Branding
What are branded links?
Branded links put your domain and a readable slug on every share so the URL looks like the rest of your marketing.
Zipy editorial · 2026-03-18 · 6 min
Key takeaways
- A branded link is your host plus a slug you chose.
- People remember go.brand.com/sale more than an anonymous hash.
- SSL and a verified domain are part of the product, not extras.
Why the host is part of the message
A link is copy. go.brand.com/summer looks like the rest of the campaign. An anonymous host looks like a lottery ticket. That gap shows up in click-through on email, SMS, and cards handed across a table.
Branded links also keep measurement inside a host you recognize in reports. You are not guessing which third-party domain sat in last quarter’s ads.
Examples that hold up offline
go.brand.com/sale for a seasonal drop. links.company.com/demo for a sales deck. visit.brand.com/menu for a table tent. Each one can change destination without reprinting the card.
What setup actually involves
You add a hostname, publish a CNAME, wait for HTTPS, then create slugs on that host. Health checks tell you when DNS or the certificate fails. Multiple hosts are useful when agencies keep client brands separate.
Related: how-branded-links-improve-trust · what-is-a-url-shortener