What are the pros and cons of using vanity URLs in email, and do they impact deliverability?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 12 Aug 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
7 min read
In email marketing, every detail, from your sender name to the links you include, can influence how your messages are received. Vanity URLs, which are custom, branded short links (like yourbrand.com/promo instead of bit.ly/123xyz), have become popular for their aesthetic and branding benefits. They offer a cleaner, more professional appearance compared to generic URL shorteners.
However, with the increasing scrutiny by mailbox providers on email content and links, a common question arises: do vanity URLs impact deliverability, and what are their overall pros and cons? Let's explore the advantages and disadvantages, focusing on how they can affect your emails' journey to the inbox.
The allure of vanity URLs
Vanity URLs offer several compelling benefits that extend beyond mere aesthetics. Primarily, they significantly enhance your brand's presence and professionalism within your emails. Instead of generic, unbranded links, a custom URL reinforces your brand identity with every click.
From a practical standpoint, vanity URLs are far more memorable and user-friendly. A link like yourbrand.com/specialoffer is easier to recall and type than a string of random characters. This improved readability contributes to higher click-through rates and a better user experience, as recipients are more likely to trust and engage with a link that clearly belongs to a recognized brand. Vanity URLs can significantly elevate your digital marketing success, increasing visibility and audience engagement.
Beyond branding, vanity URLs offer valuable tracking and analytics capabilities. Many platforms that provide vanity URL services allow you to monitor link performance, including clicks and conversions. This data is crucial for understanding campaign effectiveness and optimizing your email marketing strategies. The ability to effortlessly update, redirect, or modify these URLs provides flexibility for ongoing campaign management.
Deliverability and reputation considerations
While vanity URLs offer clear advantages, their impact on deliverability is a critical concern. The core issue revolves around domain reputation. When you use a generic shortener like bit.ly, you're leveraging their established (and hopefully good) domain reputation. However, with a vanity URL, the reputation of that specific domain is entirely your responsibility. If it's a new domain or one with low sending volume, it lacks the historical data that mailbox providers use to build trust.
One common concern is whether using a vanity URL can flag your emails as spam. While the vanity URL itself isn't inherently problematic, the domain it uses can be. If you choose a top-level domain (TLD) that's frequently abused by spammers, such as certain generic TLDs (gTLDs) or country code TLDs (ccTLDs), spam filters (and even recipients) are likely to view your links with suspicion. This is why avoiding .io or other commonly abused TLDs is often recommended.
Another factor is the underlying infrastructure. Vanity URLs typically involve a redirect. The reputation of the IP address and the server hosting that redirect can also play a subtle role. While this bleed-over from the IP address is usually minimal, it's still a consideration, especially if you're using a shared IP that isn't carefully managed. Understanding the drawbacks of using redirects is key to maintaining good deliverability.
It's a nuanced topic, but generally, a vanity URL should perform better than public shorteners in terms of deliverability, provided you manage its reputation well. Here's a comparison:
Vanity URLs (Branded Short Links)
Reputation control: You own and control the domain's reputation, directly impacting trust signals.
Branding: Consistent brand messaging, enhancing recognition and professionalism.
Trust and transparency: Recipients see your brand in the URL, reducing suspicion.
Analytics: Granular data on click performance directly tied to your domain.
Public Shorteners (e.g., Bitly, Goo.gl)
Shared reputation: You inherit the reputation of the shortener's domain, which can be good or bad. For example, Bitly links are generally okay, but others might pose risks.
Lack of branding: Generic appearance, offers no brand reinforcement.
Reduced trust: Random characters can look suspicious to recipients and spam filters.
Analytics dependency: Rely on the shortener's platform for data, which might not be as detailed or integrated.
Practical implementation and best practices
Implementing vanity URLs effectively requires attention to several technical and strategic details to ensure they don't negatively impact your email deliverability. The first step is to correctly set up the DNS records for your vanity domain or subdomain. This typically involves a CNAME record pointing to your email service provider's (ESP's) tracking domain.
A crucial best practice is to always use HTTPS for your vanity URLs. Encrypting your links builds trust with both recipients and mailbox providers. Links that lead to insecure HTTP pages can trigger warnings and may be penalized by spam filters, especially with Google and Yahoo's new sender requirements emphasizing secure links. Remember to check if your tracking URL subdomain alignment is correctly configured, as this can also impact deliverability.
