A Custom Domain Strategy for Short Links

Once your links matter — printed on packaging, embedded in email, handed to partners — the domain they live on becomes an asset. A custom short domain gives you recognition at the moment of the click, control over the destination forever, and independence from any shared shortener's reputation.

Here is how to plan one properly rather than registering something clever at 11pm.

Subdomain or separate domain?

Subdomain of your main domain — `go.yourbrand.com`

• Inherits instant recognition; nobody has to wonder who owns it.
• Zero extra registration cost or renewal risk.
• Best default for almost every business.
• Common prefixes: go, link, l, get, try, on.

Separate short domain — `yrbrd.co`

• Shorter, which matters for character-limited channels and print.
• Costs money to hold and must be renewed forever; an expired link domain is a catastrophe.
• Less recognisable, and unfamiliar TLDs attract more suspicion.
• Worth it mainly for consumer brands with heavy SMS or print use.

Whichever you pick, treat it as permanent infrastructure. Links outlive campaigns, and printed links outlive websites.

Setting it up

1. Choose the host, for example go.yourbrand.com.
2. Add the DNS record shown in the dashboard — a single CNAME for a subdomain.
3. Wait for propagation, usually minutes, then let the certificate issue automatically so every link is served over HTTPS.
4. Create one test link and open it on mobile data as well as office Wi-Fi.
5. Set a default destination for the bare domain, so anyone typing go.yourbrand.com lands on your homepage rather than an error.

Full walkthrough: branded short links.

Slug conventions that survive contact with a team

Decide the rules once and write them down:

• Lowercase only, hyphens between words, no underscores.
• No dates unless the link is genuinely time-bound.
• Human-readable over clever: spring-sale, not sprsl26.
• One slug per placement when you need to compare placements, using a suffix such as spring-sale-ig and spring-sale-email.
• Reserve short, valuable slugs — /demo, /pricing, /app — before anyone burns them on a test.
• Never reuse a retired slug for a new campaign; old traffic will follow it.

More on naming and readability in the vanity URLs guide.

Governance

• Ownership — the domain sits in the company registrar account, not a personal one, with renewal auto-enabled.
• Access — decide who can create links and who can edit destinations on high-traffic links.
• Archiving — retire links by pointing them somewhere sensible, not by deleting them. A deleted printed link is a dead end.
• Audit — keep a record of who changed a destination and when; this matters the first time a link points somewhere it should not.
• Monitoring — check that the domain resolves and its certificate is valid on a schedule, not by hearing about it from a customer.

Migrating from a shared shortener

1. Export existing links with slugs, destinations, and creation dates.
2. Recreate them in bulk on the new domain, keeping slugs identical where possible.
3. Use the new domain for all new campaigns from day one.
4. Leave old links live indefinitely — they are printed, embedded, and shared where you cannot edit them.
5. Re-generate QR codes only for artwork not yet printed.
6. Reconcile one reporting cycle across both sets before you stop looking at the old dashboard.

Does a custom short domain affect SEO?

Short links use a permanent redirect, so link equity passes through to the destination. The gain is behavioural: recognisable links earn more clicks in email, social, and print, and every click is attributed to a campaign you control. Do not expect ranking magic from the domain itself — expect better click-through and cleaner data.

Common mistakes

1. Registering an obscure TLD that looks like spam in inboxes.
2. Letting the domain sit in an employee's personal registrar account.
3. Allowing everyone to edit every destination.
4. Deleting old links during a tidy-up.
5. Choosing a name so long that it defeats the purpose.

Ready to set one up? Start with a free tracked link, then connect your domain when the naming convention is agreed.