Telegram bot deep link: one link for every way in
A Telegram bot deep link does more than open your bot: it can choose which conversation starts. With one link for your bio, another for an ad and another for each partner, every way in opens a different message. This guide covers how that works, how to keep it organized, and what the link doesn’t do.
A disclosure: this blog belongs to Flow4You, a flow editor for Telegram bots. The link mechanics come from Telegram itself. The “one flow per link” part is how our editor uses them.
Plain bot link vs. Telegram bot deep link
Every bot has a public link in the format https://t.me/yourbot. Clicking it opens the chat with the bot. The first time, Telegram shows a Start button.
A deep link is the same link with a parameter on the end: https://t.me/yourbot?start=promo01. According to Telegram’s documentation, a user pressing that link automatically passes the value to your bot, which receives the message /start promo01. The person doesn’t type anything.
The parameter rules, from the same documentation:
- Allowed characters are
A-Z,a-z,0-9,_and-. - The maximum length is 64 characters.
- No spaces, accents or dots.
Those rules matter if you code your own bot. In Flow4You you don’t have to build the link by hand, as you’ll see next.
How one link opens a different flow
In Flow4You, every flow has its own link, in the format t.me/yourbot?start=ref_…. It appears in the “When…” (“Quando…”) block, the flow’s trigger. Copy it and use it wherever you like. Whoever clicks enters that flow.
So a single bot can have several doors:
| Where the link lives | What the conversation does |
|---|---|
| Instagram bio | Introduces you and asks what the person is looking for |
| Free lesson ad | Delivers the lesson and asks a question |
| Discount ad | Goes straight to the advertised deal |
| Partner A | Mentions the partner and shows the agreed offer |
| Channel post | Opens this week’s offer |
The benefit is conversational: the first message matches what the person just saw. Someone who clicked a discount ad doesn’t read a generic intro. They find what was promised.
The flow a lead entered also tells you which door they came through. That helps you organize the conversation and your next broadcasts, but it isn’t ad tracking. The next section explains the difference.
What ?start does and what it doesn’t do
This is the most confused point on the subject, so here it is plainly.
- Flow4You’s
?startpicks which flow runs. It’s a decision about the conversation. - Track4you, our sister product, measures which ad brought someone to the channel. It doesn’t use
?startfor that. It relies on a bridge page and a funnel entry link.
Those are different problems with different mechanisms. If you want to know which creative brought each person and send that event to the Meta pixel, ?start isn’t the answer. The right place to start is the guide to Telegram UTM tracking.
When in doubt, ask yourself what you want to change or learn:
- I want this entry point to open a different conversation → use the flow’s link.
- I want to know which ad brought this person and how it performed → use tracking.
Many operations use both. The ad goes through measurement, and the bot’s conversation is a separate job that starts afterwards.
What about a plain /start?
Not everyone arrives through a link with a parameter. Someone who finds your bot in Telegram search, or gets the link without a parameter, taps Start and sends a plain /start.
Flow4You has a dedicated control for this: the “Also start with /start” toggle (“Iniciar também com /start”) in the flow’s trigger. The app’s interface is in Portuguese today, so that’s the label you’ll see.
- Only one flow per bot can have this toggle on.
- With none on, a plain
/startopens nothing. To anyone arriving that way, the bot looks broken.
The recommendation is simple: always keep one general flow set for a plain /start. It can be short. It only has to say who the bot is and offer two or three paths in buttons. The guide to the Telegram bot welcome message has templates for this.
How to keep many links organized
Short entry flow, shared main path
If you copy the whole flow for every source, each offer tweak becomes rework. A more practical design: each source gets a short entry flow, and they all end in a Start flow block (“Iniciar fluxo”) that leads to the main flow.
That way, you change the offer in one place. To add an entry point, use the editor’s duplicate option and change only the message. The copy is a separate flow with a separate link.
Names that explain the source
Use clear names: entry-instagram-bio, entry-ad-lesson-october, entry-partner-ana. The editor’s folders help separate entry flows from main flows.
One tag per source
In the entry flow, an Action block can add a tag with the source. Days later, that tag lets you send a broadcast only to those who came through that partner, or condition a message on it. The audience estimate shows how many leads have the tag.
Example flow: a partner entry
This entry flow is short on purpose. It mentions the source, adds the tag and hands off to the main flow:
For another partner, duplicate it, change the tag and the name in the message, and publish.
Common bot link mistakes
- Unpublished flow. Only a published flow opens. If a link doesn’t respond, check this first.
- No flow for a plain
/start. Anyone who searches for your bot by name finds a silent bot. - A truncated link. If
?start=…gets lost when you copy it, the person sends a plain/startand doesn’t enter the flow you intended. Test the link after pasting it. - Pasting into something that rewrites URLs. Some link shorteners and page builders change the URL. Click the final link yourself, on your phone, before paying for traffic.
- Treating the link as ad tracking. It separates conversations. To measure ads, see the section above.
- A link for every little thing. If two sources deserve the same conversation, they can share one flow. Add an entry point only when the conversation really changes.
- Personal data in the parameter of a custom bot. The parameter is visible in the link. Don’t put an email, phone number or ID in it.
Where to start
- Create the bot, if you haven’t, with our guide on how to create a Telegram bot.
- Set one general flow for a plain
/start. - List your entry points, and build a short flow only for those that deserve their own conversation.
- Test each link in your own Telegram, then publish.
From there, the link becomes part of your Telegram sales funnel. To build this in a visual editor, Flow4You starts from R$ 99 per month and shows each flow’s link right in the trigger.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my Telegram bot's link?
The basic link is t.me/ followed by the bot's username, without the @. You'll find the username on the bot's profile and in @BotFather. In Flow4You, each flow shows its own ready-to-copy link in the trigger block.
Can I use the same link in several places?
Yes, and everyone will land in the same conversation. If you want your bio and a partner to open different messages, use links from different flows. If the conversation doesn't need to change, one link is fine.
Does a bot link work outside Telegram?
It works anywhere that accepts a link: a website, a bio, an email, an ad or a message. Clicking it opens Telegram in the chat with your bot. The person needs Telegram to continue.
Can people see the start parameter?
Yes, it's visible in the link, so don't put anything private in it, such as personal data or secret codes. In Flow4You, the flow's link comes with its parameter ready, so you don't write one yourself.
CEO - Flow4You & Track4you
Digital business strategist specialized in automation and paid traffic across many niches. Leads Flow4You (Telegram bots and flows) and Track4you (conversion tracking). Works behind the scenes of several of Brazil's largest iGaming, binary options and infoproduct operations.