Branded short domains have revolutionized how businesses promote themselves in the digital space. They’re the unsung heroes of online brand identity, capturing audiences’ attention and facilitating instant brand recognition. Think of them as your brand’s license plate, conveying who you are in a few characters.
They’re indispensable, as they can boost trust and increase your URL click-through rate (CTR), making your marketing campaigns more effective.
Let’s look at what branded short domains are, why they’re beneficial in the digital realm, and how you can integrate them into your marketing strategy.
What is a branded short domain?
A branded short domain is a short web address created uniquely for your business. It contributes to a cohesive digital presence by allowing you to maintain consistency across digital platforms.
A short custom domain also enhances brand recognition by telling customers who you are from a simple glance. Recognition builds trust—customers are more likely to tap on your short URL if they see your brand name, as they know where it’ll lead them.
Examples of branded short domains
Many brands have already recognized the power of these tools and integrated them into their marketing strategies. Chances are, you see multiple branded short domains every day. Here are some examples:
- Bitly – bit.ly: We’re great believers in only recommending what has worked for us or our clients. Our branded short domain reinforces brand identity and makes it easier for clients to recognize us.
- LinkedIn – lnkd.in: LinkedIn uses a branded short domain to enhance brand recognition and make itself easily searchable through search engines like Google.
- Pepsi – pep.si: Quite ingenious, isn’t it? Pepsi’s custom domain allows it to maintain a consistent brand image across digital platforms and print materials.
- YouTube – youtu.be: The video-sharing platform uses a branded short domain to promote recognizability. It also makes it easier for clients to share content, particularly across social media, as platforms have character limits.
How branded short domains differ from standard short URLs
Branded short domains aren’t to be confused with standard short URLs. While both are space savers that can help your brand appear more professional, they pack different punches in marketing. Branded short URLs are more effective than their standard counterparts.
A key difference between the two is that branded short domains contain brand identifiers, while standard short URLs don’t. A branded short domain can comprise solely your brand name, as with the examples we’ve listed above. But, a standard short URL’s domain will contain the name of your chosen link shortener or at least a version of its name. This can limit brand awareness.
The two options also differ in terms of credibility. Branded short domains instill more confidence than generic short URLs because they clearly show a brand’s identity. Knowing which company a domain belongs to can reduce the perceived risk of following unknown links.
Bitly allows you to use your own custom domain in links under the Growth, Premium, and Enterprise plans. This means your shortened URL will contain your business’s name or any other preferred identifier instead of the “bit.ly” domain name. This could have several benefits, including enhanced brand recognition, URL credibility, and CTR.
Benefits of using branded short domains
Did you know you only have seven seconds to make a good first impression?
Yes, you read that right. It takes the average person seven seconds to determine if they like you. And this informs how they relate to you.
What does this mean for your business? Simply put, you only have a few seconds to make your audience tap on your link. A generic or long URL won’t do you a lot of good, as some potential customers may be unwilling to spend more time to figure out where your link takes them.
A branded short domain is a better alternative for a marketing campaign, as it identifies a link’s source. But the benefits don’t stop there—let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using branded short domains.
Enhanced brand recognition and consistency
Including a branded short domain in your URLs lets your audience know you’re the owner of the links you post. This amplifies business visibility and can boost engagement. It also lets you maintain a consistent image across all your marketing channels.
Improved trust
Contrary to popular belief, emotional reactions have a higher impact on purchasing decisions than rational thoughts. This is because the human brain processes emotions five times faster than rational thoughts.
How you present your brand determines whether you’re your target audience’s first option. Branded short domains help you build trust with your potential clients. They’re recognizable, so clients are less skeptical about them.
Increased click-through rates
CTR is a metric that measures the number of people who tap on a link relative to the number of impressions it receives. Branded short domains directly impact CTR—they result in more clicks than standard URLs. This makes them essential for your marketing campaign if you want to drive more traffic to your website.
