Are you looking to enhance the effectiveness and branding of your shared links?
Learn how to make your links more descriptive, memorable, and on-brand to boost engagement and drive results. Whether you’re a marketer aiming to boost click-through rates or a content creator seeking to strengthen your online presence, using Replug to rename a link can transform your digital strategy.
Let’s find out how to rename links in no time!
Rename your link: What does it mean?
“Rename your link” refers to the action of changing the default or original URL of a webpage to a more personalized and descriptive one. This process involves customizing the link’s text to better reflect its content, purpose, or target audience.
By renaming a link, you make it more informative, engaging, and relevant to those who come across it. This can lead to higher click-through rates, improved user experience, and enhanced branding for your content or website.
In essence, renaming your link is about optimizing its visibility and impact in the digital landscape.
How to rename links using Replug?
Replug.io is a comprehensive link management and tracking platform designed to empower marketers, content creators, and businesses to maximize the effectiveness of their shared links. With it, you can create, customize, and track the performance of your links across various channels.
Here’s how to rename links using Replug:
Step 1: Sign in to Replug if you already have an account, or create one if you’re new to Replug.
Step 2: Select the campaign you want to associate your link with or create a new campaign if needed.
Step 3: Enter the link in the “URL to shorten” section below “Select your campaign” and click “Create”. Optionally, add UTM parameters to track link performance.
Step 4: Your link will be shortened. Click the edit icon and type the URL slug you want to use in the link.
Step 5: Once you’ve customized the link, copy the new shortened URL and click “Update”. Your renamed link is now ready to be shared.
A complete link management solution
for marketing professionals & agencies.
Try Replug for free
How to rename links in Google Docs?
Step 1: To begin, open your document and navigate to the link you want to rename. Simply click on the link to reveal the link options.
Step 2: After clicking on the link, a menu with options such as Copy link, Edit link, and Remove link will appear, along with a preview of the linked webpage or document. To rename the link, locate and click on the “Pencil” icon.
Step 3: In the editing menu, you’ll see three fields: the text field, the URL field, and the clickable URL. Click on the “Text” field to access the text editing mode.
Step 4: Once you’ve clicked on the “Text” field, you can edit the text of the link. Use the backspace key to delete the existing text and type in the new text to rename the link according to your preference.
Step 5: After you’ve renamed the link, click on the “Apply” button to confirm the changes. Your link will now be updated with the new text, and the changes will take effect in your Google Docs document.
Using Replug to manage your links offers several advantages:
Link optimization: Replug offers a top-notch tool to create short link with absolute precision. Besides, it provides various options to customize and optimize your links, including link shortening, branding, and tracking features. This helps to make your links more visually appealing, recognizable, and effective in driving engagement.
Branding: With Replug, you can create custom-branded links that reflect your brand identity, increasing brand visibility and credibility when sharing content across different channels.
Performance tracking: Replug offers detailed analytics and insights into link performance, allowing you to monitor metrics such as click-through rates, geographic location of clicks, and conversion rates. This data enables you to assess the effectiveness of your link-sharing efforts and make informed decisions to optimize your strategy.
Call-to-action integration: Replug allows you to add customizable call-to-action overlays to your shared links, directing traffic to specific actions or landing pages. This feature enhances the effectiveness of your links in driving conversions and achieving your marketing goals.
Link rotation: Replug’s link rotation feature distributes traffic evenly among multiple destination URLs, enabling you to conduct A/B testing or distribute traffic to different landing pages based on predefined rules.
A complete link management solution
for marketing professionals & agencies.
Try Replug for free
Frequently asked questions
Why should I rename my links?
Renaming links can make them more descriptive, memorable, and aligned with your brand. This can improve click-through rates, enhance branding, and provide a better user experience.
Can I track the performance of renamed links?
Yes, Replug provides detailed analytics and insights into the performance of your renamed links, including click-through rates, geographic location of clicks, and more.
Can I use Replug to rename links in bulk?
Yes, Replug offers features for bulk link management, including renaming multiple links simultaneously, making it efficient for larger-scale projects or campaigns.
Have you ever wished your web address was shorter, catchier, or just fit your brand better?
Well, guess what? You can actually edit those links, just by following a couple of easy peasy steps!
This guide will show you how to easily edit URLs using Replug.io.
What’s Replug.io?
Replug.io is the ultimate solution for your link editing, branding, and retargeting needs. A feature rich URL editor to boost your online presence, just using links in multiple ways.
What’s a URL, and what does that mean?
A URL is basically the online address of any webpage or piece of content you see.
Ever wonder how you land on your favorite websites?
URLs are kind of like the addresses of things you find online, but instead of Google Maps, they use letters and numbers on the web.
They help locate what you are searching for, whether it’s a brand, social media platform or a blog.
So next time you click on a link or type something in the address bar, remember, you’re using a URL to navigate the vast world of the internet!
Here are some key things to remember about URLs:
They’re unique: Every webpage has its own special URL, like a fingerprint.
They can be long: Sometimes URLs can get a little messy with lots of codes and stuff, but that’s just them doing their job of being super precise.
They can be short: Some websites use special tools to make URLs shorter and easier to remember.
Reason to change or edit URL links
There are various reasons why you might find yourself needing to edit a URL.
There are lots of reasons to give your URLs a makeover! Maybe you want…
A shorter, snappier address: No one wants to type out a super long URL!