Maintaining a pristine reputation for your vanity domain is paramount. This means adhering to general email best practices: sending relevant content, avoiding spam traps, keeping your lists clean, and ensuring strong engagement. If your vanity domain's reputation suffers, your emails are more likely to land in the spam folder, regardless of your primary sending domain's health. You need to keep a close eye on how vanity URLs benefit your SEO and track their performance effectively.
Important: DNS and HTTPS setup
Ensure your vanity URL's DNS CNAME record is correctly configured to point to your email service provider's (ESP's) tracking domain. Also, make sure HTTPS is enabled for all your vanity URLs. If your ESP doesn't offer HTTPS for custom tracking domains, it's a significant deliverability risk. Improperly encoded URLs can also impact deliverability and spam filtering.
Example CNAME RecordDNS
clicks.yourbrand.com. CNAME track.esp-domain.com.
Advanced insights and troubleshooting
Even with proper setup, continuous monitoring of your vanity domain's reputation is crucial. Tools like Google Postmaster Tools can help you track domain reputation metrics, including spam rates and IP reputation for your linked domain. Identifying issues early allows you to take corrective action before they severely impact your email program.
One potential pitfall for newer vanity domains or those with low sending volumes is the economy of scale on metrics. If you send a small number of emails and receive even one complaint, that single complaint has a disproportionately larger impact on your domain's reputation compared to a high-volume sender. This makes it even more vital to maintain excellent list hygiene and engagement for vanity URLs. Always consider how URL shorteners and domain reputation collectively impact your email deliverability.
Ultimately, the decision to use vanity URLs boils down to balancing branding benefits with deliverability considerations. As long as the vanity domain has no abusive history and you prioritize strong sending practices, it's generally a beneficial strategy. Here's a summary of key factors affecting deliverability related to links:
Factor
Impact on deliverability
Vanity URL consideration
Domain reputation
Directly affects inbox placement. A poor reputation can lead to blocklisting.
You control this. Requires consistent good sending practices.
TLD choice
Certain TLDs are associated with spam and can trigger filters.
Avoid cheap or commonly abused TLDs (e.g., .io).
HTTPS usage
Secure links build trust; insecure links raise red flags.
Essential. Ensure your ESP supports HTTPS for your vanity tracking domain.
IP reputation
The IP of the redirect server can have a minor influence.
Mostly inherited from ESP; less direct control, but worth noting.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Ensure the vanity domain is distinct from your primary sending domain but still clearly branded to your business.
Always use HTTPS for your vanity URLs to ensure secure link tracking and build trust with mailbox providers.
Regularly monitor the reputation of your vanity domain using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
Maintain consistent, high-quality sending practices for all emails, especially those using vanity URLs.
Common pitfalls
Using generic or frequently abused top-level domains (TLDs) like .io for your vanity URL.
Having a new vanity domain with low sending volume, which makes it more susceptible to reputation damage from a few complaints.
Failing to implement HTTPS, which can lead to warnings from mailbox providers and negatively affect deliverability.
Ignoring the domain's reputation, assuming that because it's a link domain, it doesn't need to be warmed up or monitored.
Expert tips
Consider that while a vanity domain doesn't need 'warming up' like a sending IP, its reputation is built solely on your practices.
Remember that even a small number of complaints on a low-volume vanity domain can have a significant negative impact on its standing.
Always align your vanity URL domain with your primary sending domain for maximum brand consistency and deliverability benefits.
Be aware that third-party ESPs might use shared IPs for their click tracking, which could subtly affect your vanity URL's reputation.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says branded short links are significantly better than generic short links like goo.gl or bit.ly, as you gain full control over the reputation associated with your domain.
2019-05-29 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says while there might be some minor influence from the underlying IP address the vanity URL points to, it's generally not a major factor in deliverability.
2019-05-29 - Email Geeks
Balancing brand and deliverability
Using vanity URLs in your email marketing can be a powerful strategy for enhancing brand recognition and user engagement. They offer a professional appearance and valuable tracking insights that generic shorteners simply cannot match.
However, their impact on email deliverability hinges entirely on how meticulously you manage their associated domain reputation. By ensuring proper DNS setup, enforcing HTTPS, selecting reputable TLDs, and maintaining rigorous sending practices, you can leverage the benefits of vanity URLs without falling victim to spam filters or blocklists (or blacklists).
The key is to proactively monitor your domain's health and respond swiftly to any potential issues. With a strategic approach, vanity URLs can indeed be a valuable asset in your email marketing toolkit, helping your messages not only reach the inbox but also reinforce your brand's credibility with every click.
