Three pieces. Each one says something.
A short link is one URL the user sees and a different URL their browser ends up on. The hop between them is where the value lives — branding, analytics, the ability to re-point. Each piece of the public URL signals something specific to the person about to click.
Domain
The trust signal. link.yourbrand.com reads as you. A random shortener reads as someone else. The domain decides whether the click happens at all.
Slug → destination
The slug looks up a redirect record. The destination is whatever the dashboard says today — example.com/promo-v2 now, something else tomorrow. The public URL doesn't change.
The URL bar is the first impression — and it happens before the click.
When someone hovers a short link, mobile previews it, or a chat app expands it, they see the domain. A branded subdomain reads as a legitimate brand asset. A generic shortener reads as a phishing risk. The walk-through: why your domain beats bit.ly and branded short links, trust, and the click you lose.
The hop reads as a third party
Most free shorteners resolve on the vendor's own domain. Hover previews, share-sheet displays and click history all show the vendor — not you.
The hop reads as your brand
A subdomain on a domain you own makes the click feel like an extension of your site. Same redirect mechanics, completely different read.
Per-click analytics. Real-time, exportable, yours.
Every redirect logs a row. No paywall on the basics, no third-party pixel, no cookie banner. The dashboard shows aggregates; CSV export gives you the raw rows. Deeper read on the streaming side: real-time link analytics and conversion tracking with QR codes and short links.
Time + day-of-week
When the click happened, accurate to the second. Spot peak-traffic hours and the day a campaign actually fires.
Country + region
Geo derived from the IP, never stored as a raw address. Country-level always, region/city in the dashboard's drilldowns.
Device + OS
Mobile / desktop / tablet split, OS family (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows). Helps you debug "why is the conversion rate weird" by audience.
Referrer
Where the click came from — direct, social, email, partner site. Cross-checks with your UTM strategy so attribution doesn't double-count.
UTM passthrough
UTMs ride on the destination, not the short URL. The public link stays clean; the analytics engine on the other side sees the full attribution.
Per-click vs aggregate
Top-line view in the dashboard, row-level CSV for the analyst who wants to slice it themselves. No data sold, no surprise reporting fee.
Two slug strategies. Pick the right one per campaign.
A short URL is one part domain, one part slug. The slug decides whether the user trusts the link, whether it gets typed by hand, and whether you can use the same link across channels. Both styles have their place — and there's a reason most platforms ship random by default. Full breakdown: vanity short URL strategies.
Vanity slug
Memorable, typeable, brand-friendly. Worth the extra five seconds of setup for anything you'll print, share verbally, or use across multiple campaigns.
- Reads in chat, in email, on signage
- Easy to dictate over a phone call
- Slug doubles as campaign label in analytics
Random slug
Cryptic, fast to generate, ideal for high-volume automated flows. The dice button on the form picks one for you instantly.
- Zero collision risk at scale
- Doesn't leak campaign details
- Right call for SMS, paid ads, programmatic
Clean public URL. Full attribution downstream.
The link people see doesn't need to look like a tracking string. The destination on the other side of the redirect carries the UTM parameters your analytics tool expects. Best of both: the short URL reads as your brand, the click lands with full attribution. Detail: UTM parameters for short links.
What the user sees
link.yourbrand.com/spring
What the analytics engine receives
example.com/landing?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=spring&utm_medium=newsletter
Built for the surfaces a long URL kills.
A 200-character URL with five UTM parameters chokes every public surface — character-limited posts, printed assets, SMS. The short-link layer takes the hit so the public URL stays usable.
Instagram, TikTok, Twitter
One memorable URL beats a Linktree page that the user has to click through. Update the destination per launch — bio stays the same.
URL shortener for Instagram bio →One-segment messages
SMS charges per 160 chars. A branded short URL fits the link plus copy in a single segment, often halving the per-message cost at scale.
URL shortener for SMS →Newsletters + transactional
Track which subjects drive clicks without showing a tracking-mess URL to the recipient. UTMs ride on the destination, the public URL is clean.
Tracking links in email →One record, two surfaces
Every short link can be exported as a QR. Or start QR-first at the QR code generator. Same dashboard, same analytics.
URL QR vs short-link QR →More from the short-link side of the blog.
Newest writing on branded domains, vanity slugs, attribution and the operational stuff most shorteners hide.
Things people ask before they save.
Is the generator actually free?+
Yes — the free tier covers short links, QR codes, basic analytics, and a your-handle.linked.codes subdomain. The lifetime tier unlocks higher event volume, your own custom domain, and the whitelabel surface.
Can I run my links on my own domain?+
Yes — bring a custom domain or subdomain on the lifetime tier. One CNAME record, every link from that point on resolves on your URL. Walkthrough: setting up a custom short-link domain.
What analytics do I get?+
Per-click timestamps, country, device family, referrer, UTM passthrough, and CSV export of the raw rows. Real-time view + historical aggregates. Detail: real-time link analytics.
Will my links survive if I switch domains?+
Yes — every link keeps its slug. Move the public-facing domain without breaking existing redirects. The platform-owned linked.codes short URL can also act as a fallback while DNS propagates.
Should I use a vanity slug or a random one?+
Vanity for anything you'll print, dictate, or use across multiple channels. Random for high-volume automated flows and anywhere you don't want the slug to leak campaign details. The dice button on the form picks a random one instantly.
Will short links hurt my SEO?+
No — 302 redirects pass through correctly and search engines follow them. The myths around shorteners "breaking" SEO are mostly about expired-link risk, not the redirect mechanic. Detail: short-link SEO — myths and facts.
Can I set links to expire?+
Yes — every link can have an expiry timestamp. After that, scans return a configurable expired page or a redirect to a follow-up URL. Useful for flash sales, time-limited offers, and event-day links. Detail: time-limited short links.
Can I track devices separately?+
Yes — and you can send different destinations per device family. App-store deep links for iOS vs Android, desktop landing vs mobile shop. Detail: device-targeted short links.
Branded short links on your own domain.
Free to start. Lifetime tier for your own domain and higher event volume.
Get started free →