More flexibility: Regardless of the motive, the ability to edit URLs provides flexibility and control over your online presence.
A more descriptive name: Make it clear what people will find when they click.
Optimize it for search engines: Create a more user-friendly link, or align it with your branding strategy.
How to edit links?
One of the primary features Replug offers is the ability to edit the URL slug. The slug is the user-friendly part of the URL that comes after the domain name. With Replug, you can easily customize this part to make your URLs more SEO-friendly.
Log in to your Replug account.
Create a “Brand”.
Then, create a “Campaign.”
Next, create a short link by adding the original URL & click “Save Link”.
Now you’ll get a short link with the Replug domain i.e. replug.link/ your slug. You can edit this URL at this stage or any other time.
You can further edit your slug at any time of the campaign. Access the dashboard and click “Replug Links.”
Select the link you want to edit, and navigate to the “Edit” option.
By editing the slug, you can create URLs that not only convey the content but also contribute positively to your search engine rankings.
Did You Know?
You can add your branding to Replug with the White Label Solution. From a logo to your own branded domain, add personal branding with flexibility using Replug.
Maximize marketing ROI
by transforming ordinary URLs into branded short links that convert.
Try Replug for free
Edit URLs with your branded domain
Another noteworthy feature of Replug is the option to use a branded domain. This means you can replace generic URLs with a custom domain that reflects your brand identity.
Here’s how you can do it:
Go to the “Custom Domain” at the top right corner from the Replug Dashboard.
Next, click on the “Add Domain” button.
Add on the details for connecting “Custom Domain.”
Now, create a campaign by choosing the custom domain.
Now, you have to create a Replug link by using the “Custom Domain” campaign, which you created in the previous step.
Edit the URL link, you just created. Edit URL with your keyword connected to your domain name.
Now it has yourdomain.com/yourkeyword. Save link to complete the process.
By incorporating your brand into the URL, you not only enhance recognition, but also establish a sense of trust among your audience. Replug allows you to edit URL at any further time through “Replug Link” sections.
Start tracking, managing and editing links now with a 14 day free trial!
End note
Editing URLs can be fun and helpful, but be careful not to break any links or confuse your audience. With Replug and a little creativity, you can make your web addresses shorter, sweeter, and more unique!
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit any URLs?
Not all URLs can be edited, especially for websites you don’t own. But Replug works great for links you control, like your shortened link.
What’s a personalized URL?
A personalized URL can include your name or keywords related to your content. It’s like adding your own touch to the address.
Which URL shortener or link shortener is best for editing URLs?
Replug is probably the best link shortener because it’s easy to use, lets you edit slugs and use branded domains, and offers tracking tools to see how people are clicking your links.
How do I track my URL?
Replug shows you how many clicks your edited URL gets so you can see how well it’s working.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to the internet. Undoubtedly, it’s a scary world out there when it comes to online fraud.
One of these malicious activities is “URL Phishing.” Hackers and data stealers use fake URLs that look authentic and real, but they trap the users into clicking on them.
Once you click on that phishing link, something bad will happen.
Your password, account, money, private information – something has been compromised.
Awareness is a virtue when it comes to URL phishing. The more you know, the better you’re equipped to fight this evil.
But first things first, let’s understand what URL phishing is.
What is URL phishing?
URL phishing is a malicious URL tactic to trick people into clicking on the links while posing as a legitimate source of information or the original brand that they’re trying to check out.
In some cases, hackers try to pose as a familiar brand to entice the audience to provide the users’ login details, such as usernames and passwords to get into their accounts.If you have problem memorizing your passwords and you use easy passwords, it’s better to use password manager tools, to have secure passwords all in one place and save your sccounts.
Once they have access to their accounts, they can steal the info, money, or anything they want.
Sometimes, hackers create similar brands using similar domain names, logos, or business names to trick people into buying from them or providing sensitive data.
Learn about URL hijacking to be well aware of this topic.
Different types of URL phishing
Hackers and attackers trick people into clicking or downloading their files or software in different ways. It’s essential to know about several types of URL phishing that are being used to carry out these hacking attacks.
Here are different types of URL phishing users must be aware of:
Email phishing
Email phishing is a type of URL phishing in which attackers use the email medium to attack their victims. They usually send out an email to the recipient posing as a legitimate business and entice the recipient to click the link in the email before it’s too late. The majority, 94% of organizations, fell victim to such phishing attacks during 2024
Spear phishing
Spear phishing is a targeted attack aimed at an individual person in the organization, with the objective of stealing their login credentials to infiltrate the internal communication or data. The purpose of the attack is to meticulously collect information about the target, such as their name, position, and contact details, to help support the phishing attack.
Angler phishing
Angler phishing involves showcasing anger on a public forum to sound legitimate in everyone’s eyes. The attackers exploit social media platforms to engage with individuals or companies to trick them into believing in their counterfeit URLs, cloned websites, fraudulent posts, and fake tweets. These tactics aim to manipulate users into disclosing sensitive information or downloading malware.
HTTPS phishing
Since HTTPS provides a sigh of relief to buyers or customers when they spend money on the internet, attackers exploit the power of HTTPS to pull off their phishing attacks. The perpetrators send deceptive emails containing links to counterfeit websites with HTTPS-secured URLs. As a result, some users fall into the trap of entering their private information without doing some due diligence on this.
