Years of phishing emails have taught people a reflex. If they cannot read a link, they are less likely to click it. A string of random letters on a shortener's domain tells the reader nothing about its destination, so careful readers ignore it and cautious ones delete the message. A branded short link solves that problem at the only moment that matters, the half second before the click, by showing a name the reader recognizes.
What is a branded short link?
A branded short link has two parts you control. The domain identifies you, or at least something the reader trusts, and the slug after the slash explains what the link is for. digily.bio/spring-sale is branded twice over. The domain is recognizable, and the slug clearly leads to a spring sale. There are three levels:
- A branded shared domain. digily.link, digily.bio, digily.shop and the other 12 domains on the domains page. They are available on every plan, including Free, with a slug of your choice.
- A subdomain of your own domain. go.yourbrand.com/offer. This is available on the Starter and Pro plans and requires one DNS record, as described in the custom domain documentation.
- A short domain you own outright. yourbrand.com/offer, if the name is available from a domain registrar. The setup is the same, but it uses an A record instead of a CNAME.
What does the research say?
The numbers come from companies that sell branded links, so treat them as a general indication rather than gospel, but the direction is consistent. Bitly reports that links on a custom domain receive about 2.3 times as many clicks as links on its generic domain. Rebrandly's widely quoted study found an improvement in click-through rate of up to 39 percent for branded links compared with generic ones, and other shorteners publish figures in the 30 to 40 percent range. The reported gap is largest in email and SMS, where the reader has nothing but the address to judge, and smallest on platforms that already show a preview card.
The reason is simple. A recognizable domain answers the question "Where does this go?" before the click. A generic one asks the reader to trust a stranger.
Why the domain matters
For a US audience, a familiar branded or .com address makes the destination easier to recognize, whether it appears in an ad, on a vehicle or in a store window. Country-code domains can serve the same purpose for local audiences. For example, a .uk or .co.uk address tells a UK reader that the sender is subject to UK law, prices will be in pounds and delivery is domestic. A short domain also fits the display path of a search ad and the character limit of a text message. digily.bio is available to every account, while digily.uk and ukbio.link remain available for campaigns aimed at UK readers.
How to set one up
- Create a free account and add a short link. Choose digily.bio from the domain list.
- Enter the slug. Keep it lowercase, short and descriptive of the offer rather than the date, such as /spring-sale instead of /ss26. The Slug generator turns a longer phrase into a clean slug.
- Paste the destination. If it is on your own website, tag it first with the UTM link generator so the visit appears under the correct source in your analytics. You can also add the UTM parameters in the link settings and keep the destination clean.
- Save the link and test it with the URL redirect checker.
- When you are ready to use your own domain, connect go.yourbrand.com on the Starter plan and move your important links over.
Set a slug convention if more than one person creates links. Campaign first, then placement, is the usual pattern. For example, use /spring-sale for print and /spring-sale-ig for Instagram. This keeps the statistics readable months later. On the paid plans, projects group links for a campaign or client in the dashboard.
Where branded links pay off most
- Text messages. You have a 160-character limit and no preview card. Check the length with the Character counter. A branded link is usually 100 characters or more shorter than a tracked long URL.
- Print, radio and vehicles. "Go to digily.bio/quote" can be read aloud and remembered. A generic address cannot.
- Email signatures and newsletters. The reader sees the domain in the status bar before clicking. A branded domain matches the sender.
- Paid social and search ads. A short branded display address looks deliberate. A generic shortener in an ad looks like an afterthought.
- QR codes. Print the short link under the code as a human-readable fallback. People who cannot scan it can type 9 characters.
- Affiliate and partner links. Partners are more willing to share links that carry your name than links that carry a shortener's.
How to measure the difference
Post the same offer twice in the same place, one week apart, using a generic address once and a branded one once. Then compare the click counts in the statistics. Referrer, country and device reports are collected without a tracking cookie, so you do not need to change anything on the destination page. If the destination includes UTM parameters, Google Analytics will show the same comparison from the other end.
Frequently asked questions
Is digily.bio a real branded domain?
Yes. It is operated by Digily Link and shared by its users, in the same way as digily.uk and ukbio.link. digily.uk is a registered UK domain. Your slug is unique on whichever domain you choose.
Can I use a domain I already own?
Yes, on the Starter and Pro plans. Point a subdomain to Digily Link with a CNAME record, or point the root with an A record, then choose it when you create links. Starter includes 5 custom domains and Pro includes 10.
Do branded links help with search rankings?
Not directly. A short link is a redirect, and search engines follow it to the destination. The benefit comes from clicks by people, not from improved rankings.
How short should a link slug be?
Between 3 and 12 characters is a comfortable range. Shorter is better for print and radio. A longer slug is fine in email, where the reader clicks instead of typing it.
Can I change where a branded link points?
Yes, at any time. The address stays the same, so a link printed on a flyer can point to this season's offer and then the next one.
Final checks
- The domain identifies you or the intended market, and the slug identifies the offer.
- The slug is lowercase and easy to read aloud.
- The destination includes UTM parameters, either in the URL or in the link settings.
- Every placement has its own link so you can compare the statistics.
- Printed materials show the short link as text next to any QR code.