Better tracking and analytics
Some people believe that short domains and URLs don’t contain Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters—these are tags businesses add to URLs to track promotional efforts. But this isn’t the case. While they may not be visible, UTM parameters are present even when using branded short domains, so you can still track your performance.
URL shortening services like Bitly further facilitate tracking by providing built-in tracking features. With the Bitly Connections Platform, you get data on the number of clicks your URLs get, their locations, total engagements and engagements over time, week-over-week change, and referrers. This information can help you improve your marketing strategy.
Customization and creativity
Branded short domains offer flexibility. By choosing them, you can highlight your creativity through your URLs. You don’t have to use your brand name as your domain—you can instead use a custom keyword for your next campaign to help your URLs stand out.
How to integrate branded short domains into a marketing strategy
Branded short domains can fit into numerous marketing elements, including online ads, social media posts, SMS, and print marketing materials. They allow you to reach a broad target audience.
But, their impact is contingent on how you integrate them into your marketing strategy. Here are some tips to help you get it right on the first try.
Assess your brand’s needs
Evaluate your goals for the branded short domains to determine how to customize them, where to use them, and which metrics to track. There’s a lot of flexibility when it comes to custom domains, so feel free to think outside the box.
Choose the right branded short domain
Your branded short domain should reflect your needs and goals. If you need SEO-friendly URLs, use your company name or custom keywords as your domain to allow search engine crawlers to make connections between pages with ease. If you’re running a promotional initiative, get creative with your domain to stand out from competitors.
Brainstorm with your team to determine the best domain. Encourage creativity and collaboration by considering each team member’s suggestion and involving everyone when making the final decision.
Implement branded short domains across channels
Use your branded short domains across traditional and digital marketing channels. This includes everything from magazine advertisements to social media. Doing so increases your reach and gives you access to a broader target audience.
Find a URL-shortening service with an open application programming interface (API) to facilitate seamless integration into different channels. Also, make sure you maintain consistency across all channels to avoid confusion.
Track and analyze performance
Insights from marketing campaigns are vital. They let you know how well your campaign performs so you can adjust future strategies to achieve better results.
Track the performance of your branded short links by assessing the number of clicks across various channels. This lets you know which mediums are the most effective for your business.
Using Bitly to create branded URLs
Since your links may live across digital and offline channels alike, branded URLs are often the first thing prospects see from your business. That’s why you need to choose the branding carefully.
When you start to create custom links with Bitly, you’ll want to ask:
- How does the custom-branded link look aesthetically? Is it concise but still easy to read?
- Does the link communicate the value proposition of our brand?
- Will people be able to associate our custom-branded link with our brand?
- Is it catchy and easy to remember?
Then, you’ll need to find a third-party domain registrar to buy the branded domain.
Pro tip: Domain providers like GoDaddy offer great deals on a lot of different options, like:
- .link
- .xyz
- .audio
- .gift
- .tv
Now that you know how to brand your links with Bitly, you can get everything up and running within the product. Creating custom short links with Bitly is relatively straightforward:
- Log in to your Bitly account.
- Select Settings, then Custom domains.
- Tap Add a domain.
- Depending on your plan, you’ll get two choices. If you’re on the Free or Core plan, you’ll get a Bitly domain. You can choose your unique domain if you have a Growth, Premium, or Enterprise account.
- If you’re on the Growth plan and above, you’ll need to update your domain’s Domain Name System (DNS) settings with your domain provider.
- When you’re done, return to Settings and select Custom domains to check your domain verification status. Verification can take up to 24 hours.
- After verification, incorporate your branded links into marketing campaigns.
Elevate your digital identity with Bitly
Bitly’s link shortener allows you to create branded short domains and links to enhance visibility, trust, and CTR. It also provides link performance analytics, enabling you to obtain data to improve future marketing campaigns.
The best part? Bitly integrates seamlessly with social media and other marketing tools, giving you a better visual of your marketing efforts.
Create your branded short domain and links with Bitly and drive more traffic to your site!
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