Code injection into the victims’ websites or blogs has been around for a long time. Pharming is a type of URL phishing that does pretty much the same thing. In fact, it involves the installation of malicious code on a victim’s computer, redirecting them to a fraudulent website designed to harvest login credentials. Therefore, a victim ends up sharing the login credentials or sensitive payment information with the hackers.
Whaling
Whaling is a type of online phishing that involves attacking a high-profile executive within an organization. Since executives have more access or privilege as compared to sub-ordinates, hackers exploit the executives’ credentials to get access to classified data or sensitive details. As a result, the organization may lose valuable information to a whaling attack.
Smishing
Smishing is a type of attack that occurs through text messages or SMS. Cybercriminals and hackers often use this phishing technique on non-tech-savvy individuals who would click on anything they get. AI scams on the Elderly have also seen a rise through smishing, as older adults are more likely to trust and respond to seemingly urgent messages. As a result, hackers trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or downloading malicious content. It often leads to losing access to their devices or leaking sensitive data.
Phishing websites reach out to users through different mediums, such as social media platforms, emails, text messages, online ads, etc.
In addition to common delivery channels, phishing-links may also originate from services on the dark web, where threat-actors share and distribute malicious URL lists, command-and-control domains and exploit kits.
The anonymity of this layer makes detection harder, so compromised links may already have been circulating in underground forums before surface-web victims see them.
Most URL phishing victims are new internet or mobile users who don’t have much idea about these suspicious activities.
Some scammers use URL shorteners to mask malicious links and disguise the destination link as part of their phishing tactics to deceive people.
Statistical data from Statista.com reports that popular URL shorteners like Bitly (53%), TinyURL (9%), Ow.ly (9%) and other URL shorteners (29%) are used for URL phishing scams.
Despite the risks involved, no one can deny the importance of short URL’s with the advent of social media platforms, revitalized communication, connectivity, and internet messaging channels.
However, there are some robust URL shorteners like Replug that keep such risks at minimum through safety checks and measures which can be used for shortening URLs.
Replug is a complete link management solution that prevents phishing scams through URL filtering, HTTPS protocol, Domain or IP Blacklisting. Also, using third party apps like URL Void, PhishTank etc., ensures safe link shortening with Replug.
The best solution for URL shortener users is to have secure short links in the form of the custom domain and white label features. Replug allows users to add their own branding and creating short URLs with their own branded domains instead of Replug’s domain, with the help of its top-notch short URL generator.
Thus, it minimizes the risks of URLs being considered as spam and ambiguity of random links.
Boost ROI with branded URLs!
Enhance your marketing campaigns by creating shareable, trackable, and fully multi-purpose
customizable branded URLs.
It goes without saying that online security measures are crucial to your business safety and brand positioning. No brand would ever like any other brand intentionally or unintentionally appear like the original brand.
Protection against URL phishing could provide a safety net to stop hackers and intruders from stepping in and trying to get sensitive information to hijack the brand’s identity.
Here are several ways to protect against URL phishing:
1. Access only authentic URLs:
It’s understandable that we can’t verify each and every URL we visit on our phone or computer, but at least try to shop from authentic e-commerce sites and provide personal information on reliable websites. One of the ways to double-check the authenticity of a URL before clicking on it is to Google the website name or URL and see what pops up. Additionally, if you suspect your device has been compromised, learning how to unhack your phone can be crucial in protecting your personal data and restoring your device’s security.
2. Choose a trust-worthy URL shortener:
As discussed above, URL shorteners are widely used tools by digital marketers, affiliate marketers, bloggers, and social media experts. Therefore, always opt for a well-known and safe URL-shortener.
Try to avoid clicking onrandom shortened links from unknown sources, especially those received in spam emails.
Maximize marketing ROI
by transforming ordinary URLs into branded short links that convert.
Try Replug for free
3. Check for HTTPS in the domain:
HTTPS is a must-have domain security protocol for domains. Ensure the website uses HTTPS. Look for the padlock icon in the address bar, indicating a secure connection. However, it doesn’t guarantee that it’s an authentic and real website.
4. Don’t open links in unsolicited emails:
It’s vital to avoid clicking on links in emails from unknown people or unclear sources. Always ensure the legitimacy of the sender by using methods like the SLAM method before taking any action on the email.
Google’s safe browsing endeavor is a savior, especially if you’re an expert on cybersecurity and URL phishing. Activate your browser’s safe browsing feature to receive warnings about potentially dangerous websites.
6. Use anti-virus software on the computer:
Install reputable antivirus and anti-malware software that provides web protection and URL blocking to block malicious URLs. It could keep your data and PC safe from any virus transfer or infiltration.
7. Install a browser security extension:
Adding browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox does help the cause to some extent. Employ a security browser extension that provides efficient browsing security. These extensions can flag potential phishing sites before you access the website.
8. Report suspected phishing activities:
To win the fight against URL phishing, actively file reports to Google, the web hosting company (that’s hosting the site), and the domain registrar that provided the domain registration service to the phishing site owner.
Let’s take a look at the most common ways to report a phishing URL:
1. Report to Google
Google’s Safe Browsing project promotes online browsing security and spreads awareness about safe browsing. The search engine giant has provided a reporting page to report phishing URLs.
To report a phishing URL, go to this page, fill up the form, and submit it to Google.
