Vanity URLs are the default option for experienced marketers because they boost online engagement, increase brand awareness, and optimize cross-channel user experience. With the right tools, you can infuse a uniform resource locator (URL) with custom keywords that quickly convey the advantages of tapping on the link without compromising its tracking capabilities.
Shortened URLs are clear, understandable, and memorable, making them a natural fit for marketers who want to improve the customer experience. If you’re ready to improve the legitimacy and impact of your campaigns, we’ll look at why they’re important, how to create them, and common pitfalls. You’ll also find expert tips about campaign integration, branding, and domain names from seasoned marketers.
The importance of vanity URLs in branding
Data-driven marketers increasingly use Urchin Tracking Modules (UTMs) to track the source, medium, search term, and so on, of all campaign traffic. The downside is that even a few UTMs make URLs quite long.
A vanity URL is a custom web address that usually redirects to a longer tracking URL. With a vanity URL, your customers don’t see a string of nonsense characters or unfamiliar words, only a clean, branded link that tells them where they’re going.
Vanity URLs, also known as vanity links, custom URLs, customized URLs, personalized URLs, or branded links, can reinforce both your brand and the marketing campaign. A vanity URL retains standard link protocol, including the domain name and the folder/subfolder structure, so it’s recognizable to a customer. However, it cuts out unnecessary wording or characters, so it’s readable and inviting.
For example, if your brand is running a two-for-one promotion, a vanity URL with a custom back-half might sleekly reinforce the sale. These types of finishing touches can make your brand look more legitimate, subtly communicating trust and reliability to the customer.
If you want to learn more about the basics of vanity URLs, we have a few helpful guides on the subject: Vanity Domain 101: Uses, Choices & Step-by-Step Setup, and How To Create a Vanity URL in 4 Easy Steps.
10 best practices for creating and using vanity URLs
Brand strategist and author Lindsay Pedersen warns, “Not all vanity URLs are created equal. Good vanity URLs dramatically lessen the attention demanded from the audience.” If you want better links, we’ll show you how to lay the groundwork.
1. Keep it short and memorable
Longer URLs don’t just take up more space in an ad or promotion—your audience may be less likely to tap on them. It’s important to keep it short and specific so it’s easier to remember and share.
For example, Bitly Enterprise’s platform provides enterprise-grade link management features. A vanity URL to promote Bitly Enterprise might look like this: bitly.com/enterprise. Simple and memorable, the link reduces the cognitive efforts of the audience because it conveys more context with fewer characters.
In contrast, if we used the full link with all UTM parameters, it would look like this: https://bitly.com/pages/landing/get-enterprise?utm_content=site-enterprise-button&utm_source=bitly-blog&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=blog-vanity-url
The vanity URL still forwards traffic to the right landing page while tracking audience and engagement metrics. But it trims the clutter. If you’re looking for the best way to create and manage vanity URLs, you need an integrated link management platform.
2. Remember that consistency is key
Your URL’s keywords should be clear and consistent with the content and brand. It’s a good idea to stick to one-syllable words whenever possible to streamline the customer experience. When you implement consistency across all URLs and online platforms, it’s easier for your customers to quickly associate and identify the brand’s advantages and values.
Pedersen reminds marketers, “All of your communication should embody your brand personality. So, make decisions on your vanity URLs according to your brand goals and the meaning that you want to build in the minds of your audience.” For example, if your brand promotes environmental wellness, your vanity links might always use “green” as the first word in the back-half of the link.
3. Use relevant keywords
Search engines don’t typically index vanity URLs if they redirect, but they do still influence your position on search engine results pages (SERPs). Incorporating keywords into a vanity URL supports your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and highlights the customers’ primary search topics. For example, if the most highly searched term is “best deals on baby food,” your vanity URL might include part or even all of the search terms.
As you target keywords, use transparent language and prioritize brand consistency above search engine traffic. For example, if a recently trending topic was only loosely connected to your brand, it may not be advisable to use the new search terms in your vanity link. Vanity URL SEO best practices come down to building long-term customer trust, which, in turn, boosts your search engine results and reputation.
4. Make it intuitive
Vanity URLs should be memorable, intuitive, and easy to spell. Above all else, they should provide context about the content or destination page. For example, Bit.ly.com/startnow may have more characters, but it’s more compelling than bitly.com/ahf81n.
This tip can be challenging for marketers running multiple campaigns because their promotions may look fairly similar to the customer. To cut back on excess words, the goal is to hint at what lies ahead enough to spark curiosity with a tap.
5. Avoid special characters or numbers
Special characters—like em dashes, underscores, or numbers—can confuse the audience and overcomplicate your URL. If you need to use numbers, ensure that they’re spelled out.
A good URL shortener automatically removes any special characters that may affect click-through rates or audience engagement. Shorter, cleaner links can ultimately result in more conversions for every campaign.
6. Invest in custom domain names
The domain is the first element in the link, making it an important brand identifier. Custom domains differentiate your company from competitors and add to an all-around professional appearance.
Brand builder and keynote speaker Anat Baron explains how they work. “New domain names are often difficult to obtain once a company sets up its online presence. You could purchase a new domain and use redirects, but it’s easier to use customized vanity URLs and direct customers to your landing page or main web page domain.”
If you want to take your domain name further, TLD extensions reinforce the brand’s value (such as .build, .events, .link, .buzz, or .ai). For example, a pizza parlor might make its vanity domain sliceo.pizza.
With Bitly’s link management solutions, you can implement custom domain management for vanity URLs. Considering that domain names continue to grow, they’re an ingenious way to get an edge over your competitors.
7. Regularly audit your URLs
Regularly reviewing vanity URLs for relevancy and functionality is an important part of brand consistency. For example, if you run a different special every month, you’ll need to remove defunct links across all platforms as soon as the calendar changes.
