Vanity URLs and non-vanity URLs are more than just a choice of characters. It’s a strategic decision that can define your content accessibility and appeal.

Considering the image above, which link would you prefer to click on?

Chances are, the second one, right? It’s clear, concise, and tells you exactly what you’re getting into. That will significantly boost your URL click rate.

But here’s the thing: it’s not just about the clickability factor (although that’s definitely a big bonus). The real magic happens behind the scenes, where search engines are busy crawling and indexing web pages. 

You see, the above vanity URL is not only user-friendly, but also sends a clear signal to search engines about the content of the page. 

On the flip side, the other URL might contain valuable content, but without any context in the URL itself, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. 

But hey, don’t just take our word for it. Test it out for yourself and see the difference it makes. Who knows, you might just be surprised at the impact a minor URL tweak can have on your brand’s performance. 

For your help, we created this blog post which shows some of the best vanity URL practices, and benefits alongside examples to help you get started. Keep reading…

Difference between a generic short link and vanity URLs

Here’s a table differentiating 

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6 major benefits of using a vanity URL

Here are some of the major benefits of using a vanity URL.

1. Improved user-experience 

Easy-to-remember links lead to a frustration-free user experience. No more struggling to decipher cryptic shortened links or wondering where they might lead.

2. Click-through rates get a boost

Memorable links are more likely to be clicked, leading to higher engagement. A clear and enticing vanity URL piques user interest and encourages them to explore what lies behind the link.

3. SEO advantage

Including relevant keywords in your vanity URL can give your SEO a push in the right direction. Search engines often consider the content within the URL when ranking websites, so incorporating relevant keywords can be a small but helpful SEO booster.

Related: Ultimate tips on creating SEO friendly URLs

4. Cross-channel promotion

Vanity URLs provide a consistent and recognizable brand presence across different channels. Whether it’s social media, email marketing, or print materials, using the same vanity URL reinforces your brand identity and makes it easier for users to find and engage with your content. Which eventually helps you maximize brand reach across various platforms.

5. Integrating a link retargeting tool

By adding a retargeting pixel to your vanity URLs, you can build custom audiences based on user interactions and show them tailored ads across various online platforms. Link retargeting enables you to retarget users who have clicked on your vanity URLs with relevant ads as they continue to browse the web.

6. Track your URLs

With vanity URLs, you can easily track the performance of your links and gather valuable insights into user behavior. By using URL tracking tools, that offer both the generation of Vanity URLs as well as the tracking factor. One can monitor click-through rates, conversion rates, and other key metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the brand’s marketing campaigns. 

5 best practices to create a vanity URL

Let’s have a look at some of the examples of vanity URLs

1. Facebook 

Check out this custom vanity URL shared on Facebook by Treetop, a renowned juice brand in the USA. See how they crafted a URL specifically tailored to showcase the content of the link.

2. Instagram 

Another example comes from Instagram, where ContentStudio, a social media management tool, strategically placed a link in its bio next to its name. This simple yet effective approach ensures that visitors to their social media page immediately understand where they can find more information or engage further with the brand.

How can I create a vanity URL?

To make your links shorter and more manageable, consider using a link-shortening tool. We recommend trying out Replug because it’s easy to use and comes with lots of extra features that other similar services might not have.

These features include managing your links easily, tracking how many people click on them, adding retargeting pixels, traffic routing, and more…

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the steps in Replug, which allows you to create vanity URLs for your links. Here’s a breakdown of the steps involved:

1. Sign up for a Replug account: 

Head over to Replug’s website and create a free account.

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2. Add a new link: 

Log in to your Replug dashboard and click the option to add a new link.

3. Customize your shortened URL:  

Here’s where the vanity URL magic happens!  Replug might suggest a shortened URL, but you’ll have the option to customize it with your desired vanity text.

4. Configure link settings (Optional): 

Replug offers additional settings to optimize your link, such as adding a call to action, A/B testing, or tracking link clicks. You can explore these options if they suit your needs.

5. Generate the custom-shortened URL: 

Once you’ve entered your desired vanity URL and configured any settings, hit the update button to generate your final custom-shortened URL.

Remember, Replug offers a free plan with limited features. Upgrading to a paid plan might unlock additional functionalities like vanity domains for your vanity URLs.

Conclusion

All in all, by crafting custom, keyword-rich vanity links that align with your brand identity and messaging, you can not only improve search engine visibility but also enhance user engagement and drive conversions. 

FAQs

You may also like:

• How to Create a Facebook Vanity URL: 5 Simple Steps
• How to Get a YouTube Vanity URL: Quick Guide
• How to Create a LinkedIn Vanity URL?

Manahil Asif

Meet Manahil - A wordsmith who practically buddies with B2B and B2C businesses to create digital magic. With a dash of humor and a sprinkle of wit, she whips up content more addictive than your morning coffee.

URLs are crucial to both SEO strategy and social media marketing. URL shortening isn’t just for on-page SEO and social media content sharing.

A clean, decent URL structure is one of the essentials of branding. Not only does a tidy URL structure look appealing, but it also sets your website up for success.

No wonder expert digital marketers, social media influencers, and pro-bloggers keep their URLs short and organized.

To fully comprehend the idea of utilizing short URLs for brand awareness and reputation, one must get a good grip on the fundamentals of URLs. One of these basic concepts is understanding the difference between a dynamic and static URL.

Let’s stop beating around the bush and dive deep into the topic.

What’s a dynamic URL?

A dynamic URL is a dynamically generated web page URL containing several URL parameters in the URL. These URL parameters are used to identify a data request and help retrieve data from the database.

Dynamic URLs include unique identifiers (IDs) that distinguish one piece of content from another. These IDs help the website’s server identify and retrieve specific information, such as individual products in an online store or articles on a news website.

Each URL parameter represents a specific action and performs the task assigned to it. It also assists in reporting to the analytics system in place.

Now what are these unique identifiers in a dynamic URL?

Unique identifiers in a dynamic URL are special codes or numbers used to distinguish one piece of content from another. These identifiers are typically generated dynamically and assigned to specific items, such as products in an online store, articles on a news website, or user profiles in a social media platform.

Specific URL parameters in a dynamic URL can vary depending on the website or application’s functionality. However, some common examples of specific URL parameters include:

1. Product IDs: Identifiers for specific products in an e-commerce store.
2. Search Queries: Keywords or phrases entered by users to search for specific content.
3. Sorting Options: Parameters that determine how content is sorted or displayed, such as by price, relevance, or popularity.
4. Filters: Criteria used to narrow down search results or refine content, such as category, brand, size, color, etc.
5. Session IDs: Unique identifiers assigned to user sessions or interactions on the website.
6. Page Numbers: Parameters indicating which page of paginated content is being accessed.
7. Tracking Codes: Parameters used for analytics and tracking purposes, such as UTM tags to track marketing campaigns.

Usually, a dynamic URL is long and hefty as compared to static URLs.Most SAAS tools, e-commerce stores, and web-based apps have dynamic URLs. However, any long URL can be shortened to make them look clean and sophisticated.

If that was too technical for you, let me explain in it in simpler terms.

Dynamic URLs include unique product IDs as parameters in the URL structure. When a customer interacts with the website, such as searching for a product or navigating to a specific category, the website’s server dynamically generates the URL based on the customer’s actions and preferences.

For example:

• In an e-commerce website, each product may have a unique product ID included in its dynamic URL.
• On a news website, articles may be identified by unique article IDs.
• In a social media platform, user profiles may have unique user IDs appended to their profile URLs.

These unique identifiers help the website’s server retrieve and display the correct content when a dynamic URL is accessed, ensuring that users are directed to the intended webpage or resource.

You may also like: URL branding

What is a static URL?

A static URL is a fixed web address that does not change unless manually modified by the website owner. These URLs typically consist of straightforward paths that directly point to specific web pages or resources

A static URL represents a static website page that doesn’t involve any database or any other data source to retrieve the information. Moreover, a key aspect of a static URL is that it doesn’t change or alter any URL parameters.

A fine example of a static URL could be any page on a company’s website, such as About Us or Services.

For instance, you’re browsing an online store with different categories like Clothing, Electronics, and Home Decor. In a store with static URLs, each category would have its own fixed web address. For example, the URL for the Clothing section could be https: // storeexample.com/clothing. This URL always takes you to the Clothing section, no matter what specific items are available.

Difference between Dynamic & static URLs

Here’s a comparison table of dynamic and static URLs:

You may also like: Branded links vs short links

Which is better for SEO: Static or dynamic URLs?

It’s a common belief that only static URLs can be optimized for search engines – it’s not entirely true. The dynamic URLs can be made SEO-friendly by tweaking the URL strategy. However, it depends on the platform’s capabilities, SEO awareness, and customization options.

A lot of e-commerce stores optimize their product and category page URLs for SEO using SEO plugins and on-page SEO techniques.

While both static and dynamic URLs serve different purposes, it’s difficult to make a verdict without understanding the context. Undoubtedly, static URLs provide more control over customization making them easier to optimize. On the other hand, dynamic URLs usually contain parameters that might be slightly difficult to optimize, but it’s still doable.

For more clarity, let’s suppose you’re launching a quick 3-page website for some reason, then you can have three HTML-based static pages with optimized URLs. You don’t have to use a complex CMS to create just three pages.

Similarly, a well-developed Shopify e-commerce store with thousands of pages can have optimized URLs for better link management and SEO friendliness.

It comes down to how the dynamic URLs are being generated, populated, and shared across the platform.

It’s understandable that most dynamic websites don’t have a clear roadmap to optimize their URLs for search engines. Thus, these dynamic web portals end up losing ranking in the SERP to their competitors.

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Why are dynamic URLs important?

Dynamic URLs are a diversified phenomenon in the digital marketing realm. They play a key role in URL management, performance tracking, conversion analysis, and data recording.

Here are four of the many reasons why dynamic URLs are important:

1. Assist in identifying the data request

Dynamic URLs contain multiple parameters that provide servers assistance in identifying the specific data requested by users. For instance, in an e-commerce website, a dynamic URL might include parameters such as product ID, category, or discount offer – users can find the specific product while searching with ease.

2. Help retrieve data from the records

These types of URLs serve as pointers to retrieve data from records stored in databases or other data sources. Once a user request is sent to a specific resource through a dynamic URL, the server analyzes the parameters embedded in the URL and fetches the corresponding information from the database. Hence, it ensures that the data retrieval is tailored to each user’s request, enhancing the overall user experience.

3. Carry useful URL parameters for understanding

Dynamic URLs always contain parameters that record and provide valuable insights into user behavior and preferences. These parameters can include search keywords, filters, session IDs, or user-specific identifiers. Website owners get insightful information when dig deeper into their analytics. It helps website owners and managers understand user behavior, allowing them to optimize content, personalize recommendations, and improve conversion rates.

4. Enhance website functionality and user interaction

One of the reasons why dynamic URLs are important is that they contribute to enhancing website functionality and user interaction by facilitating the implementation of various features such as sorting, filtering, pagination, and session management. Most e-commerce stores have search filters that allow users to refine search results based on criteria like price range, brand, or product specifications dynamically. As a result, users can tailor their browsing experience as per their preferences, leading to improving engagement, conversion, and satisfaction.

So, don’t sleep on the opportunities that dynamic URLs have to offer in digital marketing and conversion optimization campaigns.

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How to write SEO-friendly dynamic URLs?

Well, SEO-friendly URLs simply mean the URLs that are optimized, clean, and relevant.

While it’s true that adding fluff for the sake of keyword stuffing or infusing unnecessary filters to retrieve data doesn’t help the cause, dynamic websites are a different ball game.

Always keep in mind that SEO for dynamic websites may need the same strategies as static sites, but they’re approached differently.

Let’s take a look at some of the fundamental SEO techniques that are crucial to writing SEO-friendly dynamic URLs:

1. Minimize URL parameters in the URLs

Dynamic URLs contain URL parameters depending on the actions being taken on the front end. Most dynamic websites are linked with databases and when visitors seek the information, the system retrieves the data from the database.

URL parameters add clunky codes and values that not only make the URLs look bad but also make the URLs longer than usual. SEO-friendly URLs are short and contain only relevant keywords.

Minimizing URL parameters is vital for writing SEO-optimized URLs whether they’re static or dynamic. Some SEO plugins/modules help write better SEO-friendly dynamic URLs that play a vital role in the overall SEO.

You may also like: A Simple but Complete Guide to URL Redirects

2. Create SEO-friendly URL slugs for pages

URL slug is the URL section that comes after the domain name and extension. The URL slugs are crucial for on-page SEO regardless of the website’s nature.

Not only do they matter in the SEO, but they also help in making an impact from a branding standpoint. A website with a decent link management strategy always has short and precise URLs for blog posts and pages as compared to a website that doesn’t have a URL management plan.

Most e-commerce websites and other dynamic websites try to improve their product pages’ URL slugs to make them relevant, accurate, and short.

You may also like: URL shortener for E-commerce

3. Install an SEO module that optimizes URLs

URLs are an essential SEO element. No wonder every SEO expert emphasizes keeping the URLs short and user-friendly. Long and clunky URLs are a no-go.

One of the best ways to make your URLs SEO-friendly is to install the SEO plugins/modules on the website and allow the tool to rate the URL structure. URL structure has a role in the SEO score and on-page SEO. So try to improve URLs with whatever means necessary.

In fact, WordPress has a permalink feature that provides several URL slug models to the users.

Most SEO geeks suggest opting for the “post-name” slug model for WordPress blogs and websites. Moreover, WordPress also allows the creation of a slug for the categories.

You may also like: Diverse application of personal urls

4. Ensure to insert keywords in the URL slugs

Most SEO enthusiasts believe that inserting keywords into the article’s body or page’s copy is enough. However, technical SEO strategy requires adding keywords to several sections including the URL.

Undoubtedly, keywords are important when it comes to SEO. Adding keywords to the URL slugs is crucial to the on-page SEO. Make sure that you have added the most relevant yet effective keywords to the URL slug.

Shorten your links, amplify your brand.

Create shareable, trackable and fully customizable branded urls. Get more clicks with absolute link management features such as Bio Links, retargeting, deep Links, CTA’s and more.

Learn More!

5. Cut off characters, signs, and numbers

Relevancy is the key to SEO no matter what you’re doing – it comes in handy when selecting keywords, inserting keywords, choosing topics, and writing a page’s copy.

One of the strategies to adopt for making website pages and blog posts SEO-friendly is to avoid adding characters, signs, and numbers from the URL slug. It’d eventually improve the relevancy of the URL.