This way, the search engine would be notified about the phishing website and the team at Google would analyze the URL to determine whether or not it’s a harmful website.
Google can potentially remove the URLs from the SERP that may cause any harm to the end users or derank the specific website in the SERP.
It’s been noticed that phishing websites vanish from the SERP if reported by multiple users on the internet.
2. Report to the web host
Reporting to Google may affect the search engine ranking or organic traffic, but the website may remain active on the internet. The victim of URL phishing must take up the URL phishing case to the web hosting company.
To do this, find out about their web host and report them about the URL phishing. The legit and reputable web hosting companies take strict action against such websites, resulting in the site’s removal or account deactivation.
SiteChecker is a website that allows users to find out about the web host of any given website. All you need is to put in the URL and hit the button.
Most of these websites provide accurate information on the web hosting names, IP addresses, web servers, and nameservers.
3. Report to the Domain Registrar
Besides reporting to search engines like Google and web hosting that’s hosting the phishing website, the victims can report the URL to the domain registrar.
All you need is to find a reputable Whois Lookup tool to find out about the domain registrar of the specific URL.
Whois is a popular domain information website that makes it easier for users to find out about the domain details.
It helps users find out about the domain registrar, registration date, expiration date, nameservers, and other details.
Once the victim knows where the domain is registered, such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, or any other domain registration service, they could reach out to their support team and discuss the matter with them.
The support team will require some additional verification in order to be able to take some action against the phishing website.
Here are a few tips on identifying a phishing website:
1. Examine the URL legitimacy
While a phishing website’s URL gives you some idea about the legitimacy of the website, it’s crucial to know other methods to identify a phishing website.
Not only do these websites use a similar brand name to a well-established business, but also try to pose as a real brand.
Always look out for the inconsistencies or misspellings in the website content. Legitimate websites typically have a consistent and correctly spelled domain name. On the other hand, phishing websites use variations or misspelled versions of legitimate domains to trick users into initiating the purchase.
Googling the brand does wonders if you know how to do a search on Google. First things first, start with typing in the brand name in Google and see what pops up. The original or legit businesses have site links, social media profiles, and brand mentions all over the SERP.
As far as the social media profiles are concerned, closely analyze the spellings. Phishing websites could also create social media accounts for the websites they’re trying to target. The easiest way to differentiate is that the original brands either have verified accounts or a rather larger audience than the fake accounts.
Furthermore, when it comes to brand mentions, the bigger the brand, the higher the number of mentions. So, it’s safe to say that googling the brand name does help in this regard.
3. Check for content quality
Don’t underestimate the power of good quality content. It’s a key differentiator between an authentic and a phishing website.
One of the best tips to identify a phishing website is the low-quality content. Legitimate blogs and websites pay close attention to putting out effective and high-quality content so that they can make an impact.
On the flip side, phishing websites don’t bother putting in the work to create good-quality content. So, anyone who knows content marketing better could tell the difference between good and bad content.
4. Read the privacy policy
Privacy policy could give you a hint about the phishing website. A trustworthy and reputed company would put in the effort to write a privacy policy so that website visitors feel safe when browsing through their site.
Whereas, a phishing website might not even have a publicly-stated privacy policy in the first place, not to mention what they say in it.
A privacy policy states how a website collects users’ information, how they make money, what the purpose of the website is, and what users should be aware of when using this website.
So, look out for the privacy policy when you’re hesitant about a specific website.
5. Watch out for the data requests
User data requests without a need are a big red flag that website visitors should be aware of when browsing through a website.
However, some legitimate companies and online tools do require integration, but these companies initiate this request upon users’ instruction. So, the users know why they should share their personal details with this company.
Attackers and hackers send out hidden data requests through emails, instant messages, and social media DMs by embedding secret codes behind the links.
When users click on the links, they end up sharing specific information with the attacker or data stealer.
6. Verify the company’s contact details
Always go the extra mile when accepting a data request or trusting someone with a link opening, especially if it’s a new contact.
It’s always best to verify the sender’s details before moving forward with your communication or data request approval.
You could always reach out to the company’s website and ask about the person who reached out to you so that you could talk to this person without any ambiguity.
Popular Examples of URL phishing
Let’s take a look at some of the URL phishing example cases:
1. Facebook and Google were scammed by a fake vendor
According to a CNBC article, Facebook and Google were tricked out by a phishing scam, which resulted in a loss of $100 million between 2013 and 2015. The phishing scam was pulled off as the scammer posed as Quanta, a vendor that is used by both Facebook and Google.
The scammer sent fraudulent invoices posing as Quanta to both Facebook and Google and got paid. The fraud was eventually uncovered, leading to legal actions initiated by Facebook and Google in the United States.
2. FACC BEC scam
An article reported a $61 million fraud at an Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer that fell victim to a BEC scam. The phisher tricked an accounts department employee by impersonating the CEO of the company and directing the employee to transfer funds to an attacker-controlled account.
FACC took the unusual step of terminating and suing its CEO and CFO, seeking $11 million in damages for their failure to implement adequate security measures afterward.
3. Amazon Prime Day phishing scam
AstrillVPN shared the phishing scam in a blog post on their website. In October 2021, attackers launched a phishing scam campaign targeting online shoppers during Amazon Prime Day 2021. The phishing email claimed to provide exclusive access to the offers. When users took action on the offer, they were redirected to a different website asking for login credentials and other personal information.
