Available Gtlds For Branded Short Domains
As I mentioned the two letter extensions were originally intended for use for web sites based in those certain countries. However, in 2010 the Columbian government release their extension, .co, for public registration. A number of large brands saw the opportunity to use the TLD as a way to stand out among the alphabet soup of the web.
. . . dot-CO has found the support of global brands from IBM to Starbucks, from Google to Twitter. The most valuable domains those with just a single letter, such as g.co have reportedly been sold for seven figure sums. Amazon bought three: a.co for itself, z.co for Zappos, and k.co for Kindle. 3
Since then, creative use has been made of a number of other two letter extensions.
Identify How Youre Known On The Internet Already
First, you need to identify how youre actually known on the Internet. Is it by your brand name? First or second name? Or perhaps its a nickname?
Since your branded domain will represent your brand, be it business or personal, make sure that you pick what your audience will be the most familiar with.
For instance, in spite of his astonishing personal brand, Richard Branson prefers to use Virgins branded link when sharing content online. In doing so, he clearly communicates that the company is more important than him.
Setting Up Your Branded Shortlink Domain
The purpose of the shortlink domain is to have your own branded shortlinks that point to any URL you want. This helps build more trust with your audience instead of having a generic Bitly or TinyURL link.
So when you sign up, youâll be prompted with a window to create your shortlink domain.
1. Click ‘Get Started’
And now I need to actually create my shortlink domain. We recommend using âgoâ for the subdomain. Itâs easy to remember and takes up very little space.
â2. Once you have added the subdomain name, click ‘Continue’
Note: If the domain is already being used by another user, you will receive an error message.
Next we need to configure the domain. This requires going into the DNS settings of your shortlink domain and creating a CNAME record that points to our subdomain – go.utmlinkmanager.com. This ensures your traffic is accurately measured.
3. Go to the DNS settings of your domain. The video above shows Google Domains. If you use another provider, such as GoDaddy, your view will look different but the instructions are exactly the same.
4. Add the host name . If you chose ‘go’ in the previous window, type that here.
5. The Type is CNAME
6. You can set the TTL to 10 minutes.
7. Finally, type ‘go.utmlinkmanager.com’ in the Data field. Click ‘Save’
8. Once thatâs done, head back to the tool and click âIâve Done Thisâ. You can then verify your link is connected to the app. All done!
Also Check: How To Transfer Domain From Godaddy To Shopify
How To Create A Custom Branded Short Url In WordPress
A custom branded short URL for WordPress is easy to make and has many advantages. Almost any major corporation will have a customized short URL. For example, lets say we have a URL like:
https://Google.com/images/asdfghjkl/
and after we shorten the URL it looks like:
https://Google.com/Cow
The second one looks neater, shorter and is easier to remember. It can be very handy to have custom branded short URLs for your blog. The customized short URLs will make it easier to identify which blog titles are getting the most clicks.
Having a shorter URL is very beneficial. It is easier to remember a substantially smaller URL and that will help the customer remember your brand. Todays world is dominated by social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Twitter has a maximum of 140 characters, which means a shorter URL will be able to take up less room in a Tweet. Luckily it is easy to make a customized short URL for WordPress websites.
There Will Be No Spelling Errors Or The Fact That Your Site Is Being Wrongly Searched
The most common issue with having a lengthy domain name is that people are likely to commit spelling errors when browsing online.
Less chance of domain misspelled errors.
Shorter domain names are easy to remember, even if the spelling is complicated.
Keeping in mind that domain names with 4-5 characters are easier to type and remember.
Also Check: Gulftel Webmail Login
What Are The Benefits Of Branded Short Links
A branded URL can help businesses in many ways such as it can help your brand stand out from others. Moreover, unique URLs are easy to memorize and make brands credible in the eyes of online consumers. People cant recall complex URLs therefore having a custom URL comes with many benefits from improving CTR to increasing engagement on social media posts. Below we have discussed how branded URL Links are beneficial for branding.
