How to use short URLs for marketing: Best practices one must know as a marketer in 2025

Many people are understandably cautious about clicking on links, whether due to annoying website pop-ups or emails from unfamiliar sources. 

At the same time, this hesitation poses a challenge for marketers, as getting users to click on URLs is vital for engagement and conversions.

This is where a free link shortener with tracking capabilities comes into play. It helps you create short URLs quickly and hassle-free. 

These attractive and concise links have become popular among influencers, brands, marketers, and bloggers. These professionals utilize them to enhance marketing efforts, engagement, and click-through rates across various platforms. 

Let’s explore the concept of shortened URLs and the possibilities of using short, branded URLs to boost marketing campaigns.

What are short URLs?

A short URL is a compressed version of a longer web address, created using a URL shortening service like Replug.

These links redirect users to the original URL but take up far less space, making them ideal for social media posts, SMS messages, email campaigns, and print materials. 

The primary purpose of using such URLs is to enhance readability, make links more shareable, and provide a cleaner, more professional appearance across digital platforms. 

The ultimate goal is to enhance user experience and maximize click-through rates (CTR) by making links easier to recognize, trust, and remember. 

In fact, Backlinko reports that the top Google result earns a 27.6% CTR, showing just how impactful optimized URLs can be, especially when they’re concise and keyword-rich.

Importance of Short URLs

• 🔗 Improved click-through rates (CTR): Shorter, cleaner links tend to attract more clicks, especially when customized with relevant keywords.
• 📱 Better user experience: Long URLs can be messy and irritating. Short links are easier to read, type, and share, particularly on mobile devices.
• 📢 Cross-platform compatibility: Short URLs work seamlessly across all channels, from emails and tweets to offline QR codes and posters.
• 🎯 Efficient space usage: Especially useful in character-limited platforms like Twitter, where every character matters.
• 📊 Trackable engagement: The best URL shorteners come with built-in analytics to track performance, including clicks, device types, locations, and referrers.

See Also: How to shorten a link using a URL shortener?

Role of branded short links in digital marketing

Branded short links are more than just shortened URLs. They’re powerful marketing tools that enhance brand visibility, trust, and campaign performance.

• 🧠 Increased Brand Awareness: Branded links (e.g., yourbrand.link/offer) keep your business name front and center, reinforcing brand identity.
• 🤝 Higher Trust & Credibility: Users are more likely to click a link that includes your brand name rather than a random string of characters.
• 📈 Enhanced Conversion Rates: Recognizable, trustworthy links can drive more conversions by reducing hesitation and building confidence.
• 🔍 SEO Benefits & Keyword Relevance: Branded short links with targeted keywords can improve link context and searchability.
• 🛠️ Campaign Differentiation: Marketers can create unique branded links for different campaigns or platforms, making it easier to measure effectiveness and ROI.

How to use short URLs for marketing purposes

In today’s fast-paced digital world, every character counts, especially in marketing. Short URLs not only help streamline your messaging across channels but also offer powerful branding, tracking, and optimization opportunities. 

When used strategically, they can significantly uplift your campaigns’ performance, improve engagement, and boost brand recognition.

Select a branded domain

Branded short links do more than just save space; they make a lasting impression.

Raise trust

Generic short URLs (like bit.ly or tinyurl.com) can appear suspicious to users. A branded short domain (e.g., nyti.ms for The New York Times or amzn.to for Amazon) instantly signals credibility. 

Consumers are more likely to click on links that clearly indicate their source, which reduces bounce rates and enhances user confidence.

Boost brand recognition

A consistent, customized short link reinforces your brand with every share. When your brand name is visible in the link (e.g., yourbrand.link/offer), it becomes a subtle yet powerful marketing asset. 

Over time, this repeated visibility strengthens brand recall and sets your content apart from generic competition.

Create meaningful custom links using a URL shortener

A short URL should still tell a story.

Contextualize

Avoid ambiguous strings like bit.ly/3kYs8dQ. Instead, create links that provide immediate context, like yourbrand.link/fall-sale. 

This not only improves click-through rates but also helps users understand what they’re about to view.

Utilize keywords

Including relevant keywords in your custom URL improves both SEO and user engagement.

For instance, a campaign for a new product launch might use yourbrand.link/new-smartwatch, instantly conveying value while helping search engines index the link contextually.

Take advantage of the tracking & analytics capabilities of a URL shortener

One of the greatest strengths of short URLs lies in the data insights they provide.

Monitor clicks

Track how many times your links are clicked, and when. This helps determine peak engagement hours, ideal publishing times, and overall campaign performance.

Segment data by channel

Most paid URL shorteners (like Bitly, Rebrandly, or Sniply) allow segmentation by traffic source. Whether the link was clicked via Instagram, email, or a QR code on a flyer, you can pinpoint which platforms drive the most traffic.

Track performance

Beyond raw clicks, evaluate metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and conversions associated with each short link. 

For instance, yourbrand.link/discount might drive 10,000 clicks but only 1% conversions, prompting a change in strategy or landing page design.

Monitor multi-channel campaigns

Use unique short URLs for each channel in a multi-channel campaign (e.g., yourbrand.link/email, yourbrand.link/facebook, etc.). This gives you precise insights into what’s working and what needs refinement across your marketing mix.

Refine campaigns

Data from short links isn’t just for reporting, it’s actionable. Low click-through rates on a particular platform may suggest poor copy or ineffective targeting. Conversely, high-performing links can serve as templates for future campaigns.

Gain insights into audience engagement

Are mobile users engaging more than desktop users? Are certain geographic regions clicking more frequently? 

Link analytics can provide rich behavioral insights, enabling you to tailor your messaging and audience targeting more precisely.

