How to Shorten URLs with Your Own Domain

When you shorten a URL with a generic service, the link carries someone else's brand. Your audience sees bit.ly/3xKm9 or tinyurl.com/y6abcd and has no idea it comes from you. When you shorten URLs with your own domain, every link becomes a branded touchpoint — building trust, reinforcing recognition, and earning more clicks. This guide shows you how to set up your own domain for URL shortening, step by step.

Why use your own domain for shortening

Using your own domain for short links delivers three concrete advantages:

• Trust: People click links they recognize. A link from go.yourcompany.com signals legitimacy in a way that a generic shortener domain never can. In an era of phishing awareness, this trust gap directly affects click-through rates.
• Brand consistency: Every short link you share — in emails, social posts, printed materials, or internal communications — carries your brand. Over thousands of links, this creates a significant brand impression advantage.
• Click-through rate lift: Branded short links consistently outperform generic ones. Studies show up to 34% higher click-through rates when the domain is recognizable. That is not a marginal improvement — it is the difference between a campaign that works and one that underperforms.

Beyond these immediate benefits, owning your short link domain means you are not dependent on a third-party domain. If a generic shortener changes policies, gets blocked, or shuts down, your links break. With your own domain, you control the asset.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A domain you own. This can be your main website domain (using a subdomain like go.yourcompany.com) or a separate short domain you have registered for this purpose.
• Access to your DNS settings. You will need to add DNS records at your domain registrar or DNS provider (like Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Route 53, etc.).
• A ShortUrl.bot account. The free plan includes one custom domain, so you can get started without paying anything.

Step 1: Sign up for ShortUrl.bot (free)

Create a free account at ShortUrl.bot. The signup takes less than a minute, requires no credit card, and gives you immediate access to all the tools you need: 60 short links per month, 30-day click history on Free and deeper analytics on paid plans, QR codes, and one custom domain.

Step 2: Go to domain settings

Once logged in, navigate to your account's domain settings. This is where you will manage all custom domains connected to your account. Click the option to add a new domain.

Step 3: Add your domain

Enter the domain or subdomain you want to use for short links. Common choices include:

• go.yourcompany.com — a subdomain of your main website.
• links.yourcompany.com — descriptive and professional.
• yourco.link — a dedicated short domain for maximum brevity.

After entering the domain, ShortUrl.bot will display the DNS records you need to create. There are typically two records:

Step 4: Update DNS records (CNAME + TXT)

Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider and add the following records:

1. CNAME record: This points your short link domain to ShortUrl.bot's servers. For example, if your domain is go.yourcompany.com, you would create a CNAME record for go pointing to the value provided by ShortUrl.bot.
2. TXT record: This verifies that you own the domain. Create a TXT record with the verification value displayed in your ShortUrl.bot dashboard.

The exact steps vary by DNS provider, but the process is the same everywhere: create the record type, enter the name (host), enter the value (target), and save. DNS propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, though most modern DNS providers propagate changes within 5 to 15 minutes.

Step 5: Verify and go live

Return to the domain settings page in ShortUrl.bot and click the verify button. The platform will check that your DNS records are correctly configured. Once verified, your domain is active and you can start creating branded short links on it immediately.

For detailed DNS setup instructions for specific registrars, visit the Custom Domain Shortener page.

Choosing the right domain

The domain you use for shortening affects both link length and brand perception. Here are the main options:

Subdomain vs dedicated short domain

• Subdomain (e.g., go.yourcompany.com): Uses your existing main domain, so there is instant brand recognition. No additional domain purchase required. Links are slightly longer than a dedicated short domain but carry the full trust of your primary domain.
• Dedicated short domain (e.g., yourco.link): Produces the shortest possible links. Requires purchasing a separate domain. Best for companies that share links in character-limited contexts like SMS and Twitter, or on printed materials where space is tight.

Apex domain vs subdomain

An apex domain (also called a root domain) is the domain without any prefix, like yourco.link. A subdomain adds a prefix, like go.yourco.link. Apex domains produce shorter links, but not all DNS providers support CNAME records on apex domains. If your DNS provider supports ALIAS or ANAME records, you can use an apex domain. Otherwise, use a subdomain.

Short domain tips

• Keep it under 15 characters total. The shorter the domain, the shorter every link you create.
• Use a recognizable abbreviation of your brand name.
• Check availability of .link, .to, .co, and .io TLDs — they are popular for short link domains.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers in the domain name. They are hard to communicate verbally.

Managing multiple domains

If you manage multiple brands, products, or business units, you may want separate short link domains for each. For example:

• go.brand-a.com for Brand A marketing links.
• go.brand-b.com for Brand B marketing links.
• internal.yourcompany.com for internal links shared within the company.

The free plan includes one custom domain. Paid plans support multiple domains, each with their own analytics and link libraries. Check Plans and Pricing for details on multi-domain support.

What happens after setup

Once your domain is connected, every link you create through ShortUrl.bot can use your custom domain. Each link gets 30-day click history on Free and deeper analytics on paid plans — click counts, geographic data, device breakdown, referrer tracking, and time-series charts. You can also generate dynamic QR codes for any branded link, and the QR code scans are tracked identically to link clicks.

Your branded links look professional in every context: emails, social posts, presentations, printed materials, and internal documentation. They tell your audience exactly who is behind the link, which builds trust and drives higher engagement.

Ready to get started? Visit the Custom Domain Shortener page for setup instructions, or explore Branded Links to see what you can do once your domain is live.