FAQs about URL phishing
Let’s answer some of the frequently asked questions about the phishing URLs:
What does a phishing URL look like?
A phishing URL may look like any other legitimate URL, but it may ask you for login credentials or payment information. Moreover, most phishing URLs try to pose like a popular brand. Watch out for the domain spellings and company logos to identify a phishing website.
What makes a URL suspicious?
Any URL that looks like a popular brand’s URL or appears to be the original brand is a red flag. Sometimes, scammers create websites with the same name as other companies with a different extension to fool the customers.
What happens if you click on a phishing link?
When you click on a phishing link, you’re most likely to provide some kind of access to your login credentials, financial information, or other sensitive data, which shouldn’t be shared with anyone. Companies respond very quickly if they sniff a little bit of breach in the users’ data and reach out to the users/customers to change their account security protocols, such as password, passcode, or secret question.
How do you know if you have been phished?
While clicking on the unknown links from someone you don’t know or they don’t seem like a real business could be dangerous, it’s difficult to know initially when it happens unless you have taken security measures to catch these phishing activities. Most users find out about phishing attacks when they see order confirmations in their inbox or suspicious activities in their credit card statements. Software companies, SAAS tools, and financial apps have security protocols that allow them to quickly detect such illegal and malicious activities and they immediately block out the compromised accounts until the problem is resolved.
How do I know if a URL is safe?
Google the same URL and see if other pages show up in the SERP. Also, type in a search query, “site:URL” and see what pops up. If you see only a couple of dozen pages for a large website, then you should be very careful about it. Moreover, you can check out the pages, such as About, Company Profile, Contact, and Services/Products to analyze the authenticity of the site.
Every day, billions of web requests zoom through our networks, yet just one misguided click can bypass thousands of dollars of cybersecurity investment.
Without adequate controls, employees or users might land on malicious or irrelevant sites. It’s more than just annoying; it can cost both time and expose your systems.
In fact, 96% of large organizations today block at least one type of website to mitigate risk and maintain productivity.
The solution? Intelligent and automated URL filtering: The perfect way to stay in control of what’s accessed, when, and by whom.
Ready to see exactly how this works? Let’s jump in and explore what’s happening behind the scenes.
URL filtering: A brief overview
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is basically the web address, like https://www.example.com/page. Think of it as the exact address for a webpage or online resource.
So, what is URL filtering, then?
Simply put, URL filtering is a security and access-control technique where an organization (or network administrator) decides which web addresses users can visit and which should be blocked. This is done by comparing each requested URL against a database of known safe, risky, or disallowed addresses.
Why is there a need for URL filtering
The need for this amazing technique is quite obvious nowadays.
To allow specific websites:
Grant staff access to trusted business tools and sites, while still enforcing policies.
Enable access to category-based URLs (e.g., professional resource sites) for specific departments or roles.
Fine-tune who can go where. Filters often let you set rules by user, group, or device.
To block certain websites:
Prevent access to malicious or phishing URLs that might deliver malware or steal credentials.
Reduce distractions and non-work-related browsing (e.g., social media, streaming) during working hours to boost productivity.
Limit bandwidth drain by blocking streaming or large downloads that aren’t business-critical.
Meet compliance or regulatory requirements by blocking categories such as gambling, adult content, or other unacceptable content in a professional or educational environment.
It’s easy to think that the internet is just open access, but for organizations that care about security, productivity, and reputation, controlling where people go matters more than ever.
Here’s why URL filtering isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a real business essential:
Shield users and data from web-based threats
By blocking risky or malicious web addresses, you reduce the chances of people landing on fake login pages, ransomware traps, or malicious downloads.
Controls bandwidth waste and lost focus from non-work browsing
When employees wander off to personal social media, streaming, or gaming sites, it eats up bandwidth and time. URL filtering helps guide users toward useful sites, and away from productivity drains.
Reduce your organization’s liability by stopping access to inappropriate content
Whether it’s compliance with regulations or maintaining professional standards, blocking access to unsuitable or disallowed categories of sites protects your brand. It also secures users and keeps you on the right side of the rules and policies.
With that foundation laid, let’s get straight into how URL filtering works in practice.
How URL filtering works
It might seem like blocking a website is as simple as clicking “block,” but behind the scenes, there’s a clear workflow that keeps the process both accurate and efficient.
Let’s walk through the three main steps: URL comparison, policy enforcement, and database & caching.
Step #1: URL comparison
When a user tries to access a webpage, the system takes the exact URL (think www.example.com/page) and checks it against a list of known categories and reputations.
It determines whether that URL is flagged as malicious, non-productive, allowed, or needs review. The check can happen in real-time, even before the full page loads.
Step #2: Policy enforcement
After comparison, the system applies defined rules:
maybe URLs in “social media” are blocked after 3 pm,
“streaming” is allowed only for certain teams, and
all “phishing-risk” sites are blocked entirely.
If the URL is allowed, the user proceeds as usual. However, if not, they might get a block page or a “proceed with caution” warning.
Note: Policies can be user-specific, group-based, time-based, or device/location-based for extra granularity.
Step #3: Database & caching
To keep things fast and up to date, the filtering system uses a database (cloud-based or local) containing URL categories and reputations.
To reduce delay, popular or recently used URLs are stored in a cache, so future checks happen faster. And when the system encounters a URL not in its local list, it may query the cloud service to retrieve the category and reputation, then store the result locally for next time.