A Branded Url Builds Credibility & Trust
A shorter version of your URL brings credibility to your brand. As discussed earlier, the key purpose of a short link is to put your brand out in front. Your company has worked hard to earn the name, fame, and trust of your consumers. But a single marketing step can drain down consumer trust.
Related: How to Use Branded URL Shortener For Brand Awareness
So how does having a short URL fit this scenario?
A custom domain name for your URL can make the URL trustworthy. It might have come under your notice that companies use dedicated domain names for correspondence instead of some generic domain. Even when someone forwards us a link we dont open it until we can associate with the brand. This is where a branded URL showcases your brand upfront and adds a trust factor.
You wont be opening an email from . Whereas, you would consider taking a look at an email that has a more authentic ID such as or . Similarly, you wont be opening a URL that seems suspicious or is not optimized. This takes many potential consumers away from your brand. That is why you should start using branded short links to grab on this market potential.
Read Also: Transfer Wix To Shopify
How To Get Branded Short Domains
If youre all set on how branded short domains can help your brand grow and stand out from the crowd, youll want to snap up variations for all the occasions you can think of. BL.INK takes the work out of branded domains, letting you search through hundreds of unique top-level domains and countless possibilities.
Plus, you get advanced analytics features such as tracking by source and flexible reporting for all your campaigns and special occasions. Ready to link smarter?
But What If You Have A Long Brand Name Or If A Link Extension Is Unavailable With It
In such case, you could try using a country-specific domain extension to spell your brands name.
Wikipedia defines ccTLD as a country code top-level domain that is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory.
Many countries allow to register their ccTLDs without having a physical presence there and thus, might allow you to use them in your link domain.
Heres how to do it:
Take two last letters of your company name and check if there is a country which uses them as a top-level domain. For instance, YouTube could use a Belgian domain .be youtu.be. Virgin uses an Indian ccTLD virg.in.
Rebrandlys domain search tool does it for you. When you type a text in the box the tool verifies if it can be registered with a country code. For example, if you type Seriously and the tool suggests Serious.ly.
You can also filter your results by country to see what what options are available. Theres also a full list of country specific top-level domains over on Wikipedia to help you find out if you could take this approach.
Even if a ccTLD doesnt work with your brand name, you might find something that will work for your business. Lots of startups are turning to .io as their choice of TLD, so much so that this ccTLD for British Indian Ocean Territory is often associated with tech startups.
Read Also: What Is The .io Domain
S To Build Brand Awareness With Short Domains
Your business may have a number of social profiles- Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn. As well as promoting your own content youve seen the importance in sharing other peoples content so that you are seen as a go to source of quality and interesting content in your sector.
However, how do you go about creating more brand consistency across all these networks with all these different links?
One of the best ways is by using a custom branded short domain. In this way, your followers and fans will see your brand name in every link you post. Branded short links are well worth the effort:
- They build brand awareness
- They allow you to track clicks across all your networks no matter which tool you use to post.
How Do I Set Up A Custom Branded Short Domain
Coming soon.
A great way to build online trust and brand equity is to create and use your own branded shortened URL. With Shareaholic, you have the option of using your own custom short domain, meaning that your shortened URLs will use your domain instead of our default domain .
A benefit of using your own short domain is that the domain will carry your brand, driving brand impressions, visibility, and, higher click-through rates . Studies show that branded short domains drive up to a 34% increase in CTR when compared to unbranded links.
Don’t Miss: How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Web Domain
Branded Short Domains For Your Business
What is a branded short domain, also known as a custom vanity link? It is an extremely abbreviated url that can represent your company. In the original launch of standardized top level domains, the .com extension was set for commercial businesses. It was one of seven original gTLDs, the others being:1
- .edu: educational institutions
- .int: international organizations
- .mil: U.S. military units
As the price for yearly domain name registrations dropped along with the barriers to online publishing, the demand for domain names grew and new tlds were released to accommodate demand. In 2001 and 2002, four unrestricted domain names were released for general use: .biz, .info, .name, and .pro.2 ICANN also released a number of two letter extensions to be used for various country registrations. It was this release that later opened up opportunities for custom short domain urls.