In fact, SEO experts advise to avoid using prepositions, punctuation, and unnecessary words in the URL. Remove all the clutter and fluff to make your URLs SEO-optimized.

Mustafa Niazi

Mustafa Niazi is a blogging addict, a tech fanatic, and a SEO specialist.

Hassaan Khan

Hassaan Khan is a freelance writer for SAAS companies, e-commerce stores, and niche websites. He has contributed to SEMrush, ThriveGlobal, BloggingCage, AllBloggingTips, and several other publications. He builds niche websites, publishes e-books, and helps website investors with his done-for-you niche site-building service.

Are you looking to enhance the effectiveness and branding of your shared links? 

Learn how to make your links more descriptive, memorable, and on-brand to boost engagement and drive results. Whether you’re a marketer aiming to boost click-through rates or a content creator seeking to strengthen your online presence, using Replug to change the link name can transform your digital strategy.

Let’s find out how to rename links in no time!

Rename your link: What does it mean?

“Rename your link” refers to the action of changing the default or original URL of a webpage to a more personalized and descriptive one. This process involves customizing the link’s text to better reflect its content, purpose, or target audience. 

By renaming a link, you make it more informative, engaging, and relevant to those who come across it. This can lead to higher click-through rates, improved user experience, and enhanced branding for your content or website. 

In essence, renaming your link is about optimizing its visibility and impact in the digital landscape.

How to rename links using Replug?

Replug is a comprehensive link management and tracking platform designed to empower marketers, content creators, and businesses to maximize the effectiveness of their shared links. With Replug, you can create, customize, and track the performance of your links across various channels.

Here’s how to rename links using Replug:

Step 1: Sign in to Replug if you already have an account, or create one if you’re new to Replug.

Step 2: Select the campaign you want to associate your link with or create a new campaign if needed.

Step 3: Enter the link in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click “Create”. Optionally, add UTM parameters to track link performance.

Also read: How to Shrink a Link: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 4: Your link will be shortened. Click the edit icon and type the URL slug you want to use in the link.

Step 5: Once you’ve customized the link, copy the new shortened URL and click “Update”. Your renamed link is now ready to be shared.

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Also read: How to Shorten a Website Link: Step-by-Step Guide

How to rename links in Google Docs?

Step 1: To begin, open your document and navigate to the link you want to rename. Simply click on the link to reveal the link options.

Step 2: After clicking on the link, a menu with options such as Copy link, Edit link, and Remove link will appear, along with a preview of the linked webpage or document. To rename the link, locate and click on the “Pencil” icon.

Step 3: In the editing menu, you’ll see three fields: the text field, the URL field, and the clickable URL. Click on the “Text” field to access the text editing mode.

Step 4: Once you’ve clicked on the “Text” field, you can edit the text of the link. Use the backspace key to delete the existing text and type in the new text to rename the link according to your preference.

Step 5: After you’ve renamed the link, click on the “Apply” button to confirm the changes. Your link will now be updated with the new text, and the changes will take effect in your Google Docs document.

Also read: How to edit URL links with Replug?

Use Replug to manage your links:

Using Replug to manage your links offers several advantages:

• Link optimization: Replug provides tools to customize and optimize your links, including link shortening, branding, and tracking features. This helps to make your links more visually appealing, recognizable, and effective in driving engagement.
• Branding: With Replug, you can create custom-branded links that reflect your brand identity, increasing brand visibility and credibility when sharing content across different channels.
• Performance tracking: Replug offers detailed analytics and insights into link performance, allowing you to monitor metrics such as click-through rates, geographic location of clicks, and conversion rates. This data enables you to assess the effectiveness of your link-sharing efforts and make informed decisions to optimize your strategy.
• Call-to-action integration: Replug allows you to add customizable call-to-action overlays to your shared links, directing traffic to specific actions or landing pages. This feature enhances the effectiveness of your links in driving conversions and achieving your marketing goals.
• Link rotation: Replug’s link rotation feature distributes traffic evenly among multiple destination URLs, enabling you to conduct A/B testing or distribute traffic to different landing pages based on predefined rules.

Link Management Made Easy

Your go to link management tool for CTAs, branded and bio links, QR Codes, tracking and retargeting.

Get Started for FREE!

FAQs

Why should I rename my links?

Renaming links can make them more descriptive, memorable, and aligned with your brand. This can improve click-through rates, enhance branding, and provide a better user experience.

Can I track the performance of renamed links?

Yes, Replug provides detailed analytics and insights into the performance of your renamed links, including click-through rates, geographic location of clicks, and more.

Can I use Replug to rename links in bulk?

Yes, Replug offers features for bulk link management, including renaming multiple links simultaneously, making it efficient for larger-scale projects or campaigns.

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Businesses, influencers, and entrepreneurs strive to dominate the digital marketing space and branding turns out to be an important part of the marketing arsenal.

Branding is everything a brand creates to get recognized in the market or stand out from the competition. It’s a combination of multiple things, such as logos, fonts, color schemes, design patterns, slogans, etc.

So, when a brand creates a custom brandable domain for marketing, engagement, or clickability, it’s called URL branding.

Brands create short and branded URLs for social media, email marketing, and online advertising. The reason why companies opt for URL branding is that it’s short, brandable, and memorable, which makes marketing and engagement easier than ever.

Thus, it makes it convenient for companies and marketers to distribute, track, and analyze their short links.

Does it sound interesting to you?

Let’s dig deeper into this!

Why is URL branding important?

The competition is fierce in most online marketing areas, regardless of the industry. The pressure to build, establish, and grow a business is inevitable. So, business owners look out for any competitive edge that helps them ignite their business growth.

Branding, in any shape or form, does wonders for brands if done right. URL branding is a digital marketing strategy businesses adopt to shorten their long and clunky website URLs and use the short versions for print and digital marketing. The short URL redirects the visitors to the main URL, anyway.

To better understand “why” URL branding is important, it’s vital to look at the benefits it provides, what impact it adds to the digital marketing strategy, and why it’s better than unbranded URLs.

Let’s get into it.

Branded vs. Unbranded URL

Branded URLs are comparatively better than unbranded URLs. When brands use unbranded URLs, it means they’re using random URL shorteners or long and clunky URLs.

As a result, it doesn’t make much impact. These brands lose some engagement opportunities when they use unbranded URLs.

On the flip side, companies and influencers that use branded URLs cash in on the branding opportunities. The reason is that branded URLs are the short versions of their main domains, which does help in building brand recognition.

Most businesses opt for unbranded URLs because they don’t want any additional cost, so they rely on free URL shorteners or default long URLs.

All in all, branded URLs have several perks that make them better than unbranded URLs. However, for branded URLs, a brand needs to register a short domain and buy a link management tool’s subscription to create branded URLs.

5 key reasons to use branded URLs

There are numerous reasons to use branded URLs. Take a look at some of them:

1. Showcases brand authority

Branding authority means brand reputation. It’s a multi-dimensional element that brands earn over time with their strategies, commitment, policies, and quality.

Branded URLs may seem like an ordinary digital branding strategy, but it does have implications beyond the digital marketing campaign. It creates an impact when a company or influencer uses a short, branded URL on social media, email newsletter, or print media.

So, a brand, a short domain helps contribute to establishing brand authority for businesses and individuals.

2. Adds trustworthiness

One of the benefits of a branded URL is that it provides companies and entrepreneurs an opportunity to earn trust in the digital marketing space. The reason is that every brand out there doesn’t go above and beyond to build an impactful brand image.

Creating branded URLs for social media and email marketing campaigns showcases that a business takes every part of the process seriously. That’s why they have put the work into coming up with branded URLs.

3. Helps in brand positioning

Brand positioning is how a brand creates its perception in the prospects and customers’ minds. Since branded URLs bring authority and trustworthiness to the brand’s campaign, they help businesses position their brands better.

Creating a positive perception of a business is an essential part of the branding strategy. A branded URL does help companies in positioning their brands in the eyes of their target audiences.

4. Drives traffic from print and digital sources

Website visitors mean business for most SAAS businesses and e-commerce stores. Since website traffic is the bread and butter of such businesses, they try to capitalize on every opportunity to drive visitors to their websites.

An important aspect of branded URLs is that they can drive website traffic rather easily. Brands and influencers come up with short, branded URLs for print media such as business cards, letterheads, pamphlets, and digital mediums like email, social media, etc.

5. Makes the URL memorable

Branding is essentially a process of creating perception and brand identity. Therefore, the website URL does have its role in making that brand identity.

One of the benefits of branded URLs is that they’re easy to remember, which helps brands and influencers in driving website traffic without putting out the main URL.

Importance of URLs as a digital strategy

Do URLs matter? You might want to know what this fuss is all about. Well, URLs are important for every digital marketing campaign. And, if you’re focusing on optimizing, fixing, and managing URLs, then digital marketing strategy is at stake.

Let’s jump into the importance of URLs in digital strategy and understand why URLs matter so much.

1. On-page SEO optimization

SEO is an integral part of any digital marketing campaign, and on-page SEO optimization is always incomplete without creating an SEO-friendly URL structure.

On-page SEO refers to the website page optimization process that takes place on the website page instead of outside the website. It includes URL refining, content optimization, keyword insertion, image optimization, page loading speed improvement, and fixing the website copy.

The reason why on-page SEO optimization is crucial to a digital strategy is that a brand can’t dominate the SERP or beat the competition in the search engines if its website isn’t optimized from the search engine standpoint.

Ultimately, URLs should be short, sweet, and relevant to improve the SEO performance of a website. Make sure that there are no broken links, the sitemap is up and running, and the website is hosted on a reputable web host to ensure that everything is going in the right direction.

2. URL redirection setup

SEO experts might be able to write multiple chapters on the importance of URLs in their SEO books, meaning URLs are vital to the SEO game. A well-developed URL structure can drive an SEO strategy to new heights, which takes the brand’s digital strategy to the next level.

URL redirection is a process of directing website visitors from one page to another using URL redirection codes or plugins. In simple words, when a redirection is set up, the visitor automatically moves to the new page when landing on the older page.

URL redirection is key in several cases, for instance, you have deleted older blog posts and redirected the visitors to the newer versions of the blog posts or a company has rebranded into a different brand name and redirected the traffic to the new domain.

So, the importance of URL management is pretty clear in the URL redirection process, and most brands on the internet have to deal with URLs in their digital marketing campaign.

3. Driving social media traffic

One of the aspects of URLs that can’t be ignored is that they provide a roadmap to the website traffic to land on the website pages no matter the traffic source.

Besides the organic visitors from search engines, social media traffic also lands on the website pages using the URLs. Similarly, email marketing also drives website visitors to the landing page or blog posts – all of these traffic sources use URLs to drive traffic.

Clunky or dysfunctional URLs may create hurdles in driving both free and paid traffic to the website. Therefore, it’s essential to keep the URL structure clean and optimized to keep the flow of website traffic from social media and other sources smooth and effective.

3. Improving click-through rate

URLs are the medium of driving website traffic to the website pages regardless of the traffic source. Understanding the importance of URLs and implementing optimization techniques steer the digital strategy of a brand in the right direction.

Click-through rate (CTR) is a clickability metric that showcases the performance of a specific page URL or the overall website URL. In other words, it tells us the number of clicks the page or website has gotten from a specific source, such as Google or Facebook ads. To get the CTR, divide the total clicks by the total impressions.

Moreover, URL optimization is vital to improving the ranking and click-through rate in the SERP. It essentially contributes to the overall search engine optimization of the website.

CTR analysis and other link management operations may not be possible if URLs aren’t a part of the digital strategy of the brand.

4. URL tracking and reporting

URL tracking and reporting means taking a look at the URLs’ performance in the website analytics tool’s dashboard, such as Google Search Console or Usermaven.

Tracking URL wouldn’t have been possible without comprehending the importance of URLs while establishing an effective digital marketing strategy.

So, don’t sleep on the opportunities to analyze the website page’s performance as part of your digital marketing and branding strategy.

The above-mentioned points explain the importance of URLs in the wake of building a powerful digital strategy for a brand.

5 Examples of a URL branding

Here are five examples of the brands that incorporate URL branding:

1. ContentStudio

ContentStudio is an all-in-one social media management dashboard for publishing, scheduling, analyzing, and managing social media content.

This social media management tool uses its short domain (cstu.io) when shortening the URLs for the users while they post or schedule social media posts using this tool.

2. Squarex

Squarex is a secure browsing tool that has taken the disposable web browsing experience to the next level. This company uses a short domain called sqrx.io across all its social media platforms.

3. Bet. me

Bet. me is a UK-based betting exchange that provides insights on online betting. This brand runs both bet. me and b.et sites simultaneously.

4. Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a well-known name in the game development industry. They use ubi.li as a short, custom domain for sharing content on social media.

5. Xbox

Xbox is a popular gaming console from Microsoft. They use xbx.lv as their short, branded domain for sharing Xbox-related news, updates, and other content.

These were five of the many examples of brands that use short, branded URLs.

How do I create a branded URL?

Are you wondering how to create a custom short URL or integrate your branded URL with your URL shortening tool?

Well, it’s not rocket science. All you need is to follow the below-mentioned steps and you’ll be all set to create your short, branded URLs within no time. Let’s cut to the chase and see how you can set a branded URL:

Here are the steps involved in creating a branded URL:

Get a domain for branded URLs

Already have branded domain then move on to the next step.

If not then….

Start with buying domain. It’ll be the first step in the process regardless of the URL shortening tool you use for setting your branded URL. Once registered, move on to the next step.

Connect your domain to your URL shortener

You’ll need a URL shortener to connect your domain to generate branded short URLs.

Since Replug is my favorite link management tool, I’ll be using this tool to showcase how you can create branded URLs for social media, paid ads, and email marketing.

Before you head over to the Replug dashboard, you must first connect your domain to the URL shortener.

Keep in mind that it’s a two-step process that involves configuring the DNS records and adding the custom domain to the Replug account.

Go to your domain registrar account and access the DNS record for your domain.

Look out for the option named “Add New Record” to configure the DNS settings.

You might want to choose the CNAME record in your domain setting to configure it with your Replug account. To do so, click on the “Add New Record” option to include a new record.

Here are the exact DNS settings you should be adding to the DNS record:

Make sure that the DNS settings are properly added. Once it’s done, head over to your Replug account to complete the process.

Add your domain to your Replug account

Once you have created the Replug account, log in to it to continue setting up the branded URL.

Now, head over to the custom domain configuration in your Replug account. To access the custom domain section, just click on your Replug profile icon inside the dashboard.

A drop-down menu will pop up, click on “Custom Domains” to access the custom domains section. This is the area where you would add a custom domain to your Replug account.