All audits should start with a comprehensive list of all vanity URLs, which is easy with the right link management platform. From there, ensure there are no broken links, inconsistencies, or typos.
Next, remove or update any outdated content or promotions, and then assess each intact link for SEO impact. Use a link management tracking platform to see which vanity links drive the most traffic and revamp future marketing strategies based on the results.
8. Utilize branding opportunities
Branding has a marked influence on purchases, referrals, conversions, and company recognition, which is why you’re encouraged to use brand names whenever possible.
Pedersen clarifies, “I define brand as the meaning that you own inside the head of your audience. Brand strategy is simply the deliberate exercise of articulating what you stand for in the mind of your audience.”
Vanity URLs link your brand with this articulated value. For instance, you might use your brand name as the domain and a descriptive product to back it up. The link bitly.com/enterprise underscores that the Bitly brand is for professional marketers operating at a high level. Tapping the link is a gateway to enterprise-grade tools that support marketers in top organizations.
9. Redirect old URLs appropriately
You can remove defunct or old URLs during your audits, but doing so will impact your SEO and user experience. Instead, marketers should redirect old URLs to relevant destinations. For example, if you were promoting a temporary teaser splash page for a new product, you might redirect new traffic to the product’s official landing page.
Redirecting old URLs may mean adjusting the language to fit the new destination. For example, you may need to take out any teaser wording now that the landing page is up. To avoid unnecessary work, establish campaign policies early on so everyone on the digital marketing team knows how to update old content to fit new marketing efforts.
10. Monitor URL performance
Analytical tools measure link performance, so you can understand what compels your audience to tap. Use this data to test and optimize future vanity URLs, so those campaigns connect with more people.
With Bitly Analytics, you can break down a campaign and track each link on every platform and medium. For example, let’s say you want to run an A/B test on Facebook for an updated product. You might test one vanity link with the back half as /NEWANDIMPROVED and another back half as /REDEFINEDQUALITY.
Afterward, you can check how the URLs performed in both ads on the same social media platform and use this data to inform future campaigns. For example, if the “new and improved” slug got more engagement, you might lean into your customers’ interest in updated features and product/service upgrades. If the “redefined quality” slug was more popular, you might choose to emphasize quality in upcoming campaigns to appeal to more customers.
5 things to avoid when creating vanity URLs
Vanity URLs can capture attention and convey context while staying true to your brand’s messaging and larger marketing strategy. However, there are right and wrong ways to create and use them. Here are a few things to avoid.
1. Overcomplicating your URL
A good URL is easy to recall, engaging, accurate, meaningful, and concise. If it’s unintelligible, it may make customers nervous about the destination page. If it’s hard to type or complex, they may not bother transcribing it. For example, let’s say that the customer sees a landing page’s link on the app, but they’d rather view the content on their laptop. With the right vanity link, they can simply type it into their preferred browser.
2. Ignoring URL security
Vanity links are accessible to everyone, and plenty of bad actors use them to hide their true intentions. When you use secure protocols for your vanity URLs, you enhance customer trust and protect customer data.
Keep in mind that security doesn’t boil down to the link’s number of characters. Long links may be perfectly safe, while short links may lead the visitor to malware.
However, shorter, consistent links that clearly define the brand name and campaign promotion can subtly tell a customer that the marketing team did its homework on data protection. To ensure a better customer experience, choose link-creation tools that prioritize cybersecurity.
3. Forgetting mobile users
A URL will look and function differently on different devices. If you’re forgetting your mobile users, it will affect the campaign’s performance. To optimize URL performance for touchscreens, avoid hyphens or underscores because they’re more difficult for the finger to target.
In addition, if you’re incorporating offline channels, consider skipping vanity URLs altogether in favor of QR Codes. With a QR Code, you can link to the appropriate URL, but your customer won’t have to type it into their mobile device or remember it later on. Instead, they just scan the URL on the printed material to go directly to the link.
4. Using inconsistent naming conventions
Inconsistent naming conventions are unfortunately common, even in considerable corporations with more oversight. The more you diverge from your standards, the more confused your audience will become.
Your customers may wonder not only what brand they’re interacting with, especially if the company has several subsidiaries, but they may also doubt the link’s legitimacy. Instead, choose one convention that’s easy to remember and follow. Ensure all digital marketers understand that links should be short, consistent, and communicative, regardless of what they’re promoting.
5. Neglecting URL Testing
You need to perform functionality testing before a campaign launch. This ensures that URL links on all platforms both direct customers to the correct place and relay back the appropriate data to the marketer.
For example, if you’re running the same ad for a landing page through organic and paid search, your tracking link needs to both point customers to the correct landing page and track whether customers found you through paid ads or keywords. Making corrections before the campaign will be much easier than waiting until it’s halfway through.
Bitly’s helpful vanity URL checklist
An effective vanity URL jumps from the page and sticks with the audience. Whether you’re choosing naming conventions or struggling with campaign search terms, the right guidelines can help you understand how the URL comes across to your audiences. It can also help you avoid common mistakes.
Here’s our checklist to help you create memorable vanity URLs:
Use Bitly to create your own vanity URLs today
Vanity links are most effective when they’re as brief as they are valuable to the customer. The upside is that you can effectively communicate with just a word or two. Better vanity links can lead to increased customer trust and better brand recognition.
With Bitly, you can create, share, and track custom vanity URLs across all marketing channels with one solution. Bitly’s secure and reliable open application programming interface (API) makes it incredibly simple to create, encrypt, and manage links that both boost your content and keep your audience safe. Plus, it’s easy to integrate Bitly with social media and digital marketing tools, allowing you to manage links with less hassle.
Get started with world-class link management and sign up with Bitly today!