How Short Domain Names Are More Effective
Short domains typically consist of one or two words or represent a short brand name of between 4 and 5 letters.
Since smaller domains are seriously concise, they provide business owners with several advantages, including
- Short domains are easy to read.
- They are easy to remember which is a massive advantage when vying for attention online.
- Shorter names are simple to include on your marketing materials such as on flyers and business cards where space may be limited.
Lets understand the benefits in detail.
Some of the top companies with short names.
Choosing a domain name can be overwhelming since every situation is different. Truth be told, it is all about assessing the domain names based on your individual requirements to determine whether or not they boast the characteristics appropriate to your blog or website.
Examples Some of the shortest domains names sold and being operated
Owned by Elon Musk, having x.com and GMO Internet a Japan company owns and run z.com for their business are the premium examples of high tech domain names with a single letter.
With that being said, if you are starting a new website or blog, you should focus on choosing a domain name thats short and simple.
If you ask why, here are the reasons:
Recommended Reading: Average Domain Name Price
How Do I Choose The Right Url
Choosing the right domain name can be tricky. Start by researching whats actually currently available you dont want to get your heart set on something, only to find out its not even for sale! Large domain registrars will allow you to search for your business name, word, or phrase, and will show a variety of extensions available.
When you can, its always recommended to purchase the default .com domain extension for your URL. .com is easiest to remember, and is the accepted Internet standard. However, if this isnt available, try to find a creative extension that will complement your URL. For example, popular link sharing service Bitly has the .ly extension , while online profile website About.me uses .me.
Dont be afraid to ask your friends, family, or team to chime in on your domain name ideas. They may suggest something youve never heard of, or have some input of their own.
We Form
Set Up Other Services
Once you have Bitly set up to use your new branded shortened link, you can further ensure your brand recognition by connecting some of your other services.
Buffer
Buffer is the first and easiest service you should configure, if youre a Buffer user. Log in and click on the gear icon in the upper right to access Settings. Click on Link Shortening. You have probably been using Buffers default service, buff.ly. Youll also bit.ly and j.mp as options, with a button to Connect Bit.ly below. Click that button and authorize Buffer to access your Bit.ly account. Once approved, you will see you new custom domain at the top of the list, and already selected.
And thats all you have to do. Now, all of your links shared via Buffer will use your new branded domain, yet still retain complete tracking information.
Hootsuite
To add a custom domain link shortener to Hootsuite, you will need to upgrade your account and add the capability, and unfortunately its not free. It costs $49.99 per month. And unfortunately, Hootsuite also assumes full control over the domain , which means it cannot be used in conjunction with Bit.ly and other services. If Hootsuite decides to change this policy and feature, Ill update you accordingly.
SocialOomph
Don’t Miss: How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Domain
Top 5 Hints For Buying Your Short Domain Name
1. Always try to bag that .com
The -.com and -.co.uk are known as Top Level Domains . These are typically the most memorable as the highest traffic websites in the world opt for .com. That said, if you cant discover a TLD for the short domain youd like, there is now a wealth of alternatives that maybe suited to your industry. Such as .shop, .store, or .io for online shops .photo for photographers .tech for gadget businesses .me for freelancers, and so on.
2. Keep it to 6 characters or less
Heres some research for you about domain length the top five websites across all industries almost always have 6 or fewer characters.
3. Avoid numbers and hyphens
Even if you opt for a four-character domain, you should still avoid using numbers and hyphens, as theyre notoriously easy to get wrong.
For example,www.4you.com may be recalled by some as www.fouryou.com, while www.Hi-Fi.com can easily be mixed up with www.hifi.com.
Its worth noting that hyphens are also sometimes distrusted by website visitors, and only 3% of all URL resales include one or more hyphens.
4. Ensure that your domain reflects your business name
Given that there are no SEO reasons to choose a domain that features your keywords, a more effective short domain will reflect your brand name. For that reason, you may want to think long and hard about what your business name will be, as confusion can reign if you have a long business address than your domain.