Deploy the short links across all marketing channels

Short links excel in their flexibility and universal applicability.

Social media

Character-limited platforms like Twitter and Instagram bios benefit greatly from short links. For example, a post might include yourbrand.link/freeguide to maximize space and visibility without clutter.

Emails

Short URLs keep your emails clean and clickable. They’re especially useful in tracking which links recipients engage with the most, allowing for precise list segmentation and follow-up.

SMS campaigns

Text message or SMS marketing succeeds due to its conciseness. A short, branded link not only fits character limits but also makes the message feel more professional, increasing trust and CTR.

Content marketing

In blog posts or downloadable PDFs, short URLs are easier to remember and type. They’re especially useful in content upgrades or linking to gated assets (e.g., yourbrand.link/checklist).

Print & offline media

Short URLs often back QR codes. But even without a QR code, having a memorable short URL on a poster, business card, or flyer (e.g., yourbrand.link/event) makes it easier for users to engage offline.

Test & iterate

Effective marketing is a cycle of experimentation and refinement.

A/B testing

A/B testing is a method for comparing two or more cases to see which one performs better. Use multiple variations of your short URLs to test different messages, formats, or landing pages. 

For example, test yourbrand.link/save20 vs. yourbrand.link/20off to see which resonates better with your audience.

Stay consistent

Consistency builds familiarity. Stick to a recognizable format and naming convention for your URLs to make them more memorable and reinforce your brand across all campaigns.

Short URLs are more than a space-saving tool; they’re a strategic marketing asset. When branded, customized, and tracked effectively, they enhance trust, boost engagement, and provide actionable insights that help refine your campaigns. 

Whether you’re launching a new product, running a seasonal promotion, or simply sharing blog content, integrating short URLs across your marketing channels ensures your message is not only seen, but remembered and acted upon.

Also read: How to create and use branded short links for SMS marketing

How to use short URLs for marketing campaigns: Some good examples at hand

Let’s explore five successful examples of brands using short URLs to drive marketing results effectively.

Coca-Cola’s “cokeurl.com”

Strategy: Coca-Cola created a custom branded short domain, cokeurl.com, to reinforce its brand identity in digital campaigns.

Use case: In global promotions like the “Share a Coke” campaign, they used short URLs to direct users to personalized bottle pages or social contests.

Why it works: These links were easy to remember and instantly associated with the brand, thereby improving engagement across platforms such as Twitter and SMS.

New York Times’ “nyti.ms”

Strategy: The New York Times uses nyti.ms, a branded short domain, for sharing articles across social media.

Use case: Each shortened link redirects to a full NYT article, especially effective on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where character count matters.

Why it works: Branded URLs, such as nyti.ms/abc123, build trust, signaling to users that the link leads to a reputable source — a key factor in increasing click-through rates.

Amazon’s “amzn.to”

Strategy: Amazon uses the custom short domain amzn.to, powered by Bitly, for affiliate and product links.

Use case: Affiliates and marketers share these links on blogs, YouTube descriptions, and social media to drive sales and earn commissions.

Why it works: These URLs are concise, trackable, and clean, enabling both Amazon and its partners to monitor traffic, conversions, and optimize campaigns in real-time.

Spotify’s campaign-specific short links

Strategy: Spotify uses short URLs for sharing playlists, artist pages, and marketing campaigns, often through branded or campaign-specific domains.

Use case: During the launch of new features or artist collaborations (e.g., “wrapped” campaigns), Spotify uses custom short links to drive mobile traffic.

Why it works: These links enhance shareability and enable Spotify to collect user data, including location and device information, for retargeting and analytics purposes.

Pepsi’s QR & short link integration in campaigns

Strategy: Pepsi integrates short URLs alongside QR codes in product packaging and TV commercials.

Use case: During promotions like the “Pepsi Stuff” rewards program, they used memorable short links to direct users to sign-up pages and promo details.

Why it works: Combining visual codes with short, branded URLs ensures a seamless user experience, especially for mobile users who may not be able to scan a QR code (at times) but can easily type a simple URL.

The best URL shortener for online marketing in 2025

Replug.io is an all-in-one link management tool designed for brands, marketers, SEO specialists, and bloggers to create, manage, and analyze short URLs. 

It’s a comprehensive URL shortening tool that provides several link management services to upgrade your social media marketing to the next level.

Thousands of happy customers worldwide trust Replug for the link shortening task. One major reason for its success is that it offers much more than the average URL shortener freely available online.

Users find URL shortening, tracking, bio links, and much more under the same umbrella. It’s, without a doubt, the best URL shortener for social media marketers.

Key features

• Precise URL shortening
• Custom domain configuration for branded short URLs
• Bio link tool to create social media bio links
• Retargeting feature to facilitate retargeting on social media platforms
• A/B testing URLs to compare URL performance
• Link rotator to rotate links for testing purposes
• White-labeling for large-scale organizations
• URL analytics to track and monitor URL performance
• QR code management for links
• Customizable call-to-actions

Pricing

• Free: $0/month
• Essentials: $9/month
• Scale: $23/month
• Agency: $79/month

Wrapping up

To sum up, short URLs have become vital tools for modern marketers, helping improve brand visibility, track campaign performance, and enhance user engagement. 

By integrating branded short links into your digital marketing strategy, you can establish trust, drive higher click-through rates, and measure success with precision. 

No matter for social media, email campaigns, or influencer collaborations, short URLs simplify link management and boost overall marketing efficiency. 

As 2025 continues to reshape online marketing, choosing the right URL shortener is crucial for staying ahead. 

Replug offers everything you need, from branded links to advanced analytics, making it the ultimate solution for professionals. 

Try this amazing URL shortening tool today and advance your link management game!

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