In short, it’s a loop of “see URL → check it → apply policy → allow or block,” backed by smart lookups and caching to keep things smooth.
Major benefits of URL filtering
When your organization sets up URL filtering, you’re doing more than just blocking random sites. You’re unlocking real value across security, productivity, and control.
Here are the primary wins:
Better security: Blocking access to known malicious or risky web addresses helps stop everything from phishing attempts to ransomware or drive-by downloads. Studies show this is a key reason companies adopt filtering.
Higher productivity: Filtering helps cut down on those sneaky distractions (social media, streaming, endless browsing), which means people spend more time doing work and less time sneaking off.
Bandwidth optimization: When the network isn’t choked with large downloads, videos, or non-essential traffic, you free up bandwidth for mission-critical tasks like video calls, cloud apps, and collaboration tools.
More vigorous policy enforcement: Having clearly defined rules about what can and cannot be accessed helps you enforce your acceptable-use policy, reduce risks, and stay consistent across users and devices.
Coverage for endpoints everywhere: Whether someone is in the office, working from home, on a laptop or mobile device, URL filtering can protect those endpoints too. This ensures remote or mobile users follow the same web-access rules.
Advantages of advanced URL filtering
If basic URL filtering gives you a simple “block or allow” decision, the advanced one takes it a step further, bringing smarter, faster, more adaptable control over web access.
Here’s how it excels:
Instead of static rules that rarely change, advanced filtering lets you craft flexible policies based on user roles, time of day, device type, or department. This means your rules stay relevant and practical.
Advanced solutions use real-time threat feeds, machine learning, and behavioral analysis to identify malicious or risky URLs, far beyond simple category blocking.
The advanced filtering adapts to context: who is accessing, where they are accessing from, and under what conditions. That means someone in HR may have different access than someone in R&D.
These systems don’t just look at the URL text; they can inspect encrypted (HTTPS) traffic, check for hidden threats or evasive techniques, and evaluate more than surface-level patterns.
Advanced URL filtering integrates with other security tools (firewalls, endpoint protection, SIEM systems). This is so that information is shared, policies are aligned, and your defense works together, not in silos.
Whether your organization has one office or many remote workers, advanced filtering scales. It adapts as your needs grow and supports distributed, cloud-hybrid environments.
The system can automatically update reputations, categorize new URLs, trigger actions with minimal human effort, and learn over time. This ultimately reduces manual workload and boosts speed.
Additional URL filtering vital features & capabilities
When you dig a bit deeper into modern URL filtering, you’ll find it offers much more than simple allow/block lists. These extra capabilities give you stronger control, better insight, and more thoughtful decision-making.
Here are the key features:
Granular control: Instead of “everyone sees the same web,” you get the power to set rules for particular groups: by user role, device type, location, or time of day. This means HR might have different access than Sales, for example.
Customizable policies: You’re not stuck with a one-size-fits-all policy. You can carve out custom rules, maybe allow a site for a project team, restrict a sub-page of a domain, or create exceptions.
Real-time threat intelligence: Because threats evolve quickly, modern filtering tools integrate with live feeds and reputation services to spot newly malicious URLs and apply policy without waiting for manual updates.
Reporting & monitoring: You get dashboards and logs showing which sites are being accessed, which were blocked, by whom, and when. That way, you’re not just enforcing rules, you’re tracking what happens and adjusting accordingly.
SSL inspection: Since so much of the web is encrypted (HTTPS), good URL filtering solutions also inspect encrypted traffic (after decryption) so hidden threats inside secure connections don’t slip through.
Bandwidth quota & duration: It’s not just simple blocking or allowing, you can also set limits like “this category gets 500 MB per day” or “only 2 hours of access after work hours” so you manage resources and usage more smartly.
Multiple action options: Rather than a strict yes/no, you get variations: show a warning (“caution”), let a user ask for override permission, or apply a softer block for certain categories. This gives flexibility without losing control.
That wraps up the significant benefits and amazing features of URL filtering. Next up, we’ll look at common use cases of this technique, so you can see exactly how these benefits apply in real-world scenarios.
Everyday use cases of URL filtering
Web access isn’t just black-and-white these days. Many businesses use URL filtering to handle scenarios where control, security, and productivity all matter.
Here are some typical situations where URL filtering comes into play:
Blocking specific URLs or categories of websites: Organizations can block access to particular sites or entire groups of sites (for example, “all sites in the gambling category”) so users cannot open them anyway.
Preventing visits to malware- or phishing-laden sites: By checking URLs against threat lists and categories known to host malicious content, you prevent users from landing on sites that could infect devices or compromise credentials.
Restricting access to explicit or illegal content: Whether it’s adult content, illegal downloads, or other unacceptable material for a professional or educational setting, URL filtering keeps such content out of reach.
Limiting access to social media or other non-work-related sites/apps: To increase productivity or optimize network resources, companies may restrict access to entertainment sites, online games, or social platforms during work hours.
Best URL filtering examples
When it comes to practical success, seeing how URL filtering has helped actual organizations makes all the difference.
Here are five strong examples of how companies and institutions have applied it, and what they gained.
Example 1: Large manufacturer improves accuracy and productivity
A global manufacturing firm deployed a hybrid web-filtering solution (including URL filtering) via Blue Coat and its intelligence network. They reported over 90% accuracy in URL classification, reduced help-desk complaints about latency, and cut their URL blacklist-maintenance costs by 90%.
