September 12, 2019
Shortening your link is the first step to enhancing the user experience. It’s a means of consolidating data and transmitting the same information, in a smaller space. But did you know you can take it a step further?
Creating a vanity URL out of your short link can increase the click-through-rate by over 39% on campaigns. That’s why it’s important to not stop at shortening. To make your small link memorable, you have to get creative.
Branded links are the first step to conveying a quick message in a short URL. You can’t always choose the length of a URL connected to your website, so branded links are a good way to tighten up the ship.
Instead of posting a link like this:
www.mybrand.com/training/new_classes/6541Yns7nsjs92681
You would have a shortened link, as such:
brand.co/nsJ547ae
There is still a little mumbo-jumbo at the end, but the brand name is apparent and sticks out. It makes the URL much more memorable.
Many people consider branded links and vanity links the same thing. While the concept is almost identical, vanity links take it a step further by promoting campaigns and slogans over just a brand. For instance, a branded link for the shoe company Nike might look like this:
Nike.co/2K7G1ad
A vanity URL promotes the actual campaign or message, like so:
Nike.co/JustDoIt
Both are much more memorable than a 30-character long URL—which confuses consumers. The vanity link drills down the messaging by focusing on intent over branding.
Another way to create a memorable vanity link is to use keywords that are related to the campaign. Injecting heavily searched words means your short links will rank higher on search engines. Using valuable operative phrases draws in an audience you may never have encountered.
The same goes for synonyms or keywords that are related to the topic. Search engines love this method of SEO. It’s called Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and it’s almost as powerful as keyword marketing itself. Using a keyword with a synonym duplicates your SEO power and creates an association that search engines love.
Short links become memorable on social media when they are branded. In fact, you rarely have to settle for the domain a social platform doles out. It can be shortened and branded for easier access to your social pages (and then onto your website).
Consider when you open a Facebook account. The platform typically hands you a profile URL that looks something like this:
www.facebook.com/6541Yns7nsjs92681
Shortening your social link on Facebook makes it more notable, like this:
www.facebook.com/MyBrand
Not only is the link shorter, digestible, and easier to remember, it has the name of your business attached to it. This creates a connection in the user’s mind and builds a bridge from your social media to your website and ecommerce pages.
Let’s face it. Marketers are scared to advertise a domain or URL in print media. They are long, boring, unrecognizable, and too tough to remember. UNLESS, you shorten the link. Putting a branded short link on print media campaigns connects the physical world to the digital. It reminds people to grab their phone and look you up.
This is particularly effective if you include localization in the branded links. Rather than stating the campaign keyword, take it a step further and add the name of a town or city. This puts your brand on the map and draws in new clientele. People who may have been searching the area (and not necessarily what you sell) could be intrigued to stop by.
Shortening your long URLs is the first step to making your marketing unforgettable. It’s easy to stop at a short link but a little creativity goes a long way. Take the time to create thought-provoking messages in your links, and people will reward you with their attention (and wallets).
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