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Why Random Short Links Make People Trust You Less (2026 Guide)

By gometrify TeamJune 20, 2024
brandingseolinks

When you see a link that says bit.ly/4xJ9Qr3, what's your first instinct?

Probably not "great, let me click that immediately." It could go anywhere. It could download something. It could be a phishing scam. Your brain puts up a tiny wall of suspicion before you even consciously register it.

That half-second of doubt is costing businesses a lot of clicks.

The fix is simpler than you think

Custom short link aliases let you replace the random string of characters with words that actually describe the destination. Instead of bit.ly/4xJ9Qr3, your link looks like yourbrand.co/spring-sale.

The user can now see where they're going before they click. The suspicion disappears. The click happens.

Three real benefits worth talking about

Higher click-through rates. This isn't just a theory. When you can read a URL and understand what's on the other side, you're much more likely to click it. Several marketing studies have put the lift at around 34% — which is a pretty significant difference when you're paying for ad traffic.

Your brand actually shows up in the link. Every single time someone sees your link — on Twitter, in a text message, in an email — they see your brand name. That's passive brand exposure without any extra effort.

Works out loud. If you ever mention a link on a podcast, in a video, or on stage at an event, a random alphanumeric string is impossible for anyone to remember. A clean alias like yourbrand.co/guide is one they can actually type into their phone later.

How to set one up

When you create a link in gometrify, there's a "Custom Alias" field. Just type what you want the back half of the URL to say. If it's available in your workspace, your branded link is ready instantly.

Takes about five seconds. It's one of those small things that makes a surprisingly big difference.

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gometrify Team

Marketing attribution experts and builders of gometrify. We write about advanced analytics, SEO, and ad tracking.

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