5 Tips to Create Memorable Brand Links for Your Business
The online world is a competitive place where everyone has something to offer or find. Our eyes cross over hundreds of webpage URLs on a daily basis, and it's difficult to remember them all. In fact, people don't even notice many website links at all, which can be bad for your business.
Many links are too long to fit in web browsers’ address bars or social media posts, necessitating use of shortened URLs created with popular URL shorteners like bit.ly and TinyURL. The move towards shortened URLs was a step towards customization of online links, even though the shortened links are generic and often used by malicious individuals in online scams.
As opposed to generic short links, brand links allow registration of your own short domain that can later contain suffixes or related terms that help people associate the links with your company or brand. Brand links are usually built around a brand’s actual name, such as nyti.ms/ui78 or pep.si/fgn7.
Benefits of Using Branded Short Links
Many popular URL shortner services like Bitly allow you to add brand links free of charge, although you must purchase a Branded Short Domain (BSD) from a third party domain registrar like GoDaddy and 101domain. BSD is the domain that takes the place of “bit.ly” or “bitly.com” in a shortend URL.
The main benefit of using brand links is that you get your own distinctive namespace that represents your brand, while reducing the number of characters in your shortened links. Saving link characters is especially important when it comes to sharing links on social media sites like Twitter.
Moreover, putting your brand in links helps to increase trustworthyness, brand awareness and loyalty. According to News Cred, brand recognition is the second most important factor impacting brand loyalty and purchasing decisions for Millenials after quality products and services.
More importantly, though, brand links get double the number of clicks (higher click-through rates) than generic URLs.
Steps to Create Memorable Brand Links
As you can now tell, it can be very beneficial for your business and professional image to use brand links.
Here are some simple tips to help you create a brand link that’s going to stick in everyone’s mind and bolster your brand (be it personal or business).
1. Draw inspiration from your own brand
This one is rather simple. In case your company name is short like it's the case with Pepsi, creating a domain name should not be a trouble. The soda brand uses pep.si, which is obviously memorable. Having this kind of URL makes creating campaign links much easier. All one has to do is add a suffix named after the campaign keyword and it makes an ideal branded URL.
2. Ask the audience
Gather a trusted group of people that includes your target audience. Have them take a look at a few examples of branded URLs to see which one they would pick as the easiest to remember, or which sounds the most natural to your brand. The voice of your audience is very important because, according to research, 75% of consumers around the world make their purchasing decisions based on brand name. Building a recognizable short URL gives you an advantage not only with your loyal customers, but also with those who appreciate your effort and read it as a sign of quality.
3. Use online tools
There are various domain name generators you can use to create a brand link. Some of them allow you to place keywords that serve as a lead that allows the software to create the best-suited domain. Depending on software features, some might even allow you to choose the maximum number of characters to avoid ending up with a longer domain name than you actually need.
4. Keep in mind marketing suitability
Don’t get too attached to your company name, though. There are other things that could serve as an inspiration for your brand links. Think about a catchphrase that could go well with your marketing campaign or company slogan, for example. Make it snappy and easy to read so that the audience can memorize it easily, recognize it instantly and engage with it as soon as they lay their eyes on the link. In addition, to avoid registering a new domain with each ongoing campaign, don’t make the URL too attached to a single campaign. This will help reduce your marketing costs in the future.
5. Provoke an emotional response
People react to emotional triggers very well, and smart marketers can use this to draw attention. Generally, people feel more comfortable with positive emotions, so think of a brand link that evokes emotions along the lines of happiness and laughter (humor). Positive emotions can lead to purchases even if the visitor had no earlier intent to buy, which is an added benefit.
Conclusion
Creating a winning marketing and business strategy includes many variables, and a brand link is one of the aspects that can make a positive impact. Branded URLs create more room for you to share your message, raise brand awareness, increase links click-through rates, and also increase sales and visits. It is a powerful tool you can use to drive your business forward.