Click on the “Add Domain” button to add your short domain to your Replug account. A form would pop up, so fill up the form.

You’ll need to provide your branded URL, custom 404 redirection page URL, and main root URL for setting the short domain in your Replug account.

Create a brand & Campaign to get started with URL branding

Once the short domain is properly configured in your Replug account, you can create a brand and set up link management campaigns.

Note: It’s essential to create a separate brand. Otherwise, the shortened URLs will be assigned to a previously created brand in your account.

To create a new brand in the Replug account, go to the “Manage” section from the Replug dashboard and click on the “Brands” option from the drop-down menu.

Once you’ve landed on the brand’s page, click on the “New Brand” option to create one.

Once you click on the “New Brand” button, a pop-up menu will appear. Provide all the necessary details about the brand, such as the brand name and the website URL.

Once you’re done with it, press the “Save” button to proceed. That’s how you can create a new brand in the Replug account.

The next up is creating a new campaign using the brand you just added to your Replug account.

Go to the “Manage” section from the top menu, and access the “Campaigns” section.

To create the campaign, click on the “New Campaign” button on the page.

Now, select the newly created brand for this very campaign.

The next step is to enter your campaign name, your domain and campaign type.

Once you complete the above, then “Save Campaign”.

Branded Short URL

A short URL slug will be generated for your domain. You can edit the slug of your domain as shown in the example above, and start sharing and tracking your branded URLs.

FAQs about URL branding

Let’s take a look at some of the commonly asked questions about URL branding:

How much does it cost to own a URL?

Domain registration cost is approx. $10 to $40 across different domain extensions. However, from a URL branding standpoint, you may have to invest in a link management tool like Replug and find a suitable domain extension such as .io, .se, .co, or others.

Can a URL be copyrighted?

A URL is associated with brand names or trademarks, and registering or using someone else’s brand name in the website URL could lead to legal issues. It’s best to consult your lawyer for accurate information on this matter.

Can I sell a URL?

Domains are purchased and sold by domain investors across different domain platforms such as Sedo, Afternic, Dan, Epik, and several others. So, yes, you can sell a URL.

Can you patent a website?

It’s best to consult your lawyer for all the information regarding patents, trademarks, and copyright issues. The reason is that regulations and laws vary from state to state and country to country.

Can you use a brand name in the URL?

You can use a brand name in the main URL of a website only if you own the brand name or you have been granted permission by the brand to do so.

Hassaan Khan

Hassaan Khan is a freelance writer for SAAS companies, e-commerce stores, and niche websites. He has contributed to SEMrush, ThriveGlobal, BloggingCage, AllBloggingTips, and several other publications. He builds niche websites, publishes e-books, and helps website investors with his done-for-you niche site-building service.

Understanding how to measure engagement on social media is important in today’s dynamic world in which every click, share, and comment shapes your brand’s online presence.

This guide is critical for those interested in tracking social media engagement. It will highlight essential metrics and introduce the capabilities of Replug in this context. So, let’s get started!

Why tracking social media engagement matter?

Social media platforms are not just virtual spaces; they serve as storefronts, customer service hubs, and stages for your brand’s performance. The engagement levels indicate whether your brand’s narrative resonates and if your virtual audience is genuinely interested.

Choosing the right metrics is crucial to avoid misleading data. The right metrics provide both quantitative data and qualitative insights, offering a comprehensive understanding of audience interaction.

12 essential social media engagement metrics:

Let’s break down the 12 social media engagement metrics and provide explanations for each.

1. Likes, comments, reactions, shares, etc.

Likes:

Indicates how well your audience receives your content. The more likes, the higher the positive reception.

Comments:

Reflects deeper engagement. Comments often signify that your content has sparked curiosity, agreement, or even disagreement.

Shares:

Equivalent to a digital word-of-mouth recommendation. When users share your content, it demonstrates that they find it compelling and worth sharing with their circles.

2. Brand Mentions

Captures instances where users talk about your brand, providing insights into brand sentiment, context, and organic reach.

3. Video views and video completion rate

Video views:

Indicates the reach and initial interest in your video content. Platforms like Facebook count a view when a user watches for more than three seconds.

Video completion rate:

Measures the percentage of viewers who watched the video till the end. A high completion rate indicates engaging content.

4. Engagement rate

Offers a holistic view of content performance by combining likes, comments, and shares. It helps understand engagement relative to the number of followers.

5. Amplification rate

Reflects how share-worthy your audience finds your content. It is determined by the ratio of shares per post to the total number of followers.

Also read: Top 10 Social Media Hacks to 3X Your Brand Growth

Brand awareness metrics

6. Reach

Represents the total number of people who have seen your post. It focuses on how many people have been exposed to your content.

7. Impressions

Total number of times your content has been shown on someone’s screen, regardless of clicks. It indicates how often your content is being seen.

8. Share of voice (SOV)

Measures how much attention your brand gets compared to competitors. A high SOV means your brand is dominating the conversation in the industry.

9. Audience growth rate

Measures how fast a brand’s following increases over a specific period. It reflects the brand’s popularity and appeal.

Conversion metrics

10. Click-through rate (CTR)

Represents the percentage of users who click on a link in your post. It measures how effective your content is in compelling users to take the next step.

Also read: Click Tracking: What It Is and How It Works?

11. Referral traffic

Pertains to visitors landing on your website through direct links from social networks. It reveals how well social media channels drive users to your main platform.

12. Conversion rate

Measures the percentage of users who take a desired action after interacting with your content, such as signing up or making a purchase.

Link Management Made Easy

Your go to link management tool for CTAs, branded and bio links, QR Codes, tracking and retargeting.

Get Started for FREE!

Replug: Your toolkit for social media engagement

Enter Replug, a powerful link management tool designed for comprehensive social media performance metrics. Beyond URL shortening, Replug offers a range of features:

• Deep dive analytics: 

Replug’s analytics transcend mere click tracking. Gain a comprehensive view of user interactions, including their origin, the timing of clicks, and the devices used. This detailed insight empowers brands to refine their social media marketing strategy based on the specific moments when their audience is most engaged.

• Branded links: 

Move beyond generic short links. Replug empowers brands to create customized, branded links. These not only enhance brand recognition but also boost click-through rates, as users are more inclined to click on links they trust.

• Link-in-bio tool: 

Maximizes engagement opportunities within a single trackable link, perfect for platforms like Instagram.

• Real-time data: 

Things move fast in the digital realm, and Replug ensures you stay ahead. Real-time analytics allow brands to pivot on the fly. If a particular post is gaining traction, you’ll know instantly, enabling you to allocate resources strategically and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Link Management Made Easy

Your go to link management tool for CTAs, branded and bio links, QR Codes, tracking and retargeting.

Get Started for FREE!

Conclusion:

Understanding and measuring these metrics empowers you to assess the impact of your social media efforts, refine your strategy, and build genuine connections with your audience. Each metric plays a unique role in providing insights into different aspects of your social media engagement.

Effective measurement of social media engagement is simplified with Replug’s intuitive features. Beyond mere numbers, Replug provides insights that ensure your connection with your audience is genuine, informed, and impactful.

FAQs

What is social media engagement?

Social media engagement refers to the interaction and participation of users with your content on social platforms. This includes likes, comments, shares, and other actions that indicate audience interest and involvement.

Why is social engagement important?

Social engagement is crucial for building brand awareness, fostering customer loyalty, and driving online visibility. It enhances your connection with the audience, influencing how your brand is perceived in the digital space.

What makes URL-shortening tools effective for social media?

URL-shortening tools enhance the user experience by creating concise links and improving aesthetic appeal and character usage. They are particularly effective on platforms with character limits, ensuring a clean and user-friendly presentation.

Why use branded links to improve click-through rates?

Branded links build trust and recognition, encouraging users to click. They convey authenticity and are more likely to be clicked compared to generic links, ultimately boosting click-through rates and enhancing overall engagement.

Is Replug suitable for businesses of all sizes?

Yes, Replug is designed to cater to businesses of all sizes. Its versatile features and scalability make it adaptable to the needs of small businesses, startups, and large enterprises alike, offering a comprehensive solution for social media engagement.

You may also like:

How To Boost Social Media Conversion: 10 Proven Tricks

From Likes to Love: Comprehensive Social Media Engagement Guide

Call To Action For Social Media : 15 Best Examples

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Have you ever shared an interesting post, recommended a funny video, or perhaps even critiqued an article that missed the mark? We’ve all been there. But what you might not realize is that the way you share these online treasures can significantly impact your brand.

If you’ve been using plain, generic short links to share content, it’s time to take a closer look. By doing so, you could inadvertently be promoting other brands instead of your own.

We’re going to cut through the noise and discuss the difference between branded vs. short links. We’ll help you understand the implications of your choice and how it can affect your brand’s online identity. So, let’s get straight to it! 

What is a short link?

A short link, also known as a short URL, is a compressed version of a long web address or URL. Short links are created to simplify lengthy URLs, making them easier to share, remember, and use, especially in contexts where character limits are a concern, such as social media or printed materials.

Short links typically redirect users to the original, longer URL when clicked. They are especially useful for sharing links on platforms like Twitter, where character limits for a single tweet are in place. Instead of using a long and cumbersome URL, you can generate a short link that directs users to the intended web page.

What is a branded link?

A branded link, also known as a custom short link or a vanity URL, is a type of shortened URL that includes a brand’s or organization’s name or a custom keyword as part of the link. Unlike generic short links that use a random combination of characters and numbers, branded links are customized to reflect the brand’s identity, making them more recognizable and trustworthy to users.

Branded links are a fantastic choice for businesses and individuals looking to enhance their online branding, improve user engagement, and create a polished and trustworthy online presence. 

Short vs. branded links: Which is better?

Branded links can indeed offer several advantages, especially when it comes to strengthening your brand identity and increasing user trust. They are valuable for businesses and individuals looking to create a cohesive online presence and improve user engagement. 

The choice between branded links and short links eventually depends on your specific goals and the context in which you plan to use them. Let’s explore the benefits of each:

Branded links:

• Strong brand identity: Branded links reinforce your brand identity, incorporating your brand name or a custom keyword. This can boost brand recognition and user trust.
• Higher click-through rates: Branded links often have higher click-through rates as they appear more trustworthy and relevant to users.
• Enhanced user experience: They offer a user-friendly and memorable link, making it easier to recognize and share.
• Consistency: Branded links maintain a consistent brand image across different online platforms.
• Analytics: You can track the performance of branded links and gain valuable insights into user engagement.

Short links:

• Conciseness: Short links are compact and ideal for contexts with character limits like social media or text messages.
• Space-saving: They save space in printed materials, enhancing aesthetics and usability.
• Universal use: Short links are versatile and can be used for various types of content.

The choice depends on your priorities:

Branded Links: If strengthening your brand identity, increasing trust, and improving user recognition are important to you, branded links are an excellent choice. They excel in marketing campaigns and content sharing where branding matters.

Short Links: If brevity and saving space are paramount, short links are suitable, especially in platforms with character constraints. They shine when the focus is on the content rather than the link.

Popular brands are using branded links:

Let’s take a look at how some of the most popular brands use branded links to their advantage:

1. The New York Times – nyti.ms

The renowned newspaper, The New York Times, simplifies sharing long article URLs on social media and beyond by using the branded link nyti.ms. This branded link not only shortens the URL but also reinforces the brand’s identity with every click.

2. Nike – swoo.sh

When it comes to sports and lifestyle, Nike is a household name. They utilize the branded link swoo.sh to create a memorable link for their products and promotions. This reinforces the Nike brand with every shared link.

3. Amazon – amzn.to

E-commerce giant Amazon opts for the branded link amzn.to to shorten product URLs. This not only saves space in printed materials but also keeps the focus on their products rather than the URL itself.

4. Coca-Cola – cokeurl.com

Coca-Cola, a global beverage icon, maintains brand consistency by using branded links like cokeurl.com. This approach ensures that every link shared aligns with their brand image.

5. Starbucks – sbux.co

Coffee giant Starbucks utilizes branded links with the domain sbux.co to simplify the sharing of promotional content. This reinforces their brand identity and keeps their links looking clean and professional.

Shorten your links, amplify your brand.

Create shareable, trackable and fully customizable branded urls. Get more clicks with absolute link management features such as Bio Links, retargeting, deep Links, CTA’s and more.

Learn More!

How to create short branded links?

Are you ready to start using branded links for your own brand? Replug, a powerful URL shortening and branding tool, simplifies the process of creating custom short branded links. Let’s walk through the steps to create these links and amplify your brand’s reach.

Adding your custom domain

The first step in creating branded links with Replug is to incorporate your custom domain. While Replug provides a default shortener domain (rplg.co), using your custom domain strengthens your brand identity and reputation. 

Also read: What is a Branded Short Domain and How Do I Get One?

Follow these steps to add your custom domain:

Step 1: Access custom domains

• Open your Replug dashboard and navigate to “Settings.”
• Select “Custom Domains” from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Add a new domain

• Click on “Add Domain” to begin setting up your custom short URL.

Step 3: Connect the custom domain

• On the next screen, provide essential details, including your custom domain and settings like the 404 redirect URL and branded domain.
• Click “Connect” to add your custom domain to your Replug account.

Step 4: Manage your custom domain

• After successfully connecting your custom domain, you can manage it within your Replug account. Check connectivity status, edit domain settings, or delete domains as needed.

Note: To complete the domain setup, don’t forget to point the CNAME in your domain registrar’s DNS. Depending on your registrar, you might need to use “@” or “www” as the HOST value.

With your custom domain integrated into Replug, you’re now ready to create your custom-branded link. Here’s how:

Step 5: Add a new link

• Once logged into your Replug dashboard, select “Select your campaign” to start a new campaign.
• You’ll find the custom domain you just created within your campaigns.
• Paste the original link you want to shorten in the “URL to shorten” section.
• Click “Create” to generate a custom shortened URL.

Also read: How to Create a Short URL: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 6: Customize your shortened URL

• Enjoy the flexibility to customize your shortened URL. Select an alias or keyword to incorporate into the link, making it memorable and aligned with your brand.
• Click “Update” to generate your custom shortened URL.

Step 7: Share and monitor

• Utilize your custom-shortened URL in marketing materials, social media posts, emails, or any content where you want to promote your link.
• Monitor the performance of your custom shortened URLs using Replug’s comprehensive analytics and tracking features, which provide insights into clicks, user location, referrals, and more.

Branded Short Links

Create and track branded short links for your business for better conversions.

Brand Your Links Now!

FAQs

What is the difference between a branded link and a short link?

