Choosing the Right Keyword for Your Branded Short Link

Using a short link, but failing to brand it, is a missed opportunity for building consumer trust and increasing conversion rates. Although it can be a pain to take an extra step, going the mile generally engages an audience and leaves a lasting impression.

That is why it’s important to not only brand short links but ensure they are customized too. This starts with carefully choosing your slug.

What is a URL Slug?

Great question. It’s not a bug. Just a weird term for the part of the URL or link that follows the domain extension. When it comes to websites, a slug can be used to optimize the URL by showing Google your site structure and contents of the page in question. After all, URL stands for “Uniform Resource Locator” which is just a fancy way of saying “address to my site.”

URL Slugs and Short Links

A link shortener uses 301 redirects to forward you from the short link to a webpage of your choice (destination URL). That’s usually the nightmarishly long link you are trying to hide from people.

The 301 will ensure your main site gets all the “link juice” which includes brand authority and rank. This means adding a URL to your short link will indirectly improve SEO. However, you can’t just magically pluck these keywords from thin air and create hundreds of short links.

There’s a method to the madness…

How can Using a URL Slug in a Short Link Benefit Me?

Make sure it’s a keyword first. That’s the trick. But what are the best ones to choose from and how should you go about doing so?

Using the right URL slug in your short link can lead to more clicks on your content for a variety of reasons, which include:

• Short links are memorable and easy to recollect. People are apt to recall them at a later time.
• A compelling and benefit-driven keyword immediately shows people what they are looking for. It’s total transparency which rushed consumers deeply appreciate.
• The URL slug itself is what sells the link. It demonstrates value and says to an audience “If you click me, you won’t regret it.”
• It masks a lengthy, confusing, or even scary URL that is off-putting to even the most click-friendly users.

The link itself should never serve as the only reason to click. Always accompany it with relevant content, interesting media, and catchy headlines. People appreciate the value.

Actionable Words

Sometimes the post that surrounds the link is what can hint at possible keywords. It could be the tipping point if you have something actionable inside of the link. This can be especially effective when the original (destination) URL is:

• A poorly optimized page URL that has unclear text describing the contents of the page.
• An affiliate page or link
• A URL with UTM parameters or code in it
• A brand that is unfamiliar to the audience

People are still paranoid about short links and hackers. Your job is to make the link look as clean and concise as possible. This happens when you add your brand name and customize the URL slug with common keywords.

User Preference

Rather than writing a URL slug for the brand, you have to write it 100% for the user. That’s the trick to increasing engagement. Pay attention and give people what they want. This is the main reason why many brands choose the wrong keyword for their URL slug. A company should be asking questions of the audience like:

• What is the benefit of clicking the link?
• How do you convey that message in as few characters as possible?

The number one goal when choosing keywords for your URL slug is to make them memorable. It helps people find you faster and makes content much more shareable. When people can easily recall a brand and the link they built, it creates a lasting impression with valuable convenience. It empowers “word-of-mouth” marketing like never before.