Branded URL Success Stories: How Real Businesses Boosted Engagement with Custom Links

Billboard advertisement for a short URL in a busy city intersection, featuring a vibrant branded domain name surrounded by pedestrians. The image highlights the modernity and energy of urban life, with dramatic shadows enhancing the overall composition.

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How branded URLs changed digital marketing results

Branded URLs aren’t just shorter alternatives to long links—they’re trust builders, click boosters, and traffic analyzers. From major publishers to local businesses, companies are tapping into the strength of URL shortening with added branding to control their customer experience. Today, we’re going to explore real-life branded link case studies that show how this strategy works in actual campaigns.

Whether you’re just thinking about link management tools or looking for evidence before switching platforms, these stories show how OpenMyLink branded URLs and other custom short links directly affect engagement, conversions, and branding.

Outdoor retailer REI needed a way to share promotional links across social media and email that didn’t scare away users with suspicious-looking URLs. They branded all their shortened links as rei.co/ so every touchpoint showed their name at a glance.

Rather than using generic shorteners like bit.ly, REI chose custom short links that gave users confidence. Over six months, REI saw:

  • A 25% increase in click-through rates
  • A marked reduction in bounce rates through consistent messaging and URL branding
  • More resharing of links on social channels due to recognizability

The takeaway? Branded URLs aren’t about vanity—they build credibility. Consistent branding even in your links builds recognition and nurtures trust, especially for mission-driven brands like REI.

Bitly’s success with HarperCollins: Real-life branded URL examples

Bitly worked with HarperCollins Publishers, helping them shift from using standard short links to custom branded links across digital marketing campaigns. Everything they shared, from tweets to author interviews, switched to hc.books/ domains. This small change had massive impacts.

The brand saw:

  • A 34% boost in email click-through rates when replacing generic shorteners with branded URLs
  • Improved campaign tracking by segmenting URLs by book genre and author
  • Streamlined A/B testing with intuitive link identifiers such as hc.books/fiction123

What made it work? Link branding allowed HarperCollins to treat each URL like a digital asset, offering data, identity, and loyalty in one.

A SaaS startup in the productivity tech space switched to OpenMyLink to manage their social media links, email campaigns, and product onboarding. They created a short branded domain: get.focus/ and developed individual branded links for demos, trials, onboarding videos, and updates.

They embedded OpenMyLink’s CTA overlays and custom splash pages to keep the brand experience seamless. Within the first quarter of rolling these out:

  • Signups from Instagram Stories and TikTok bio links rose by 43%
  • Link-sharing compliance with affiliates improved with branded URL consistency
  • Their support team used device targeting features for onboarding tutorials based on user device types

They used analytics from OpenMyLink’s dashboard to monitor what content worked best. Their CTO mentioned, “It became less about branding and more about understanding behavior through links.”

How a travel agency increased conversion with URL branding

An independent travel agency started using URL shortening tools with custom domains to promote curated travel packages. They branded their links as go.withus/ across email, YouTube and paid ad campaigns.

Instead of unmemorable strings of characters, campaign links became go.withus/summeritaly or go.withus/luxurydeals. These improved both readability and tracking performance.

Here’s what happened:

  • Email CTAs using branded URLs saw a 48% higher click-through rate
  • Meta ad campaigns delivered 23% lower cost-per-click due to higher link trust
  • Customers called to ask about deals using link names — the branding stuck

For smaller businesses without massive marketing budgets, this is evidence that simple branding wins.

What these branded URL case studies teach us

Looking at these success stories with branded URLs, it’s clear this strategy works in more ways than one:

  • Trust: Familiar domains reduce hesitation to click
  • Recognition: Customers start linking the brand to offers organically
  • Functionality: Platforms like OpenMyLink offer QR generator tools, API access, and advanced targeting based on geolocation or device
  • Control: Retargeting pixels and CTA overlays bring users back into your funnel, all through a branded link
  • Data: Every click feeds insights into what works—and what doesn’t.

You don’t need to be a major publisher or tech company to succeed with branded links. What matters is your consistency. Tools like OpenMyLink let businesses of any size apply these URL branding strategies across all digital channels.

If you’re still sharing links that look like random noise, ask yourself—would I click this if I didn’t know the brand? Switch to OpenMyLink and turn your links into assets, not afterthoughts.

FAQs about branded URLs and how they work

What are branded URLs?
Branded URLs are shortened links that use a custom domain name connected to your brand, rather than a generic shortener like bit.ly.

Why are branded URLs better than generic short links?
They build brand recognition, increase trust, and improve link engagement. Studies show branded links earn more clicks and reduce bounce rates.

How do OpenMyLink branded URLs help my business?
OpenMyLink provides branded short links, analytics, and advanced marketing tools like call-to-action overlays, geotargeting, and link retargeting to help track and improve marketing campaigns.

Can I track the performance of my branded links?
Yes. You get full analytics through dashboards like OpenMyLink’s, including click counts, locations, devices used, and referral sources.

Do I need technical knowledge to launch branded short links?
No. Tools like OpenMyLink make it easy to connect your domain and start shortening custom branded links with an intuitive interface.

How do businesses use branded links for marketing?
They include them in social media posts, paid ads, email campaigns, and QR codes to track performance while keeping messaging consistent.

Start branding your links today and give every URL the power of your name. Get started with OpenMyLink and make your links perform like your brand deserves.

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