A branded link includes your brand name or a custom keyword, making it more recognizable and trustworthy. Short links, on the other hand, are simply shortened versions of long URLs, often generated randomly.

Why should I consider using branded links for my brand or business?

Branded links enhance your brand identity, boost user trust, and increase brand recognition. They also offer a more user-friendly and memorable link for sharing.

Are branded links more trustworthy than short links?

Branded links tend to be perceived as more trustworthy by users because they include a recognizable brand name, which can reduce suspicions of spam or phishing.

Can I track the performance of branded links, and how can I do that?

Yes, you can track branded link performance. Most branded link services offer analytics and tracking features to monitor clicks, geographic data, and more.

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Do you want to create your own custom short URL for your website links? Just like we use “rplg.co” for our own branded short URLs, you can do the same for yours.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the straightforward process of crafting your custom short URLs. 

Elevate your blog’s accessibility, streamline your links, and make sharing content a breeze with personalized web addresses that resonate with your audience.

What is a custom short URL?

A custom short URL, also known as a branded or vanity URL, is a shorter and customized version of a longer web address (URL). It’s designed to be easy to remember, share, and recognize. 

Custom short URLs typically incorporate a brand’s name, a relevant keyword, or any other chosen text to create a web address that is more user-friendly and aligned with the entity’s identity.

Prominent brands and organizations leverage custom short URLs for streamlined online engagement. The New York Times employs “nyti.ms,” Coca-Cola opts for “cokeurl.com,” WWF uses “wwf.to,” the United Nations relies on “un.org,” and HubSpot chooses “hubs.ly.” These concise links enhance branding and simplify sharing across digital platforms.

Custom short URLs offer several benefits:

• Memorability: They are easier to remember, making it simple for users to type or recall the link.
• Branding: Custom short URLs reinforce brand identity and can include brand names or keywords.
• User Experience: Shorter URLs improve the user experience by reducing clutter and enhancing readability.
• Tracking: URL shortening services offer analytics, allowing you to track click-through rates and user engagement.
• Social Media: On platforms with character limits, like Twitter, custom short URLs save space for your message.

How to create a custom short URL using Replug?

Replug is a URL shortener and branding tool that simplifies link management. It allows users to create custom short URLs, reinforcing brand identity and optimizing online marketing. With user-friendly domain customization and strong connectivity features, Replug streamlines the process of enhancing your online presence and sharing branded links.

To create a custom short URL using Replug, first add your custom domain:

Important note: By default, Replug generates links using our default shortener domain, rplg.co. 

However, you have the option to enhance your branding and domain reputation by incorporating a custom domain. This allows you to use branded domains in your ads, social link-tracking campaigns, and email communications.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Access custom domains

• Open your Replug dashboard.
• Navigate to “Settings” and select “Custom Domains” from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: Add a new domain

• Click on “Add Domain” to initiate the process of creating your custom short URL.

Step 3: Connect the custom domain

On the next screen, provide the following details:

• Domain URL: This is your branded or custom domain.
• 404 redirect URL: Specify where users should be directed if they land on a 404 error page.
• Branded domain: This redirects users to the designated URL when they visit the root address of your brand’s domain.

Afterward, click the “Connect” button as shown on the screen.

Note: Once you have added your domain to the platform, the next step is to point CNAME in your domain registrar’s DNS.  If you would like to redirect your root domain, please try adding @ or www. Some of the registrars do not allow the @ option, for that, you will have to add www as a HOST value. 

Step 4: Manage your custom domain

After clicking “Connect,” your custom domain will be successfully added to your Replug account.

You can check the connectivity status, edit domain settings, or delete domains as needed.

Read our help document for additional information on setting up a custom domain in Replug. 

Once you’ve added your custom domain to Replug, its time to create a custom short URL.

Shorten your links, amplify your brand.

Create shareable, trackable and fully customizable branded urls. Get more clicks with absolute link management features such as Bio Links, retargeting, deep Links, CTA’s and more.

Learn More!

Create a custom short URL:

Here’s a step-by-step guide to create a custom short URL in Replug:

Step 1: Add a new link

Once you’re logged into your Replug dashboard, select “Select your campaign” to initiate a new campaign. 

Note: In campaigns, you’ll find the custom domain you just created. 

Paste the original link you want to shorten into the “URL to shorten” section. This link can point to a specific webpage, product, or content you wish to share. Click the blue “Create” button to generate a custom shortened URL.

Step 2: Customize your shortened URL

Replug offers the flexibility to customize your shortened URL. This means you can select a specific alias or keyword to incorporate into the shortened link. For instance, you can create a custom shortened URL like “replug.link/myproduct.”

Step 3: Configure link settings

Depending on your requirements, you can adjust additional settings for your custom URL link. These settings may include link expiration, tracking options, A/B testing, and more. Customize these settings according to your preferences and click the “Update” button to generate your custom shortened URL.

Step 7: Share your custom shortened URL

Utilize your custom-shortened URL in your marketing materials, social media posts, emails, or any content where you want to promote your link. Custom-shortened URLs are ideal for making lengthy and complex links more user-friendly.

Step 8: Monitor performance

Replug provides comprehensive analytics and tracking features, enabling you to monitor the performance of your custom shortened URLs. You can track the number of clicks, the geographic location of users, referral sources, and more.

End note:

Replug offers numerous benefits for branding, tracking, and enhancing the user experience. By shortening and customizing your URLs, you can make them more memorable and suitable for various marketing and promotional efforts. 

With the ability to track performance and user interactions, Replug empowers users to optimize their online presence and marketing campaigns effectively. 

Whether you’re promoting products, sharing content, or strengthening your brand identity, custom URL links created through Replug can play a vital role in your online strategy.

Branded Short Links

Create and track branded short links for your business for better conversions.

Brand Your Links Now!

FAQs

Can I use my own domain for custom short URLs?

Yes, many URL shortening services, including Replug, allow you to use your custom domain for creating custom short URLs. This ensures that your brand is prominently featured in the links you share.

How do I track the performance of short URLs?

Most URL shortening services offer tracking and analytics tools that allow you to monitor the performance of your custom short URLs. You can track click-through rates, geographic location of users, and more to assess link effectiveness.

Are custom short URLs secure?

Custom short URLs are as secure as regular long URLs. However, like any link, they should be used with caution. Avoid clicking on unfamiliar custom short URLs, as they could potentially lead to malicious websites.

Also read:

How URL Shortener Works: A Quick Guide

How to Add a Link to Your Instagram Story?

How to put YouTube link in Instagram bio?

How to Create a Custom URL: Step-By-Step Guide

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Ever wished for shorter, catchier, and on-brand links? Look no further. Branded Short Domains do just that. They take your long website links and turn them into compact, branded short links that pack a punch. 

In this guide, we’ll reveal the secrets behind branded domains – what they are, why they matter, and how you can effortlessly get started. Let’s dive in and revolutionize your online presence, one link at a time.

What is a branded short domain?

A branded short domain is a customized and concise web address created from your domain name, designed to strengthen your brand’s identity in online communications. 

Unlike generic shortening services that use platforms like bit.ly, a branded domain enables you to utilize your domain to generate shorter, more personalized links. This approach reinforces your brand, enhances link credibility, and maintains consistent branding throughout your digital interactions. 

In short, a branded domain is a way to transform long URLs into branded, memorable, and impactful short links that resonate with your audience.

For instance, if your brand’s website is “www.examplebrand.com,” a branded short domain could produce links like “ex.brand/promo” or “example.brand/sale,” making them both user-friendly and aligned with your brand’s identity.

Branded short link vs. branded short domain: What’s the difference?

Both branded short links and branded short domains provide more customized and memorable URLs compared to long, generic ones, the main distinction lies in whether you’re customizing the link portion only (branded short link) or also customizing the domain part (branded domain) to align with your brand’s identity. 

Branded short domains offer a higher level of branding and control, but they require additional setup and configuration compared to branded short links.

Branded Short Links

Create and track branded short links for your business for better conversions.

Brand Your Links Now!

How to set up a branded short domain?

With Replug, you can now transform your URLs into branded short domains, seamlessly integrating your brand identity into every interaction. Say goodbye to generic links and hello to a more memorable and trustworthy online presence. 

Let’s dive in and take your brand to the next level of link engagement.

Set up the branded short domain using Replug:

Step 1: Go to Custom Domains

Access the Replug dashboard, navigate to “Settings,” and select “Custom Domains” from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: New Domain

Click on “Add Domain” to add your custom domain for creating branded links.

Step 3: Create your Domain

Enter your Domain URL, set up Custom 404 redirection, and define the Branded Domain. Click “Connect” to proceed.

• Domain URL: Your branded or custom domain.
• 404 Redirect URL: Where users land on 404 pages.
• Branded Domain: Redirects users to the specified URL when they visit the root address of your brand’s domain.

Step 4: Configure DNS Records

To finalize the setup, you need to configure DNS records in your domain registrar’s settings. You have two options:

• CNAME (Canonical Name) Record: Point it to “rplg.co” and set HOST as “@” or “www.”
• A (Address) Record: Use the IP address “35.238.70.19” to point your root URL to the URL shortener.

For subdomains, such as “links.yourdomain.com” or “track.yourdomain.com,” use CNAME and A records accordingly.

Step 5: Check Connectivity and Actions

After connecting your domain, Replug shows its status. You can also edit or delete custom domains as needed.

For detailed DNS setup instructions, Replug provides links to various domain registrars’ documentation, including Amazon Web Services, Namecheap, Cloudflare, cPanel, and HostGator.

Feel free to reach out to Replug’s support team if you have any questions or need assistance.

Link Management Made Easy

Your go to link management tool for CTAs, branded and bio links, QR Codes, tracking and retargeting.

Get Started for FREE!

Why do you need to use a branded short domain?

Using a branded short domain offers several valuable benefits for individuals and businesses alike:

1. Enhanced Brand Identity: Branded domains allow you to incorporate your brand name or a related keyword directly into your shortened links. This reinforces your brand identity with every link you share, making your content more recognizable and memorable to your audience.
2. Increased Trust: Generic shortening services often use unfamiliar domains, which can raise concerns about link legitimacy and security. Branded short domains, on the other hand, leverage your own domain, instilling greater trust in your links among users who recognize your brand.
3. Consistent Branding: Branded domains maintain a consistent brand presence across all online interactions. Whether it’s in social media posts, emails, or marketing campaigns, your audience sees your brand name prominently displayed in the links you share.
4. Improved Click-Through Rates: Branded short domains are more visually appealing and professional-looking. This can lead to higher click-through rates as users are more likely to click on links that appear trustworthy and associated with a familiar brand.
5. Analytics and Insights: Many branded short-domain services provide detailed analytics about link performance. You can gain insights into click rates, geographic locations of clicks, devices used, and more. This data helps you optimize your link-sharing strategies.
6. Flexibility and Control: With a branded domain, you have the flexibility to customize your links based on different campaigns, promotions, or content types. You can also easily update or change the destination URLs without affecting the branding.
7. SEO Benefits: Branded short domains may contribute to boosting your overall domain authority. As these links are associated with your main domain, they can potentially provide a small SEO advantage.
8. Professionalism: Branded domains create a more professional image for your brand. Instead of using generic shortening services, you present your audience with tailored, branded links that reflect your commitment to quality.
9. Effective Tracking: Branded short-domain services often include advanced tracking and analytics features. These insights help you understand audience behavior, refine your strategies, and measure the success of your campaigns.
10. Competitive Advantage: Utilizing branded short domains can set you apart from competitors who are still using generic short links. It shows your audience that you pay attention to details and prioritize their experience.

Also read: How to Shorten a Link for Instagram Bio: Step-by-Step Guide

FAQs

Why should I use a branded short domain?

Using a branded short domain reinforces your brand identity, increases link trustworthiness, and maintains consistent branding in your online communications. It also improves click-through rates and provides analytics insights.

Do I need technical skills to set up a branded domain?

While some technical knowledge might be helpful, many branded short-domain services offer user-friendly setup processes. They typically provide instructions for configuring DNS records to link your domain with the shortening service.

Can I still use a short domain if I don’t have a website?

Yes, you can still use a branded short domain even if you don’t have a website. You can set up a subdomain for this purpose, such as “links.yourdomain.com,” and link it to the shortening service.

Can I track the performance of branded short links?

Yes, most branded short-domain services offer analytics and tracking features. You can monitor click rates, locations of clicks, devices used, and more to assess the effectiveness of your links.

Are there any SEO benefits to using a branded domain?

While the direct impact is limited, using branded short domains can potentially contribute to boosting your domain authority. The links are associated with your main domain, which could have a small positive effect on SEO.

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Brand marketing examples showcase the power of effective strategies and creative execution in building successful brands.

From captivating ad campaigns and engaging social media presence to memorable brand experiences, these branding examples demonstrate how businesses have leveraged storytelling, differentiation, and consumer insights to create strong brand identities that resonate with their target audiences.

Before moving on to branding examples, let’s see what key elements make brand marketing successful.

10 Key elements of brand strategy

1. Brand purpose: Defining a clear and meaningful purpose that aligns with the values and aspirations of the target audience.
2. Brand positioning: Identifying and establishing a unique and compelling position in the market that sets the brand apart from competitors.
3. Target audience: Understanding the target audience’s specific demographics, psychographics, and needs to effectively tailor brand messaging and experiences.
4. Brand identity: Developing a cohesive and distinctive visual and verbal identity, including logo, typography, color palette, and brand voice.
5. Brand messaging: Crafting compelling and consistent messaging that communicates the brand’s values, benefits, and unique selling propositions to the target audience.
6. Brand storytelling: Creating a compelling narrative around the brand that connects emotionally with the target audience and builds a strong brand image.
7. Brand experience: Designing and delivering consistent and exceptional experiences at every touch point, including physical locations, online platforms, customer service, and product quality.
8. Brand differentiation: Identifying and communicating key points of differentiation that set the brand apart from competitors, emphasizing unique features, benefits, or values.
9. Brand consistency: Ensuring consistent messaging, visuals, and experiences across all brand touchpoints to build recognition, trust, and loyalty among customers.
10. Brand monitoring and adaptation: Continuously monitoring brand performance, market trends, and customer feedback to adapt and evolve the brand strategy as needed, staying relevant and competitive in the market.

Related: Top 22 Personal Branding Tools To Upscale Your Marketing

From strategy to success: 5 Powerful examples of branding

Here are a few branding examples for stronger brand marketing:

1. TOMS “One For One” brand marketing strategy

TOMS’ brand marketing strategy revolves around its unique “One for One” concept. For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS donates a pair to a person in need. This strategy emphasizes social responsibility, creating a powerful connection between the brand and customers who want to make a positive impact.