Example 2: Educational district boosts compliance and performance
In Texas, Pearland ISD rolled out next-gen firewalls with URL filtering and other protections. They saw stronger compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and improved network performance for both staff and students.
Example 3: Retail & manufacturing company tightens browsing control
Bata India Ltd implemented URL + application filtering across its many retail-store locations. Their goal was to achieve better control over browsing, fewer distractions, unwanted traffic, and improved bandwidth usage.
Example 4: Finance firm secures network with integrated URL filtering
A.C. Choksi (a financial services firm in India) adopted URL filtering as part of a larger security appliance. They addressed exposure via web, improved productivity, and achieved better visibility into internet usage.
Example 5: Survey shows broad industry use and productivity gains
A survey of 645 organizations across North America & Europe found 89% have web filters (including URL filtering) in place. 96% of large enterprises block at least one web service. Among companies that don’t filter, 26% estimated staff spent 7+ hours/week on non-work sites, after filtering, that dropped to 18%.
URL filtering vs DNS filtering vs Web filtering
Here’s a friendly comparison of URL filtering, DNS filtering, and web filtering, showing how they stack up across key aspects:
Aspect
URL Filtering
DNS Filtering
Web Filtering
Definition
A process that blocks or allows access to specific web addresses (URLs) based on a predefined list or category.
A method of preventing access to domains by intercepting and evaluating DNS queries before a connection is made.
A broader technique that controls or restricts user access to websites or web content (URLs, domains, IPs, categories) in accordance with policy.
Scope of control
Looks at complete web addresses (including path and page) so you can block or allow individual pages.
Works at the domain level. If you block “example.com”, you block all its pages.
A broader term that can include URL filtering, DNS filtering, content scanning, etc. It covers all kinds of web access controls.
Granularity
High — you can permit some pages while blocking others within the same domain.
Lower — you generally block or allow the entire domain. No selective page control option available.
Varies — depending on the system, might offer coarse or fine control, but typically less granular than URL filtering alone.
Performance
Slightly slower because it often inspects HTTP/HTTPS content or complete URLs.
Usually faster. Blocking happens at the DNS lookup stage, before full page load.
Performance depends on how deeply the inspection goes (e.g., file scanning or content inspection). Can be more resource-intensive.
Ideal use case
Ideal when you need to allow a domain but block specific sections, or when only parts of a site are risky.
Good when you want broad, quick blocking of known bad domains across the board.
Fits when you need a comprehensive web-access policy with multiple layers (domains, pages, content types, devices).
Regulatory compliance
Strong — you can target specific unacceptable content (pages/paths) while leaving other parts open.
Limited — blocking entire domains may be overly broad and block legitimate content, making compliance tricky.
Variable — if the tool includes deep inspection and logging, it can help meet audit or regulatory requirements.
Best for
When you need fine control and want to filter at the page-level (for example, a mixed-use domain with both safe and risky content).
When you need a fast, domain-wide filter layer to stop known bad domains or as a first line of defense.
When you need full web traffic control, i.e, blocking, logging, inspecting, across many devices and web types.
How does URL filtering help block malware and phishing attacks?
When someone clicks a link, the URL filtering system checks the address against a constantly updated database of known bad URLs (such as phishing sites or malware hosts). It also evaluates its reputation and historical behavior.
If the URL is flagged as dangerous, access is blocked before a user ever lands on the page or downloads anything harmful.
For URLs not yet flagged, some solutions use real-time analysis (including content inspection or machine learning) to spot suspicious traits (such as forms mimicking legitimate services or new domains rapidly created for attacks), and can then block them too.
In short, by comparing URLs, enforcing rules, and using live intelligence, URL filtering acts as a gatekeeper that prevents users from walking into phishing traps or letting malware sneak in.
How URL filtering assists businesses in enhancing their cybersecurity defenses
Sometimes, it’s not just about blocking sites! Good URL filtering lays a strong foundation for cyber defense within an organization.
Here’s how it steps up the game:
By restricting access to dangerous or infected sites
By checking every web address against up-to-date threat lists, URL filtering stops users from reaching websites known to host malware, ransomware, or exploit kits. This reduces the chances of infections before they hit.
By mitigating phishing risks & identity attacks
Phishing often starts with a fake URL that tricks users into entering credentials. URL filtering can identify and block those malicious links or suspicious domains, helping stop credential theft and fraudulent access.
By continuous adaptation to the dynamic cyber threat landscape
Since attackers constantly spin up new URLs and schemes, modern filtering tools use real-time feeds, behavioral analytics, and cloud intelligence to keep pace. This certifies that newly malicious URLs get blocked quickly.
By designing & implementing adaptive security rules
Not every user or device needs the same level of web access. URL filtering allows you to craft tailored policies (by role, location, time, or device) so you grant the right access while locking down risky windows.
By enforcing security without hindering productivity
The best filtering doesn’t just say “no” to everything. It guarantees employees can access the web resources they need, while keeping distractions and hazards out. This balance means your team stays safe and able to work at its full potential.
With these things in place, URL filtering becomes more than just a tech box. It turns into a key layer of defense that works alongside firewalls, endpoint protection, and user education.
