Summary
The overall consensus is that link shorteners, particularly generic or untrustworthy ones, can negatively impact email marketing efforts. They can harm deliverability by triggering spam filters and eroding sender reputation. This is due to issues such as blacklisting of shared domains abused by spammers, lack of transparency in destination URLs, and the potential for cloaking or sneaky redirects that violate webmaster guidelines. While branded or custom tracking domains are generally acceptable, prioritizing full, descriptive URLs and domain alignment is recommended for building trust and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
Key findings
- Deliverability Impact: Link shorteners can negatively affect email deliverability by triggering spam filters and increasing the risk of blacklisting.
- Trust and Transparency: Obscuring the destination URL with link shorteners erodes trust with recipients and can raise security concerns.
- Brand Consistency: Using generic link shorteners compromises brand consistency and can negatively impact open and click-through rates.
- Control and Reputation: Relying on shared link shortening services relinquishes control over domain reputation and increases the risk of association with spam or malicious activities.
- Guideline Violations: Some link shortening practices can be perceived as cloaking or sneaky redirects, violating webmaster guidelines and potentially harming website rankings.
Key considerations
- Use Branded Domains: Implement custom tracking domains to maintain brand control, build trust, and improve deliverability.
- Avoid Generic Services: Refrain from using generic or untrustworthy link shortener services that are more likely to be associated with spam or malicious content.
- Prioritize Full URLs: Whenever possible, use full, descriptive URLs to provide recipients with clear context and build confidence in the destination.
- Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor the reputation of domains used in email marketing and promptly address any deliverability issues.
- Ensure Alignment: Maintain brand and domain alignment across all elements in emails, including URLs, to reinforce trust and credibility.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
The consensus is that link shorteners can negatively impact email deliverability and sender reputation. While branded or custom tracking domains are generally considered acceptable, generic or untrustworthy link shorteners should be avoided. Transparency in URLs is crucial for building trust with recipients and avoiding spam filters. Using full, descriptive URLs and prioritizing domain alignment are recommended best practices.
Key opinions
- Deliverability Impact: Link shorteners can harm email deliverability, increasing the likelihood of triggering spam filters.
- Trust and Transparency: Transparency in URLs is crucial for building trust with recipients and avoiding perceptions of malicious intent.
- Branded vs. Generic: Branded or custom tracking domains are preferable to generic link shorteners for maintaining brand consistency and improving sender reputation.
- Control and Reputation: Controlling the domain used in URLs allows senders to manage their reputation and avoid issues associated with shared services.
- Alignment: Brand and domain alignment across all elements in emails helps build trust with recipients.
Key considerations
- Use Branded Domains: Prioritize using branded or custom tracking domains for link shortening to maintain control over reputation and improve deliverability.
- Avoid Untrustworthy Services: Refrain from using generic or untrustworthy link shortener services that may be associated with spam or malicious activity.
- Full URLs: Whenever possible, use full, descriptive URLs in emails to provide recipients with clear context and confidence about the destination.
- Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor the reputation of domains used in email marketing to identify and address any deliverability issues promptly.
- Compliance: Understand the deliverability policies and certification requirements to improve deliverability.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that it's much better to have the URL resolve directly without any redirects so it is clear where the user will end up. Having a domain that is known to the receiver is much more trust worthy than a short URL.
14 Feb 2024 - StackExchange
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks emphasizes the importance of brand and domain alignment across all elements in emails, advising against the use of URL shorteners and to use your own domains.
14 Mar 2022 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Bit.ly and similar public URL shorteners can negatively impact email marketing efforts. Their open nature makes them susceptible to abuse by spammers, leading to their domains being blacklisted and potentially blocking emails that use them. It is recommended to use your own domain for link shortening to maintain better control over reputation and avoid association with malicious activities.
Key opinions
- Blacklisting Risk: Services like Bit.ly are prone to blacklisting due to spammer abuse.
- Reputation Damage: Using such services can damage your email's reputation by associating it with known spam sources.
- Lack of Control: Public URL shorteners offer little control over link reputation and destination.
Key considerations
- Use Own Domain: Implement link shortening using your own domain for better reputation control.
- Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor your domain's reputation to ensure it is not being used for malicious purposes.
- Transparency: Consider the transparency and potential user perception of shortened links.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares a link to an article about how bit.ly can get you blocked.
20 Jan 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Bitly links can get you blocked because spammers have abused the service, leading to widespread blacklisting of Bitly's domain. This is due to Bitly's open nature, which allows anyone to shorten URLs, making it attractive to malicious actors. Using your own domain for link shortening provides more control and avoids the reputation issues associated with shared services.
20 Oct 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Using link shorteners can negatively impact email marketing due to cloaking concerns, brand inconsistency, and increased likelihood of being marked as suspicious. Google's guidelines penalize cloaking and sneaky redirects. Mailchimp advises custom tracking domains for brand consistency and improved deliverability. Microsoft Defender flags shortened URLs as potentially malicious.
Key findings
- Cloaking Risk: Link shorteners can be perceived as cloaking if the destination URL is obscured, violating Google's Webmaster Guidelines.
- Brand Consistency: Generic link shorteners lack brand consistency, reducing trust and potentially impacting deliverability.
- Security Concerns: Shortened URLs are more likely to be flagged as suspicious or malicious by security systems like Microsoft Defender.
Key considerations
- Custom Domains: Implement custom tracking domains to maintain brand control and improve recipient trust.
- Transparency: Avoid techniques that obscure the destination URL to comply with webmaster guidelines and build trust.
- Reputation: Prioritize clear and reputable URLs to minimize the risk of being flagged as malicious.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp recommends using a custom tracking domain to maintain brand consistency and improve trust with recipients. This involves setting up a subdomain (e.g., click.yourdomain.com) to handle link tracking, which can enhance deliverability and open rates compared to using generic short links.
8 Jan 2022 - Mailchimp
Technical article
Documentation from Google Search Central explains that cloaking or sneaky redirects are a violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines. Cloaking involves presenting different content to search engines than to users, while sneaky redirects send users to a different URL than the one they initially requested. These techniques can harm a website's ranking and user experience.
30 Nov 2024 - Google Search Central
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