Additionally, TOMS utilizes storytelling and powerful visuals to communicate its mission, inspiring customers to buy its products and support its charitable initiatives. Through this strategy, TOMS has successfully differentiated itself in the market and built a loyal customer base that aligns with its purpose-driven approach.

2. Starbucks’ “It Starts with You” campaign

Starbucks’ branding example shows why creating a welcoming and personalized experience is important. Their iconic green logo, cozy store ambiance, and seasonal promotions establish a sense of familiarity and indulgence, making Starbucks a beloved global coffee brand.

Starbucks’ “It Starts with You” campaign was a successful initiative that highlighted the positive impact individuals can make in their communities.

Starbucks encouraged acts of kindness and community engagement, positioning itself as a brand that cares about making a difference.

The campaign resonated with customers, fostering a sense of connection and inspiring them to take action.

In the branding example, Starbucks creates a premium and aspirational image, enticing customers to spend more. Through visually appealing displays, seasonal promotions, and a customer rewards program, Starbucks encourages repeat visits and larger purchases.

This unwavering loyalty is a testament to Starbucks’ ability to create a unique and meaningful experience that resonates with its customers on a deeper level.

3. Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign

Patagonia, an outdoor apparel company, has built a strong brand relationship with its customers through its commitment to environmental sustainability and activism.

Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign aimed to raise awareness about overconsumption and encourage responsible consumer behavior. It taught a valuable lesson about the importance of sustainability and conscious purchasing choices.

By aligning its brand values with its target audience, Patagonia has created a loyal community of customers who share their passion for the outdoors and environmental preservation.

Related: Brand Consistency:  Build Brand Consistency Using Branded Links

4. Nike from “Just Do It” to “Believe in Something”

Nike’s branding example can be seen in its iconic “Just Do It” campaign. “Just Do It” encapsulates Nike’s brand ethos, inspiring individuals to push their limits, overcome obstacles, and achieve greatness in sports and life.

Nike’s ability to navigate controversy and position itself as a champion of social change has proven to be a successful marketing tactic, driving both financial success and a positive brand image.

Nike turns controversy into dollars through its marketing by strategically embracing social issues and aligning with controversial figures. Nike generates significant media attention and sparks conversations worldwide by taking a bold stance on divisive topics.

This heightened visibility helps increase brand awareness and exposure. While the company may face initial backlash from some segments of the population, Nike’s marketing strategy appeals to its target audience, which includes socially conscious individuals who value progressive values and inclusivity.

This approach fosters a strong emotional connection and loyalty among these consumers, leading to increased sales and revenue for the brand.

Best Branding Example: Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad

Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad was a resounding success. Released in 2018, the ad featured the controversial football player and activist kneeling during the national anthem, accompanied by the powerful message: “Believe in something.” Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

The ad sparked widespread conversation and polarizing reactions, but it ultimately reinforced Nike’s commitment to social issues and resonated with its target audience. Despite the backlash, the campaign garnered significant attention, boosting brand awareness and sales.

Nike’s bold stance and alignment with Kaepernick’s activism tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, praising their willingness to take a stand on divisive social issues and inspiring a new wave of brand loyalty among consumers who shared similar values.

Related: Branding on Youtube the Right Way!

5. Apple “Think Different”

Apple’s brand marketing exemplifies innovation, simplicity, and elegance. Their iconic “Think Different” campaign and product launches build anticipation and create a strong emotional connection with consumers.

Apple’s meticulously planned product launches generate excitement and drive sales. Their strategy showcases the power of building anticipation, creating a buzz, and cultivating a strong brand community.

Apple has established a strong and distinctive brand identity through various campaigns that resonate with consumers worldwide. Apple’s campaigns highlight its ability to create compelling narratives, evoke emotions, and showcase the unique features of its products.

Here take a look at their interesting data privacy campaign.

Related: Social Media Risks For Brands

Neuroscience of branding

The neuroscience of branding explores how our brains respond to different aspects of a brand. Scientists use brain imaging techniques to understand how things like logos, colors, and associations with a brand affect our thoughts and feelings.

They’ve found that branding can make us feel logical and emotional, so companies must create positive and memorable experiences.

By understanding how our brains react to branding, businesses can make smart choices to create a strong connection with customers and make them more likely to choose and stick with their brand.

Related: 9 Trending techniques to expand your Businesses via Social Media

Online branding with Branded Link Management Tool

URL shorteners can play a role in branding by providing concise and memorable links that promote a brand’s online presence. Having a branded domain is a smart branding strategy that offers a cleaner and more professional appearance, increasing trust and click-through rates.

Additionally, branded short links can be tracked and analyzed, providing valuable insights into user engagement and marketing campaigns.

Replug is an excellent URL shortener that offers several link management tools for brands and marketers. It’s a complete toolkit to manage short, branded URLs for brand marketing and digital media campaigns.

In the bid to improve brand marketing, Replug could be useful in many ways. No wonder thousands of brands and marketers use Replug to manage their short URLs.

Here are some prominent Replug features has to offer to upscale your branding efforts.

Branded domain and custom URLs

It’s been learned that branded URLs could significantly improve audience trust and user clickability. Many brands, entrepreneurs, and digital marketers use branded domains for social media sharing and email marketing.

Here’s an online branding example

You can also retarget audiences using branded links. Implement this marketing strategy on your branded links to retarget the website visitors who have clicked on your short links.

You just need to add pixel codes to Replug from your famous social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Quora, then reach out to them through social media ads.

Bio links for Social Media

Bio links are in trend these days. The purpose behind bio-links is to have all of your content, from links to audio-visual content, on a single custom webpage.

The webpage is easy to create with drag-and-drop functionality. You can set up your bio link webpage in just a few clicks.

Now anyone can use this one-link solution to create social media bio links and connect all your social media profiles, such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, with this link.

Branded CTA

Replug allows you to customize and place CTA’s to your short links. Creating branded CTAs encourage immediate action and reinforce brand identity and messaging.

Aligning CTAs with a brand’s tone, values, and visual elements can strengthen your brand’s recognition and drive higher conversions.

QR Code Marketing

QR codes offer a unique opportunity for branding by providing a versatile and interactive marketing tool.

Incorporate branded QR codes into their promotional materials to create seamless offline and online experiences.

Businesses can reinforce their visual identity and increase brand recognition enhancing the overall brand experience.

FAQs

What is brand marketing with example?

Brand marketing is promoting a brand to create awareness, build a strong reputation, and establish a connection with consumers. Example: Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.

What is an example of brand preference?

An example of brand preference is when a consumer consistently chooses a particular brand over its competitors based on personal preference or loyalty. For instance, a person always purchases Nike shoes over other sports shoe brands due to their perceived quality, style, and alignment with personal values.

What is the best example of a branding strategy?

Apple’s branding strategy revolves around simplicity, innovation, and a focus on user experience. They have consistently communicated their brand values through sleek design, intuitive interfaces, and cutting-edge technology. This strategy has helped them create a strong emotional connection with customers.

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Mustafa Niazi

Mustafa Niazi is a blogging addict, a tech fanatic, and a SEO specialist.

Brand marketing and online branding have become critical elements for conquering the digital landscape.

Designing a strategic marketing road map has become necessary to understand the fundamental idea of branding.

Multiple brands have successfully demonstrated effective brand building and brand marketing strategies.

Apple stands out with its sleek design, innovative products, and consistent messaging that evokes sophistication and forward-thinking.

Coca-Cola’s timeless branding focuses on fostering emotional connections and spreading happiness through their refreshing beverages.

Let’s elaborate on the basic concepts and then we’ll move forward to the details.

What is a brand?

A brand is a business or company that sells a product or service and has positioned itself into a well-reputed business in the niche or market segment.

Plus, the brand identity and positioning in the users’ minds play a vital role in the establishment of any brand.

Brand Attributes

Brand attributes are the traits that reassure the brand values by implementing the core values of the brand.

Here are the most common brand attributes that shape brands’ perceptions:

• Relevancy: Brand relevancy means how relevant a brand’s approach is toward prospective customers. The target audience is key to getting noticed by the market segment.
• Consistency: Stick with your publishing or marketing regime, especially if it’s working out for you because consistency takes you ahead of your competition.
• Credibility: Credibility revolves around how a brand is perceived by people. Brands put a lot of effort into building brand reputation because being in the audience’s good books is essential for repeat clients.
• Positioning: Brand positioning is an attribute that showcases how a brand shapes its image in the customers’ and prospects’ minds.

Interesting read: Revamp Your Online Branding with Branded Short Links 

Types of Brand Attributes

Brand attributes can be divided into two types:

i. Hard brand attributes: These are the properties involving visual appearance and tangible qualities. It includes logos, brand names, slogans, sign boards, mascots, etc.

ii. Soft brand attributes: These are the characteristic values of a brand in the customers’ minds. It includes uniqueness, trustworthiness, innovation, convenience, etc.

What is branding and why is it important?

Branding is a marketing buzzword widely used in the sales, marketing, and public relations departments.

Branding is a strategy to build a company’s identity and carve out an image in the end-users’ minds.

The purpose of branding is to create awareness and spread the word about the brand.

For instance, Nike is an American brand known for manufacturing athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment. Plus, they sponsor sports celebs and sporting events across the globe.

The reason we all recognize the “Nike” logo is that they have spent billions of dollars over the years on building their brand’s identity.

Branding encapsulates everything from creating the identity of a brand to shaping the perception through several tactics, such as:

• Choosing a brand name
• Creating a logo
• Making the branded stationery
• Designing the official merchandise
• Putting up the sign boards
• Printing the pamphlets

Benefits of branding

Here are some key benefits of branding to remember:

• Builds trustworthiness: Branding is crucial to building trust between a brand and the consumer base. A brand’s logo, name, slogan, and colors help develop recognition among the masses.
• Establishes brand positioning: Brand positioning is the image of a brand in the customers’ minds. Often brands’ are known for their high-quality products or low prices and such perks help shape their position in the end-users’ minds.
• Infuses brand loyalty: Branding sparks brand association that pulls the loyal customers and fan base toward their favorite brands. Brands understand the psychology of brand loyalty so they use branding to leverage that brand association in their marketing campaigns.
• Helps customer acquisition: Branding works as a channel to communicate, attract, and engage both existing and potential customers. Companies use all sorts of channels to promote their branding, for instance, giveaways, charity events, sponsorship, etc.
• Inspires purchase decisions: Since branding is all about creating awareness about a brand with direct and indirect brand promotion, it excites potential buyers and loyal fans to make a decision who are on the fence.

What is brand marketing?

Brand marketing is a process of establishing a connection between a brand and its users.

Brand marketing focuses on highlighting the effectiveness of a brand and how the entirety of the brand is important to the customers’ survival in the market.

Brand marketing doesn’t emphasize selling the product or service directly. Instead, it paves the way for building and growing a strong relationship with the end users.

Most brands opt for the traditional route and use digital marketing mediums like ads, email, and social media for product marketing. As a result, their goal gets tied with the transactional part of the communication.

Pepsi’s brand marketing strategy revolves around capturing the spirit of youth and pop culture. Pepsi’s online brand marketing efforts are a testament to their ability to connect with consumers in the digital sphere.

Pepsi employs branded URLs strategy to reinforce brand recognition and simplify online experiences. By using customized short links featuring their brand name, Pepsi ensures consistent branding across digital channels

What’s the difference between branding and marketing, and which comes first?

The main difference between branding and marketing is that branding brings recognition, identity, and positioning. Whereas, marketing gets brand attention, eyeballs, and engagement.

The branding vs. marketing debate isn’t worth it because both are essential from publicity and sales standpoints.

However, if you’re wondering which one comes first, it’s pretty clear that branding comes first.

For instance, if you launch an SEO agency; you’d start with a brand name, logo, domain, and website instead of hopping on Facebook to run Facebook ads.

What are the types of brand marketing?

There are several types of brand marketing, the below-mentioned three are the popular types of brand marketing:

i. Corporate brand marketing: It revolves around companies’ strategies to develop their reputation and build a connection with the audience through different means. These corporations often communicate their brand values through a mission statement, promotional offers, and press releases.

ii. Personal brand marketing: Personal brands are individuals who have managed to hone in on certain areas and dominate a small segment of the market. Social media influencers cash in on their personal brands. They use content distribution by leveraging social media platforms and amassing an audience which wants to listen to them.

iii. Product brand marketing: Product brand marketing is a process of branding a specific product by pouring all energies into it. In product brand marketing, brands often pick their best-performing product and try to put it on a pedestal to win the attention of the end users.

4 things to keep in mind when developing a brand marketing strategy

A branding marketing strategy doesn’t build on a whim – it always takes some time to put together a strong brand marketing plan.

Here are a few key elements to consider when developing a brand marketing strategy:

1. Brand marketing is a long-term strategy. Don’t rush it. Otherwise, you might end up frustrated within a few weeks. It’s about building a brand’s identity based on the available resources, relationships, and communications.
2. It takes time to reap the fruit. It’s not a short-term marketing strategy like an ads campaign that shows results at the end of the week, month or quarter.
3. It is ongoing and can take many forms. It doesn’t only revolve around choosing a brand name, opting for a nice logo, and designing the brand’s stationery. In fact, brand marketing encompasses everything you do to establish your brand’s identity through collaborations, partnerships, sponsorship, giveaways, etc.
4. The overarching goal of brand marketing is to grow the business, whether it’s done through building relationships with new prospects, attending seminars or industry meetups, or launching a content marketing plan to attract, engage, and convert the audience.

How to build a strong brand marketing strategy?

Brands with strong business positioning in their industry often are the ones that build a branding strategy and follow it. Remember, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme; branding is a real deal.

Here are 9 tips that can help you can build a strong brand marketing strategy:

1. Identify your brand marketing goals and vision

The first and foremost thing to do when building a strong brand marketing strategy is to identify the brand’s marketing goals. Every brand sets eyes on certain targets to achieve.

In order to build a powerful brand marketing strategy, start by envisioning the future. It doesn’t matter whether it’s gaining a significant market share or entering into a monopolistic market.

Once the brand marketing goals have been set, it gets easier for the team to execute marketing and branding plans.

2. Develop your brand identity

The brand identity means what this brand stands for or is known for. These brands try to develop their brand identity to attract potential customers and social media audiences.

Interesting read: 8 Best Retargeting Platforms To Retarget Your Potential Audience

3. Raise brand awareness

When brands educate the audience about their belief system, they basically share what they believe in to spread brand awareness. Almost every brand tries to position itself as culturally diverse, with no tolerance for racism, and gender equality.

