Short links are so understated. From brand engagement to SEO optimization, short links are an easy and productive way to engage with leads. Yet, sadly even marketing gurus miss out on using them.
Read on as we unwrap some of the most common questions on short links.
What do you do with super long links?
How to track results?
What if my boringly long link outshines my content?
So, if you’re new to the world of short URLs, stick around for a crash course on growing your brand with this understated marketing weapon.
About short links…
We’ve all come across long links when browsing and clicking content. They’re tedious. Distracting. Unwieldy. Short links, on the other hand, are a marketer’s saving grace. Whether it’s to share helpful information with your niche audience or highlight golden content, short links help smash your marketing targets.
Unconvinced?
Here are five reasons to invest in short links:
- Customize links to your heart’s desire and make them look pretty
- Improve your site’s search ranking
- Enhance your brand’s credibility
- Build brand awareness and measure campaign performance seamlessly
- Quickly redirect users to updated content
What about branded links?
Branded links go an extra milestone. They are short links that feature your brand name or an important keyword. Commonly called ‘vanity URLS,’ they’re kind of like the vanity plates for your car.
Branded links make your content seem more memorable, trustworthy, and pronounceable than other links, enabling you to personalize your brand to the average consumer.
With branded links, you can:
Track campaigns with live individual link data and a built-in UTM builder
Manage links and create a strategy to maximize how your content interacts with users across online channels
Customize your URLs and personalize your brand
Edit the destination of the URL even after it’s live
Retarget pixels to your links
Own your links and avoid looking spammy
Want to do a deep dive? Check out this helpful piece on brand awareness and branded links.
How to actually shorten links?
The short answer is link shorteners. They’re painless tools that save you time when link housekeeping. Plus, they make your content look squeaky clean.
While there’s a whole family of sites that handle URL shortening, you generally need to pay for these services. From providing complete analytics reports to archiving old short links, these tools are an incredible way to track individual link data and contribute to your link management strategy.
But how does this look in real life? Let’s say your company’s called Megahits. With a third-party tool like Linkhawk, megahits.com would change to Linkhawk, and the permalink would get swapped with several numbers or letters (example: megahits.com/about-our-company changes to linkhawk/df9klf4).
Naturally, some link shorteners are better than others. If you opt for a link management and analytics platform, ensure the company has what you’re looking for.
Grow your brand with short links
Stay fresh, stay relevant
Picture this. A potential client is comparing your services to your competitor’s. They’re almost ready to commit. But when it actually comes time for them to say ‘I want in’, which brand will they pick? Your branded, crisp clean links or your competitor’s chain of cluttered long URLs?
When it comes to brand recall, branded links in your communications strategy can help position your brand out there, increasing the chances leads will remember your brand. An easy way to ensure this happens is to use branded links in your social media campaigns and sales follow-up emails.
Stand out from the crowd
According to some studies, businesses that consistently represent their brand across all channels are three to four times more likely to stand out. So why do marketers make the mistake of excluding links from their branding? Simply put, many businesses forget that branding is as basic as it’s essential. Short, branded links can legitimize your content or referral link in a simple but effective way. More importantly, staying consistent with your link strategy can significantly improve your brand awareness and impact your bottom line.
Track click-through-rates
Like with all marketing activities, everything should be done with careful thought. Short links aren’t just about making your brand look good; they’re a vital way to track the number of clicks your content garners. Some link shortening tools like Linkhawk let you track links, showing you how many times one person has clicked your link, where they shared the link, and how other shortened links drive traffic to the same content. Link analytics can even shape your future campaigns, helping pinpoint what’s working and what’s not in your communications strategy.
And if that doesn’t convince you, then remember the beauty of trial and error. At the very least, short links make for a fun experiment, giving you insight into your engagement rates.
Skyrocket your ROI
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly buy clicks. A study conducted by Donuts.Inc, a company focused on generating high-quality internet domains, announced results that paint a positive picture. From a survey of 1,000 respondents, 75% of respondents overwhelmingly preferred short links using real words.
That means that branded, short links are more likely to convert into paid ads than using a legacy unbranded URL. In the long run, branded links give you a measurable return on your investment.
Over to you
It may seem overly simple to shorten a link and then watch your brand grow, but that’s the beauty of it. Short links are an effortless way to make ripples without doing much. With more and more businesses taking advantage of branded links, the question is, will you do the same?
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Want to read more of our thoughts on digital marketing trends? Head over to https://blog.linkhawk.com/ for more tips and treats.
Linkhawk is a link analytics platform. Easily optimize your links, track your campaigns, and keep your links all under one roof with Linkhawk’s personalized dashboard.
