
- Under Add shortcuts to this Stream, type an alias in the Alias field (e.g.
kitchen). The domain is shown as a prefix so you see the full URL as you type. - Add more aliases as needed.
- Save the Stream.
Make the stream only accessible via shortcuts: Once you have at least one shortcut, a checkbox appears: Make this stream only accessible using a shortcut. Enable it and the plain stream URL stops working — respondents can only reach the survey through one of your shortcut URLs.
What if I only use one shortcut? You can use just one shortcut on its own. With a single path segment (e.g. acme.ombea.com/kitchen), the system first tries to match it as a stream shortcut. If no stream shortcut matches, it falls back to a touchpoint shortcut. When you use both together (e.g. acme.ombea.com/london/kitchen), the first segment is always the touchpoint shortcut and the second is always the stream shortcut.
Append parameters after a ? to pre-fill respondent information. They are stored with the response and visible in your results.
| Parameter | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
first_name | Pre-fills the first name | ?first_name=Anna |
last_name | Pre-fills the last name | ?last_name=Svensson |
email | Pre-fills the email address | ?email=anna@example.com |
phone | Pre-fills the phone number | ?phone=+46701234567 |
cid | Sets a custom identifier | ?cid=MEMBER-4521 |
Combine multiple parameters with &:
acme.ombea.com/london?email=anna@example.com&cid=MEMBER-4521
When the survey loads, the parameters are automatically encoded into a single ctx parameter and the browser URL is replaced. The respondent never sees the original parameter values in the address bar.
How parameters connect to survey quota: The email, phone, and cid parameters also feed into the survey quota system. If your Stream has a quota rule (e.g. "one response per person"), the system uses these values to identify returning respondents. Send each customer a link with their email pre-filled, and duplicate responses are prevented automatically. See Limit How Often Someone Can Respond.
Good to Know
You cannot reuse an alias that is already taken — even on a different stream or touchpoint.
Stream shortcuts are available on Link and Widget streams only. Touchpoint shortcuts are available on all feedback links.
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