4. Build brand loyalty

To create a strong brand marketing structure, it’s vital to have brand loyalty on the customers’ part. Brands pay close attention to the ideas that help them earn brand loyalty from customers.

Once these things sort out, building a brand identity seems like a piece of cake.

5. Research target market

Understanding the target market and the challenges that might arise is crucial to establishing a solid brand marketing strategy.

Researching the target market means analyzing the market segment you’re about to enter to help bring clarity to the process.

Brands often turn a blind eye to the competition, which is a big mistake. There may have been a couple of reasons: the first is that they overrate themselves right at the beginning of the journey and the second is that they think competitors won’t notice them, so they don’t consider their competitors a threat just yet.

There are two factors to consider when considering research on the target market for building a brand marketing plan:

• Narrow in on the target audience: Zooming in on the right segment of the audience would take you closer to the target audience. This is exactly what every brand dreams of when entering the market.
• Know your competition: Always keep an eye on the competition. Every brand that is crushing on social media or SEO always knows about its competition. They closely follow their content strategy, social media content distribution, SEO tactics, and more. So don’t sleep on this opportunity either.

The target market research would take you ahead of many competitors who don’t care much about understanding the competition or haven’t had a chance to learn more on this topic.

Interesting read: A Quick Guide to Building Custom Audiences through URL Tracking

6. Determine your brand marketing tactics

One of the important steps when building a brand marketing strategy is to determine what route to take to get to the destination. The decisions such as color schemes, blog content style, social media content strategies, and other strategies fall into this category.

Clarifying the brand marketing tactics would provide the team with a roadmap to follow and help develop a system to save time in the future.

However, there are always some inside secrets that only team members know and these secrets aren’t supposed to get out. The reason is that competitors spy on you the way you keep an eye on them.

The keys to remember when determining the brand marketing tactics are:

• Develop brand marketing collateral: Branding marketing requires a set of tools and resources. Developing an arsenal whether it’s a PDF outline or a list of online tool subscriptions – this would come in handy for the team.
• Outline a messaging strategy: The message-driven content always does better than vague and pointless content. Make sure that the content is sending out a clear, concise message to the chosen audience.
• Define messaging and positioning: It’s necessary to communicate to see that everyone is on the same page. The team must be crystal clear about the brand position. Don’t shy away from explaining the brand message to the team to ensure that every individual team member knows about it.

7. Rollout a timeline

Rolling out a timeline means allocating a time window to a specific project or campaign. Brands always set a timeline whether they’re hiring a new freelancer or opting for a new URL shortener.

It’s best to set a timeline for a campaign to analyze its performance and effectiveness at the end. Brands usually choose monthly, quarterly, biannual, and annual timelines for their campaigns.

When you’re building a brand marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to choose a time frame for the strategy. The reason why it matters is that it helps brands measure the performance of the campaign afterward.

8. Create a consistent brand image

One of the goals of establishing a strong brand marketing strategy is to come up with a consistent brand image. A brand image means building a positive brand reputation among customers.

Burger King UK faced backlash for tweeting ‘Women belong in the kitchen’ on International Women’s Day. The tweet was criticized for its insensitive and derogatory language, which undermined the significance of the day and perpetuated harmful stereotypes about women. Many people expressed their disappointment and called out the fast-food chain for the inappropriate message. Burger King later issued an apology and acknowledged the need to deliver a more respectful and inclusive message.

This example shows why it is crucial for companies to recognize the importance of fostering an inclusive and supportive environment both online and offline.

The brand position or image doesn’t establish overnight; it takes forever to establish a brand in the eyes of the audience. It requires continuous effort and a dedicated plan to pull this off.

Brands that successfully establish their reputation and goodwill try to continue that momentum and live up to the customers’ expectations. No wonder they build this brand position and image over the course of several years.

Therefore, it’s vital to make efforts to create a consistent brand image through actions, offerings, customer support, high-quality products/services, and pricing to build and maintain a strong brand reputation.

9. Measure the success of your brand

No one wants their successful strategies to go unnoticed because otherwise they wouldn’t realize what worked for them and might as well try something new.

Therefore, the success measurement of the brand marketing campaign is crucial to the whole process.

In order to get disciplined about measuring the success of the branding strategies, keep the following tactics in mind:

• Create brand guidelines: Don’t sleep on setting the ground rules for everyone to follow. It could be anything from choosing the best time to post on TikTok to using a specific font for social media image copies.
• Make sure your product delivers on your promise: The product or service has to be top-notch to fulfill the promise. Otherwise, your marketing tactics would fall flat.

The question you might ask is how someone could measure the success of their brand marketing strategy.

Well, there are several indicators that might give you an idea of how well or badly your brand marketing campaign has performed over the course of the campaign, such as:

• The number of email inquiries received
• The number of social media followers increased
• The percentage of social media engagement increased
• The percentage of website bounce rate decreased
• The change in the digital marketing ROI

These indicators may vary from brand to brand. I won’t be surprised if some brand would go further down the rabbit hole and analyze numerous other factors to measure the success of their branding campaign.

Interesting read:15 Proven Facebook SEO Techniques To Increase Brand Visibility

How to use social media to market your brand successfully?

Social media has become an important part of the marketing arsenal. No individual or brand could think of marketing a brand without using social media.

The reason why social media is inevitable in marketing is because it has the attention of the masses. Now social media platforms have over 1 billion monthly active users.

So, you might wonder how you can use social media to market your brand without breaking the bank. Well, I have a handful of tips that would help you cash in on the social media real estate:

• Create a community of like-minded people: Don’t shy away from starting something from scratch. Build a community of true fans or like-minded people using a Facebook group discord channel or any other similar tool.
• Put out compelling, helpful content: Publishing high-quality, effective, and useful content is your ticket to engagement, attention, and eyeballs. Social media ads won’t cut it for most people, so use content marketing as a great alternative to advertising.
• Build a strong relationship with the audience: Building a healthy, strong relationship with your audience means you care what they want to know or learn. Provide them with efficient customer support and help them out by going out of the way – it will make a difference in the long term.
• Show up consistently on social media platforms: One of the best strategies to market a brand on social media is to consistently show up on social media platforms. You could always use a social media scheduling tool like ContentStudio to schedule your posts for the future.
• Use promotional strategies to spice things up: Most brands only focus on once-a-year discounts. However, if you’re a B2C company, then use giveaways, discounts, and promotional offers throughout the year to strengthen the relationship with the audience. Don’t shy away from giving away free brand merch or arranging meet-ups with customers or fans.

FAQs

Let’s answer some of the burning questions about brand marketing:

i. What is the marketing of a brand?

Marketing a brand means putting the brand in front of the prospective audience and establishing an image of the brand.

ii. What are the four branding strategies?

Here are four of the essential branding strategies to follow”

1) Start with finding your brand’s mission.

2) Identify the target market to enter.

3) Build your brand’s image.

4) Measure the outcome of the branding campaign.

iii. What are the benefits of using a marketing strategy for a brand?

• Provides clear direction
• Targets the audience
• Increases brand awareness
• Establishes brand recognition
• Defines a unique brand identity
• Engages and fosters customer loyalty
• Maximizes ROI
• Drives business growth

iv. Which is better: marketing or advertising for brands?

There is no right or wrong answer for this one. It depends on the industry, company’s type, growth hacks being followed, and tactics that have worked – most brands tend to use both and put more energy into whatever works for them.

v. When is brand marketing most successful?

Brand marketing is most successful when it effectively communicates a compelling brand story, resonates with the target audience, and drives positive brand perception, loyalty, and engagement.

vi. What should be included in a good marketing plan for my brand?

The common tactics for establishing a solid marketing plan must include clarity of the brand’s offering, effective communication, and a powerful analytical mechanism to measure the outcome.

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Hassaan Khan

Hassaan Khan is a freelance writer for SAAS companies, e-commerce stores, and niche websites. He has contributed to SEMrush, ThriveGlobal, BloggingCage, AllBloggingTips, and several other publications. He builds niche websites, publishes e-books, and helps website investors with his done-for-you niche site-building service.

Are you tired of dealing with long and complicated web addresses? Do you wish there was an easier way to share URLs without all the extra baggage? Well, look no further! 

In this easy-to-follow guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of creating short links. No more fussing with lengthy links that clutter up your messages and confuse your audience. 

Say goodbye to the days of overwhelming web addresses, and say hello to the simplicity of short links. Let’s dive in and unlock the power of shortened URLs!

Why do you need a short URL link?

The modern digital world is fast-paced, attention spans are short, and information overload is a constant issue. Having a short link has several advantages. Here are a few reasons why you might need a short link:

Also read: How to Shorten a link using a URL shortener?

1. Simplify and Streamline:

Long, complex URLs can be difficult to remember and share. Shortening them makes them more manageable and easier to type or copy/paste, saving time and effort for both you and your audience.

2. Enhance Sharability:

Short links are perfect for social media platforms like Twitter, where character limitations can be restrictive. By using a concise link, you can convey your message effectively while still including the essential information.

3. Improve Aesthetics:

A shorter URL looks cleaner and more visually appealing. It can enhance the overall presentation of your content, whether you’re sharing it in an email, presentation, or any other medium.

Also read: How to make a call to action using a link shortener?

4. Track and Analyze:

Many URL shortening services provide analytics tools that allow you to track and analyze the performance of your links. You can gain valuable insights into the number of clicks, geographical distribution, and even the devices used to access your content.

5. Maintain Brand Consistency:

Short links can incorporate your brand or company name, reinforcing brand recognition and consistency across various online channels.

Ultimately, a short link offers convenience, improved engagement, and a more professional appearance. It’s a simple yet effective tool to optimize your online presence and make the most out of your digital communications.

Also read: Revamp Your Online Branding with Branded Short Links 

How to create a short link using Replug?

Creating a short link using a URL shortener like Replug is an easy and straightforward process. Here’s how to create a short link, customized URL:

Step 1: Log in or create an account

Sign in to Replug or create an account for free. 

Step 2: Set up a Campaign

Click on “Select your Campaign” on the main dashboard page. If you want to create a new campaign go to “Manage” > “Campaigns”.  

Give your campaign a name that represents the purpose or content of the URL you want to shorten.

Step 3: Add the Original URL

Once created or selected a campaign paste the long URL you wish to shorten into the “URL to shorten” field and click “Create”. 

Step 4: Customize the Short link

Replug allows you to customize the short URL to reflect your brand or campaign. You can add a custom URL slug in this step.  

Note: You can also edit the domain or select a custom path to represent your brand and content. This can be accomplished by creating a custom domain campaign. Learn more about setting up a custom domain here.

Step 5: Add extra features to your URL

Replug offers additional features like customizable call-to-action overlays and retargeting pixels, allowing you to optimize your shortened URLs for increased conversions and audience engagement. If you want to track and analyze your shortened URL’s performance, you can add UTM parameters. 

Step 6: Copy and Share:

Copy the shortened URL and click the “update” button. Share your URL across your desired platforms, such as social media, emails, or any other communication channels.

Also read: How to mask a URL link using a URL shortener?

FAQs

How do short URLs work?

Short URLs work by redirecting users from a shorter link to the original, longer URL, making it easier to share and remember.

Can I customize the short link generated by Replug?

Yes, with Replug, you can customize the short URL to reflect your brand or campaign by using your own domain or subdomain.

Can I track the performance of my short URLs?

Yes, Replug provides analytics and tracking features to monitor the performance of your short links, including click-through rates, geographical data, and other valuable insights.

Are short URLs safe to use?

Short URLs are generally safe to use. However, it’s essential to exercise caution and ensure that the shortening service you use is trustworthy and reputable to avoid potential security risks or link spam.

How long do short URLs created with Replug remain active?

Short URLs created with Replug remain active indefinitely unless you choose to deactivate or delete them manually.

Can I use Replug for social media sharing and tracking engagement?

Absolutely! Replug is designed to be compatible with social media platforms, making it easy to share shortened URLs and track engagement metrics across different social media channels.

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Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Hyperlinks are created by using anchor tags in HTML code. The anchor tag defines the start and end of a hyperlink, and the text between the opening and closing tags is displayed as the link. To change the name of a hyperlink, you need to edit the text between the opening and closing anchor tags.

When you add a hyperlink to a message, the text displayed as the link is usually the URL of the webpage that the link points to. 

For example, if you add a link to “https://www.example.com/articles/how-to-change-a-link-name,” the link text may be displayed as “https://www.example.com/articles/how-to-change-a-link-name.”

However, displaying a more descriptive and readable link text is often more user-friendly than the raw URL. 

For example, you could change the link text to “How to Change a Link Name: A Comprehensive Guide.” This makes it easier for users to understand the link and encourages them to click on it.

Read Now: Brand Consistency:  Build Brand Consistency Using Branded Links

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How to change a link name in a text document?

To change the link name that uses a hyperlink, you must edit the text displayed as the link. Here is an example of how to change the name of a link with a hyperlink in a Microsoft Word document:

1. Open the Word document containing the link that you want to change.
2. Right-click on the link and select the option to edit the link.
3. In the Edit Hyperlink window, delete the current text in the “Text to display” field and type in the new name you want to use for the link.
4. Click the “OK” button to save the changes and close the Edit Hyperlink window.

How to change a link name with a hyperlink in an HTML webpage:

1. Open the HTML code for the webpage in a text editor. You can do this by right-clicking on the webpage and selecting the option to view the source code or opening the HTML file in a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit.
2. Locate the anchor tag that represents the link. It will look something like this: <a href=”http://www.example.com”>Link Name</a> The anchor tag consists of the opening tag <a>, the destination URL “http://www.example.com,” and the closing tag </a>. The text between the opening and closing tags is the link text, currently “Link Name.”
3. Change the text between the opening and closing anchor tags to the new name you want to use for the link. For example: <a href=”http://www.example.com”>New Link Name</a>
4. Save the changes to the HTML code by going to the “File” menu and selecting the “Save” option.
5. Refresh the webpage by pressing the “F5” key or by clicking the “Refresh button”.

How to change a link name using Replug?

Here’s how to change a link name using our URL shortener:

Step 1: Sign in to Replug, or create an account.

Step 2: Choose the desired campaign on the main dashboard or create a new one in a few seconds. 

Step 3: Enter the link in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click create. 

Note: Here, you can also add UTM parameters to your link to track the performance of that link. Using UTM parameters can help you better understand which links are driving the most traffic and conversions for your website.

Step 4: Your link will be shortened. Click the edit icon and type the URL slug you want to use in the link. 

Step 5: Copy the new link, hit the update button, and you’re done. 

