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Texting with Shortened URLs

Shortened links are a great way to make long URLs shorter and easier for the recipient to read, but it is crucial to understand some rules and best practices to ensure successful delivery and a good user experience.

Sending messages containing unbranded URLs is a common technique used for fraud/malicious messages.  Because of this, consumers are less likely to click on the link, because they are not confident of where the landing page will take them to. 

 

Best practices

When sending messages containing shortened URLs in the United States, use a dedicated, branded short domain that belongs to your business. 

According to the Telecom Code of Conduct and U.S. carrier expectations in general, a short link should be both:

  • proprietary
  • properly branded

 

What does "proprietary" mean?

"Proprietary" means the short URL belongs to your business and is not used by unrelated businesses or organizations. Do not send links that have been shortened using shared public URL shorteners, such as free TinyUrl, Bitly, or blinq links. U.S. carrier policies strongly discourage the use of shared public URL shorteners due to the frequency of use by spammers, scammers, and other bad actors. The use of these public shared shorteners will result in a higher risk of filtering, with no recourse if filtering does occur.

 

What does "properly branded" mean?

The domain mentioned in the URL should align with the message sender identified in the text message itself.

For an example of what "proper branding" means, consider an imaginary political organization called Americans for Clean Air, sending call-to-action messages to opted-in subscribers.

This message contains a URL that is not properly branded, because it does not align with the organization name:

“Hi, it’s John from Americans for Clean Air (ACA). Please contact your representatives today to let them know you care about reducing air pollution. For more info: xyz.com/123 - Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

The below message has a properly branded short URL that meets US carrier expectations:

“Hi, it’s John from Americans for Clean Air (ACA). Please contact your representatives today to let them know you care about reducing air pollution. For more info: aca.com/123 - Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”