Here’s a recap of the above steps:

How to make your links more descriptive and user-friendly with Replug

Using Replug can help you make your links more descriptive and user-friendly in a few different ways:

• Customizable link names: With Replug, you can choose the name of your link rather than using the default URL. This allows you to create a more descriptive and readable link that tells users about the link.
• Link branding: Replug allows you to customize the appearance of your links by adding your branding. This can establish user trust and credibility and make your links more recognizable.
• Link targeting: Replug allows you to redirect traffic to different URLs based on the device or location of the user. This can be useful if you have different webpage versions or want to redirect users to the most relevant version of your website.
• Link analytics: Replug provides detailed analytics about the clicks on your links, including the number of clicks, the location of the users, and the devices used. This can help you understand how your links are used and make data-driven decisions about your link strategy.

Branded Short Links

Create and track branded short links for your business for better conversions.

Brand Your Links Now!

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Benefits of Using Branded Short Links

How to Build Your Brand on YouTube &#8211; Branding on Youtube the Right Way!

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Long links can be unattractive and difficult to share, especially on social media platforms with a character limit. What if I tell you that you can hide these long links with branded short links?
Shortened links are easier to include in emails, text messages, or social media posts, especially with a character limit.

Additionally, many URL shorteners have built-in tracking features for measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and, secondly, for understanding how users interact with a website.

Let’s choose a URL shortener service that meets your needs and show you how to hide a link. 

How to hide a link with Replug?

Step 1: Sign in to Replug or create an account. 

Step 2: Choose a campaign from the main dashboard or create one.  

Note: Here’s how to create a campaign in a few seconds.  

Step 3: Paste the link you want to hide in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click create.

Note: In this step, you can also add UTM parameters to your link to track its performance. 

Step 4: Your newly created link will appear. Click the edit icon and rename the URL slug to whatever you prefer.

Step 6: Click the Update button once you’ve entered your new link, and you’re done.

Note: Navigate to the Manage section on the main dashboard and click Replug Links to access your disguised link.

It’s worth noting that many URL shortening services allow you to customize the shortened link to make it more aesthetically pleasing or memorable. But, Replug also provides tracking features that allow you to see how many clicks the link has received.

FAQs

What is cloaking a link?

Link cloaking is a technique to redirect a website visitor to a different page than the one they clicked on. This can be done for various reasons, such as tracking clicks, shortening long URLs, or hiding the link’s destination from the user. The link the user clicks on is called the “cloaked” link, and it redirects to the actual destination of the link, called the “real” link. When link cloaking is used, the user is usually unaware that they have been redirected, and the real link remains hidden.

What are password-protected links?

Password-protected links require users to enter a password before accessing the link’s content. These links can restrict access to certain content or pages on a website to only those with the password.

Read the easiest method to password-protect a link!

Trending Topics:

Why Your Business Needs a Custom URL Shortener?

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UTM Tracking Through Replug

Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

How to change Facebook URLs on mobile and desktop?

Changing your Facebook URL can be a great way to make your profile more memorable and easier to find. It can also add a personal touch to your profile and make it easier for people to find you if they are searching for you on search engines. Additionally, it can help to prevent confusion if you have multiple accounts with similar usernames. Finally, it can also help to ensure that your profile remains secure since anyone with your username can access it.

Here’s how to change your Facebook URL on mobile and desktop.

How to change Facebook URL on your mobile?

You can easily change your Facebook URL through the Facebook messenger app on your phone. 

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Facebook messenger app from your phone.

Step 2: Tap on the three-lined menu icon in the top left corner.

Step 3: Now tap on the setting icon near the top right corner. 

Step 4: Look for the “Username” section and tap on it. 

Step 5: Now tap the “Edit Username” section. 

Step 6: Type your new user name.

Note: Only available usernames can be selected. Try typing an alternate user name if your intended one is not available. 

Step 7: Tap save, and you’ll have your new user name, which will also be your new URL.

That’s it! Your Facebook URL has been successfully updated.

Increase your CTR with a Branded Link Now!

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How to change Facebook URL on your desktop?

You can change your Facebook URL from your computer by following these steps:

Step 1: Log in to Facebook from your desktop.’

Step 2: Click the profile icon at the top right corner.

Step 3: Click setting & privacy from the drop-down menu. 

Step 4: Now click settings which will take you to the general profile setting page. 

Step 5: Click on Edit in the user name field.

Step 6: Type your new user name, which will also be your new URL. 

Note: You must check whether your chosen user name is available while typing. Try typing another option if your desired user name is not available.

Step 7: Click the save changes button, and you’ll have your new URL. 

Related Topic: A Complete Guide to Using the Facebook Pixel

Related Topic: How To Change A URL Of Any Website?

Using Replug to change Facebook URLs

Using Replug to shorten your Facebook page URL has several advantages. Replug offers powerful analytics and allows you to track the performance of your links. You can also use Replug to customize the appearance of your links with custom branding. By changing your Facebook page URL with Replug, you have access to these features and can gain more insights into your audience.

Here are the steps you need to follow to update your Facebook URLs with Replug:

Step 1: Sign in to your Replug account or create a new one if you don’t have one.

Step 2: Select the desired campaign from the main dashboard, or create a new one.

Note: For help creating a new campaign, visit this guide: “Create a campaign in seconds.” 

Step 3: Enter your Facebook page URL as the destination URL in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click create. 

Now you have your updated URL, which will look like the one below in the picture. 

Step 4: Click the edit button at the end of the URL bar and type the URL slug you want.

Step 5: Click the update button at the bottom and share your new Facebook URL with your audience. 

FAQs:

Why can’t I change my Facebook URL after following all the steps? 

It may be because you have already changed your Facebook URL. Facebook only allows you to change your URL once, so if you changed it before, you would not be able to change it again.

Trending Topics:

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Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Social networks like Instagram are mobile-friendly. The mobile-first nature of Instagram makes tracking down your Instagram URL sometimes tricky because it works differently than a traditional website.

This guide will walk you through getting URLs on mobile and computer devices.

Get your Instagram links in seconds by following these simple steps.

How to get an Instagram link on a computer device:

Step 1: Go to Instagram.com and type in your login credentials.

Step 2: Click on your username at the top-right of the screen.

Alternatively, you can click the profile icon in the left menu.

Step 3: Your Instagram link will appear in the search bar. Copy the link, and you’ll have a ready-to-use Instagram link.

Increase your CTR with a Branded Link Now!

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How to get an Instagram link on a mobile device:

Step 1: Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android and log in. 

Step 2: Tap on your profile in the bottom right-hand corner of the menu.

Step 3: You will find your Instagram username at the top of your profile page. 

Note: Instagram URLs consist of two components: Instagram’s website address and your Instagram username. The URL format is generally instagram.com/username. So, for the said case, the Instagram user name is aarsal.k, so to get this link, we need to just type Instagram.com/aarsal.k. You can do the same for your iPhone or Android device.

Your Instagram link is now ready to go.

How to change my Instagram URL?

You can easily change your Instagram URL in seconds by following these simple and easy steps. 

Step 1: Follow the above steps to get your Instagram link on mobile or desktop.

Step 2: Go to any browser on your desktop and type app.replug.io. You will be redirected to the login page, where you can sign in or create an account if you don’t have one.

Step 3: You will see the Replug dashboard once you are signed in.

Step 4: Select the desired campaign from the main dashboard, or create a new one.

Note: For help creating a new campaign, visit this guide: “Create a campaign in seconds.” 

Step 5: Paste the Instagram URL you want to shorten in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click create. 

 Now you have your updated URL, which will look like the one below in the picture. 

Related: Top 5 Paid URL Shorteners Worth Paying For!

Step 6: Click the edit button at the end of the URL bar and type the URL slug you want. Click the update button after changing the URL, and you’re done.

Note: Find your newly created Instagram link by Going to Main Dashboard > Manage > Replug links. 

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Arslan Jadoon

Meet Arslan, a skilled website blog and content writer who combines creativity and expertise to deliver engaging and informative pieces that captivate audiences.

Despite the availability of free URL shortening services, a paid URL shortener offers a lot more features.  When you are paying for something that means you are going to get some value out of it. But the question is which paid URL shortener provides the best value for money.

Any URL shortener can shorten links, while only the best URL shorteners can brand and customize your messy links. Apart from this, they can do a lot more. From providing tracking insights about who is clicking your link to testing which marketing campaigns perform better through URL tracking.

Here are the top 5 paid URL shorteners to make your link visually appealing. 

1.Replug.io

This is an all-in-one link management tool and all-around URL shortener. It is simple and easy to use. Replug has a comprehensive dashboard where you can track 200k links in real-time. Traffic routing is also available. You get to know which channels are driving the maximum leads. A/B testing will help you know which links are performing better and why. 

Replug Features

Replug is a full-service URL shortener and stands out in its business offering such as: 

Branded short links: You can create unlimited branded links with your customized domain. They are visually appealing and build the brand’s credibility. Branded short links promise to link readers that they will lead to the brand’s site. They are unique, genuine, and easy to understand. Moreover, branded links are memorable, trackable, and sharable. 

Increase your CTR with a Branded Link Now!

Get Started for Free

CTA: You can add a catchy call to action in the URL to promote an immediate response or encourage a sale.

Deep links: These links send the user directly to an app instead of the store or website. It saves users energy and time, locating specific pages themselves. Deep links significantly improve users’ experience.

Retargeting Pixels: Replug.io helps you add a unique set of retargeting pixels for every social channel. It helps you show ads to people who have shown interest in your content. It amplifies the chances of conversion from prospected leads. 

Bio Links: Replug.io offers multiple options to create & customize your profile landing page. You can style and reorder any element easily using bio links. Furthermore, you can drive traffic from your social media channels to a single page that contains all useful info and links for your product and services. 

Replug Pricing:

Replug.io is genuinely the easiest tool with a friendly interface. It believes that every company or person gets the value of customizing links and tracking them to see how their marketing campaigns are performing. 

Replug.io offers top-class services as payback for every cent you spend on it.

It has three flexible pricing plans but this paid URL shortener also offers a free trial. 

• Basic: $19
• Professional: $49
• Agency: $79

How do I make a long URL shorter?

Here is an example of an Amazon link shortened using Replug

We have streamlined a long messy link of Airpods into a short URL with fewer characters. 

Related: Amazon Link Shortener

2. Rebrandly

It is a powerful story editor for your URL. It has all the key features from link retargeting to deep linking that helps you to reach your audience and change them into prospected leads. 

Features: 

• Pre-designed templates
• Offer customization
• Add CTA
• Offer detailed Analytics
• Multiple integrations and much more

Pricing:

• Basic $29/month
• Pro 89/month
• Related: Rebarndly Alternative

3. Sniply

Sniply is also a link-shortening tool for blog posts/ articles/ webpages. It offers in-depth analytics to track your target audience. When you click a link created by Sniply, they lead to relevant content but also displays the snip you created along with your CTA. Depending on the plan, you can make form, text, or even image CTA. 

Features: 

• Custom URL shortener
• Catchy CTA on every URL shortened
• Monitor user’s interaction
• Integrate with other marketing tools

Pricing:

• Basic $29
• Pro $79
• Business $149
• Agency $299

4. Bitly

A famous paid url shortener to connect your content and call for immediate action. If you aren’t looking for monthly use, Bitly’s free version will let you shorten long, messy URLs into a simple short ones. However, only its paid version will allow you to customize the URL with the brand name. It also has retargeting pixels to track your prospected leads. It also captures insight and data with every click. 

Features: 

• Retargeting Pixels
• Integration with Zapier
• Analytics and monitoring
• Branded links

Pricing:

• Starter $8/month
• Basic $29/month
• Premium $199/month
• Enterprise custom package

Related: : Bitly Alternative

5.RocketLink

Rocketlink.io is another paid URL shortener in our list. You can create and manage branded links with it. Rocketlink.io is an all-around link shortening tool with retargeting pixels. It optimizes marketing effort, drives traffic to the website, and tracks all links on social media platforms. Furthermore, users can create a custom audience based on leads who already showed interest in your content and clicked the URL. Detailed analytics track your marketing progress. 

Features:

• Password protected links
• QR codes and UTM tags
• Custom Domain
• Analytics

Pricing:

• Liftoff $19/month
• Space $29/month
• Galaxy $69/month
• Related: Bitly competitor 

Final Verdict: Which is the best URL shortener?

At this point, you are familiar with the benefits of using link management tools. Moreover, we have also mentioned the top paid URL shorteners. However, Replug.io is an all-around platform that  offers a very handful of reliable factors. From branded links to analytics, bio links to UTM, and QR codes to traffic routing, it is a full-package tool. 

Replug.io acts as a product marketing assistant at affordable pricing. So, its safe to say there is no Replug alternative when it comes to top paid URL shorteners.

If you need further assistance, we are always here for extra help. 

Khadija Anwar

I am Khadija Anwar, B2B Copywriter. I started my career as a freelance writer in 2019 and built a strong portfolio. I have crafted multiple blogs, website content, fashion magazines, news outlets, SEO content, and technical documentation. Last but not least, my favorite cartoon character is Dopey Dwarf, resembling my real-life character- calm, happy, and lively.

Link disguising is about hiding up a link so it looks like another link. Though the term itself might sound dubious. But it is very useful in the digital world. People generally mask links to shorten them and brand them.

Disguising a link is just like concealing the bad parts or random characters in case of a URL and beautifying them. Whereas, tools like URL shorteners come in handy in turning these random links to something meaningful and useful.

What is a Disguised Link? 

A disguised link is also called URL cloaking or URLmasking. When a link is cloaked or disguised, it hides the original URL link while redirecting traffic to the original destination URL. Thus, URL shortener will allow you to disguise a URL by hiding the original URL. While you can create a customized or vanity URL or a branded link that appears to the users when you share with them. 

So the real question arises, why do people use disguised links?

Why Disguise a Link? 

• First impressions matter! A URL is something that people see at first sight when you share a profile, video link or company website etc. So if it seems suspicious, no one is going to click that link.  Another reason to disguise a link is to improve eCommerce sales, brand engagement, user experience etc.
• URL tracking tools not only allow disguising but also allow tracking performance by creating custom links.
• Furthermore, long URLs look nasty, and hence a person can go for a link shortener. All this can be done by URL masking. 

Reasons to Use Disguised Links

• URL shortening and beautification
• Replace nasty and ugly URL
• To make affiliate links
• To disguise free web hosting URLs

Related: Benefits of Using Branded Short Links

Use Disguised Links for Affiliate Marketing 

Are you looking to increase e-commerce sales and shorten your long nasty URLs, two birds one stone?

Link disguisers are used to hide URLs and customize them. As link disguising is very useful when it comes to affiliate marketing. Using a URL shortener can disguise link and allow you to hide and protect your affiliate ID from malware. On the other hand, you use a custom branded link associated to your product and brand. Thus, increasing brand credibility and trust of the consumer.

Related: Affiliate Marketing Guideline for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

How Do You Hide a Link on a Website?

A URL shortener is the solution for you to hide and disguise any website link. Moreover, you can also track, analyze and add CTA’s, bio links, retargeting pixels etc. 

Here’s how you can use Replug to disguise a link:

Step 1: Navigate to create a “Replug Link”. Choose your desired campaign, put the URL you want to disguise, and click on “create” (you can also add UTMs). 

Step 2: After taping on create, a new screen will show. Click the edit button where you can initiate customizing your URL into a branded link. Add tags and set the rest of the parameters that you want for your campaign. Now click on update, and your customized link is ready to go live. 

Sign up and disguise any link now!

Replug.io Key Features

Link Management

Multiple links shortening tools are available in the market, but Replug.io is among the few best link shorteners that offers link disguising, tracking & optimization as well as a catchy call to action. Replug.io is an easy URL shortening and tracking platform that allows you to create eye-catching branded URLs. It also creates social media bio links, URL tracking with custom URL, UTM, tags, and QR code generator. It offers the ability to add retargeting pixels with powerful analytics and branded links.

Related: Best Link Management Tools of 2022

Replug.io Chrome Extension

Replug’s chrome extension makes it easier to create disguise links. You can download the Google Chrome extension and log into your Replug account by putting login credentials. Once completed, you have full control of using Replug features in no time. 

Link Analytics

Replug stands higher among all link management tools when it comes to link analytics. You can make a profitable brand’s strategy by keeping an eye on link analytics. Track every engagement on the content you share; below mentioned are some great analytics you can track.

Overview

• Conversion Performance
• Click performance
• Visitor by browser
• Visitors by the operating system
• Visitor by country
• Visitor by source/referrer

Deep Linking

Deep links let users go to the specific application rather than wasting time searching themselves on the browser. Therefore, deep links can increase overall engagement and conversion rate in the case of mobile & PC users. 

Traffic Routing

With the help of the traffic routing feature, you can reach your target audience by setting multiple filters such as geography, browser, and device. You can also select the IP address, dates, and time. Hence, traffic routing feature allows you to redirect users and deliver a unique experience on the base of these filters.

A/B Testing

A/B testing features offer you to redirect links to several destinations. Efficiently distribute the weightage and start testing up to 10 customized links simultaneously. 

Final Words

Using a URL shortener to disguise a link is not only for the people of the e-commerce world. In fact, URL shorteners are way much more than just a shortening tool.

You can create bio links, test landing pages via A/B testing, add CTA’s for special offers and discounts, route and redirect traffic etc. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s a 14 day free trial link for you to explore different ways to use a URL shortener.

Khadija Anwar

I am Khadija Anwar, B2B Copywriter. I started my career as a freelance writer in 2019 and built a strong portfolio. I have crafted multiple blogs, website content, fashion magazines, news outlets, SEO content, and technical documentation. Last but not least, my favorite cartoon character is Dopey Dwarf, resembling my real-life character- calm, happy, and lively.

Are you seeking to strengthen your branding efforts? Building brand authority using vanity URLs for brand awareness is the best way to do it. Having a vanity URL makes your brand unique, trustworthy, and easy to interact with the digital community. However, if you want to boost engagement and create more awareness for your brand, complex URLs are not the way to go. 

Online users are less likely to engage with URLs that look suspicious. Hence, your branding efforts can go in vain. 86% of online users take brand authenticity as a significant factor in choosing a brand. 

However, a vanity URL for brand awareness can be your savior as it allows you to create short branded links that bring trustworthiness and credibility.

What is a URL Address?

URL refers to a universal resource locator and is a unique address for your website. The URL structure of a website includes several components, i.e.

• The protocol e.g. (HTTP and HTTPS)
• The domain name
• Top-level domain
• The path.

What is the Purpose of a Vanity URL?

The prime purpose of using a vanity URL is branding and marketing as it is easy to remember, use and share. 

Besides improving user experiences and engagement, intelligent marketers use vanity URLs to share content and track them. It allows users to evaluate performance as people engage with them. Custom URLs can track the actions of a visitor, which is quite handy when you need to determine the performance of your ads as they are brilliant in data gathering.

Reasons to Use Vanity URLs

Now that we have understood the concept, here are a few noteworthy advantages of using them in our social accounts.

Easy to Use and Share

Nowadays, there is an increase in the usage of vanity URLs. They are shorter, easier to remember, and more trustworthy. They comprise proper and meaningful words rather than random numbers shared even verbally. The image above is a perfect example of how easily comprehendible the URL is.

The ease of sharing comes in handy on a platform that limits the number of words you can share, e.g., Twitter. Of course, it would be best if you edited longer and more cumbersome URLs. However, people are not reluctant to share short URLs.

Easier to Remember

Consider the scenario where someone tells you a website and you do not note it down, and later when you need it, you can’t seem to remember it. Similarly, sometimes we are lost for words to type into search engines to find things of interest. Easy to remember web addresses, it is highly probable to leave a long-lasting impression.

Vanity URLs are also easy on the eyes. Twisted or scrambled web addresses that make little sense are ugly to look at, not to mention difficult as hell to remember.

The other thing you can do is create open-source social networks.

Builds User Trust

The other great thing about branded shortened links is that they increase brand recognition. Sharing engaging and relevant content with your branded domain associated with it will increase brand visibility and improve brand recognition.

A branded link instills trust, which in return increases your CTR. In addition, being willing to share your brand name with your link guarantees you are leading them to the destination suggested in your link.

Related: 9 Ways Brands can use Replug to ascend their Brand Recognition

How Do I Create Vanity URL?

Creating a vanity URL is easy. You need a high-level domain, along with a branded domain name, webpage relevant keyword and SSL certificate for that domain. Using URL Shorteners like “Replug” it’s easy to create custom Vanity URLs.

For example, if data shows that your sales page is the most visited page on your entire website, you can create a vanity URL for brand awareness and share it across your social media platforms.

Three simple steps to create a vanity URL for brand awareness are elaborated below.

Branded Domain Name:

The first step is to incorporate your business name into the domain. The domain name should be incoherence with your business to reflect your brand identity. Include the exact name of your business in the domain for brand recognition.

High-Level Domain:

The next step is to choose the high-level domain type. So it could be an educational site, a news page or a blog. etc using the suffix to domain name (such as .link, .click, .lol, .news, .blog, and so on).

Keyword:

The keyword or phrase used after backslash signifies the nature of the landing page. This brings clarity to the visitor’s mind about the type of page.

Here is another example of converting complex irregular URLs to simple and beautiful branded ones that are much easier to remember.

Do not confuse Vanity URL with a vanity domain as vanity domains are named after the owner’s name. e.g., https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/ or https://neilpatel.com/

Guidelines for Using Vanity URLs for Brand Awareness

Brand Awareness is the familiarity of consumers with a brand to such an extent that the brand name becomes the household name. Every brand owner dreams of their brand name becoming a real word; this concept is called proprietary eponym.

Vanity URLs are a perfect way to achieve brand awareness and marketing goals. But they have to be used in a certain way to extract their maximum potential. Here are a few recommendations on using them in the best way.

Vanity URLs are a great way to promote your brand. Each link you share is an opportunity to market your brand. Using a branded link enough times makes your audience get used to it and teaches brand awareness. Below are guidelines for using vanity URLs for brand awareness.

1. Create Branded URLs

Brand clarity means nothing else than that your brand works. Every aspect of your brand, from your design to your strategy to your brand experience, should be aligned. Unfortunately, nowhere does this concept truly apply while creating vanity URLs.

It is imperative to display your brand’s name in full words. The redirection should also be in the URL to which the visitor will land once they click on it. The keyword used after the backslash can achieve this. There are a few words to play with, so you have to be clear and concise.

2. Avoid Creating Unnecessary Vanity Links

The purpose is to create branded links, but it’s unnecessary to stuff them everywhere. For example, if a link you want to share is already compact and delivers the message, there is no need to create a vanity URL in this case.

However, if you use a link shortener like Replug for analytics or link management, it’s better to edit the link.

3. Create SEO-Friendly URLs

Are Vanity URLs bad for SEO?

Short answer, No. There’s a common misconception that redirecting a link in this way can hurt your SEO. Vanity URLs are used for sharing a clean, tidy and branded link that brings visitors to a less appealing URL. According to several ranking specialists, using URL shorteners doesn’t negatively impact your SEO. Search engines consider vanity URLs as regular 301 redirections.

When searching for a particular brand on Google, the search results often include the social media channels of that brand, coincidence? Not really. By having SEO-friendly URLs to your brand on multiple web properties, you should be able to dominate your SERP with your marketing message. There is a strong connection between SEO and URLs as a short and optimized with relevant keywords in the URL positively impacts user experience and SEO.

Here’s an example of a URL that is not optimized for better understanding.

Now have a look at a vanity URL in the image below.

4. Run Social Media Brand Awareness Campaigns

Social media is a great platform to boost your brand awareness efforts. Many social media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter offer users and brands the option to customize their profile URLs. Below are some examples of using vanity URLs to instill brand trust in their visitors.

Instagram

Instagram has emerged as a heavyweight social media network reaching 1 billion subscribers. So it is no surprise that it has attracted so many marketers. Vanity URLs are ideal for making a place with so many eyes to see the content you share.

Instagram demands clean and clear posting as images and links. Using link shortening services such as with Replug, you can create neat custom short links, infuse your brand name in it and share with your audience. Replug also gives you the option to create Instagram bio links.

Here’s an example of Instagram vanity URLs.

Related: 30 Hacks Boost Your Instagram Engagement

LinkedIn

For the B2B community, marketers should capitalize on the LinkedIn market, which has most business and corporate professionals. Grow your brand by keeping your audience engaged with unique LinkedIn post ideas as it’s rated as the most trustable social media platform.

Twitter

Similar to Instagram, Twitter is another popular platform that can spur your brand awareness goals. Majority (59%) of the social media users rely on Twitter to get news. It’s well known that Twitter gives you a few characters to post a tweet. Therefore, when posting a tweet along with a URL, ensure you use a branded short URL. Otherwise, you are wasting characters and you might not deliver your message in the right way.

Here’s an example of Amazon’s campaign using vanity URL on Twitter.

TikTok

 TikTok is another emerging platform that is becoming more popular day by day. As of January 2022, TikTok has 1 billion active users and is increasing. Latching on to the new trends and trending platforms effectively accomplishes your brand awareness objectives.

5. Boost Conversion from Social Media

Social media marketing and ads revenue have skyrocketed in the past seven years and it is here to stay. The crucial thing about social media ads is knowing your audience to create customized ads for each group. Likewise, some social networks offer demographically based ads displaying which helps the cause. But, you might think, where do all these branded URLs fit in?

If you use vanity URLs for social media ads, you can track every click and where it came from. The control of the appearance and text flow is a great reason to use, but analytics (link tracking, sources, etc.) is the most valuable reason to use vanity URLs and shortened links. The image above is one example of using Replug to track, monitor, and convert visitors.

Related: How to Quickly Increase Social Media Conversions in 2022?

6. Integrate Link Retargeting and UTM Tools

Can you track a vanity URL?

The great thing about vanity URLs is that you can track performance. This means gaining data such as clicks, unique clicks, conversion, etc. This allows you to evaluate the links you share and then tweak them to enhance performance. The second part of this activity is to add the people who clicked on the vanity URL in the retargeting list. So even if the link was redirecting to a third-party website, someone was still interested in it to click on it. This technique has proven to increase top-funnel traffic considerably.

Add UTM to URL links you share as they help in tracking, attributing, and accounting for your marketing efforts. Build intelligent UTM parameters and add them to the links you share. Further, boost your LinkedIn retargeting, Facebook retargeting strategies and more with Replug retargeting pixels.

7. Promote Special Campaigns

Some apps let you create specialized campaigns for each type of promotion using vanity URLs for brand awareness. Replug campaigns enable you to segregate ads and associated data in a separate folder.

Amplify your online marketing strategies by creating various campaigns using Replug features such as deep links, traffic routing, A/B testing and much more. For example, let’s say your company wants to promote a new product and is starting a paid social media ad campaign for it. You can create custom URLs specifically for this product and monitor its performance separate from other links you share.

8. Printed Marketing Promotional Materials

Anywhere your brand or website could show up, you create a call-to-action to get people engaged in your social media efforts. So it is time to think out of the box. Many companies distribute merchandise on marketing and promotional events to visitors and potential clients to help them remember the brand. The more people you can create talking, interacting, and sharing your brand, the greater are the chances of your word getting out.

If you have vanity URLs for your brand, you can have them printed on the merchandise and utilize this medium for marketing. The lack of space makes them ideal for printing.

QR code marketing is another way to improve your brand awareness efforts. You can also use your brand’s imprinted QR codes on products like cups, cards, clothing, etc. Here’s an example of imprinted QR codes on disposable cups. Customers can scan the QR code and redirect to a vanity URL.

9. Create Vanity Links that You can Share Verbally

Electronic media such as TV and radio are still the preferred choice of marketers. But, imagine you get air time and the host asks you to describe what you do. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could verbally convey your social channels right there and then?
Many singers, DJ’s, and RJ’s have their social accounts with vanity URLs. This helps them to convey the web address of their official channels verbally. It would be otherwise impossible to say the irregular web address.

The presentation of your brand to the audience should be as frictionless as possible. People are more inclined towards engaging if there is less clutter to what they see. After all, many customers would have converted not through your website but social media.

10. Engage in Comments and Email

People love you and share their opinion on viral videos and news. The comment section is filled with informative and sometimes hilarious comments. This is where most of the community comes to interact. Marketers can take advantage of this congregation and present their cases in a well-formatted way.

Share vanity URLs in the comment section of relevant posts, well-presented to attract potential clients. Branded URLs are a great candidate for this type of promotion as they are short, organized, and contain the brand name to encourage people to click on them.

The same concept applies to email marketing. Email marketing is a tricky business where first you have to establish trust for people to recognize you. Then, they have to be confident enough to click on the promotional link you send in the email. You can achieve this using vanity links.

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Vanity URLs have the multipurpose functionality of pleasing the eye and creating brand trust. In addition, you can use it for social media branding, email marketing and link tracking.
Try using them today so that your business keeps appearing in the right place at the right time.

Wasiq Naeem

Wasiq Naeem is a content and digital marketing veteran who is passionate about his writing. Extensive research and producing high-quality content is just another day at the office for him.