Limitations of URL filtering: Common challenges at hand
It’s true that while URL filtering is a valuable tool, it doesn’t solve everything. Here are some of the typical problems you’ll want to be aware of:
Too much blocking (Over-blocking): Sometimes filters end up blocking legitimate websites or useful content simply because they get lumped into a blocked category. That frustrates users and slows down work.
Keywords gone wrong (Incorrect site blocking): A site might get blocked simply because it contains a word considered “risky,” even if its content is perfectly okay, making filtering a blunt instrument at times.
Missed threats (Under-blocking or “not blocking sites that should be blocked”): New malicious URLs, encrypted threats, or cleverly hidden pages can slip through filters, leaving gaps in your coverage.
Evasion tactics by attackers: Bad actors use tricks like changing domains, using encrypted traffic, or bypassing filters with proxies, meaning filtering alone can’t always keep up.
Performance and resource load issues: Scanning every URL, especially over encrypted traffic, can slow networks, require additional hardware, and increase IT workload.
Maintenance and upkeep: Databases need constant updating, rules need tweaking, and monitoring is required. Without this ongoing work, filtering can weaken over time.
Wrapping Up
To sum up, URL filtering plays a massive role in keeping businesses safe online, from blocking malware and phishing sites to improving productivity and controlling web access.
While it’s not perfect and comes with a few challenges like overblocking or constant upkeep, its benefits far outweigh the downsides when managed right.
With the right setup, it becomes a vital part of your overall cybersecurity strategy, protecting both your data and your team’s workflow.
If you’re looking for a reliable way to manage and monitor links, give Replug a try. It’s not just a top-notch custom URL shortener for generating short URLs, but it also helps businesses with URL filtering and smarter link management!
Frequently Asked Questions
What does URL filtering do?
URL filtering checks the exact web addresses (URLs) users attempt to reach and either permits or blocks access based on a predefined list or category rules. It helps organizations control where users go online, prevent access to dangerous or inappropriate sites, and enforce web-access policies.
Should I enable the URL filter?
Yes! If you want to restrict web access for security, compliance, or productivity reasons, enabling URL filtering is a smart move. It offers an added layer of protection and control over internet usage. However, make sure to balance rules so you don’t block legitimate work pages and that you maintain the filtering database and policies.
What is the difference between a firewall and URL filtering?
A firewall primarily controls network traffic based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols (at the network or transport layers). In contrast, URL filtering operates at the application layer to permit or block specific web addresses or pages. In short, firewall = broad traffic control; URL filter = fine-grained web content control.
What does it mean if something is infected with a URL blacklist?
If a URL is on a blacklist, it means it’s been identified as unsafe, perhaps hosting malware, phishing, or other risky content, and your filter will block access or flag it accordingly. It doesn’t mean your device is infected; it just means the link or site you tried to visit is known or suspected to be bad.
What are the default elements for URL filtering?
The typical default elements include:
– a database of known URL categories and reputations, – pre-defined allow/deny lists by category, and – a mechanism to apply these rules automatically to user requests.
Also, default block pages or notifications often come configured, so users see a message when access is denied.
How often should I schedule URL filtering?
You should regularly review and update URL filtering rules and lists. Ideally, daily or weekly for the reputation database, and monthly for policy reviews. This keeps you protected from new threats and ensures your rules continue to reflect your organization’s needs.
What is URL filtering customization?
URL filtering customization means tailoring the filtering rules to your business’s specific needs:
– Selecting which URL categories apply, – Setting different rules for user groups or devices, – Creating exceptions, and – Adjusting actions (block, warn, allow).
This helps ensure filtering is both effective and practical for your users.
What are the limitations of basic URL filtering software and tools?
Basic tools may:
– Over-block legitimate sites (false positives), – Under-block new or obscure threats, – Struggle with encrypted traffic, and – Require extensive manual updates
They may not inspect content deeply or integrate with other security systems, so they can’t cover every angle of web-based risk.
Why stand-alone URL filtering falls short?
When deployed alone, URL filtering lacks integration with other security systems, such as intrusion detection, sandboxing, or endpoint protection, so advanced threats might slip through. It also often fails to inspect encrypted traffic or adapt quickly enough without support from broader security tools.
Does URL filtering address the different types of security threats?
URL filtering helps block many web-based threats, such as malicious websites, phishing links, ransomware delivery pages, and non-work content that poses a risk. But it cannot replace other security measures. It’s not enough on its own to address threats like insider attacks, vulnerability exploits, zero-day malware, or lateral movements, so it works best as part of a layered defense.
Knowing how to create website links is vital in today’s digital world. Whether you’re working with documents, using your smartphone, sending emails, or even building web pages, the ability to connect users to web content is essential.
This guide offers simple, step-by-step instructions for creating website links in four critical contexts: Microsoft Word, HTML for web pages, smartphones, and emails.
Discover how to make online interactions more efficient, engaging, and user-friendly. Whether you’re a web designer, a content creator, or an everyday user, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in!
How to create a link to a website in HTML?
Creating a link to a website is a simple task, and it’s typically done using HTML if you’re working on a web page.
Here’s how you can create a basic hyperlink:
In this HTML code:
“<a>” is the anchor element, which is used to create links.
“href” is an attribute within the anchor element that specifies the URL (web address) of the website you want to link to. Replace “https://www.example.com” with the actual URL of the website you want to link to.
The text “Visit Example.com” is the visible link text that users will see on your web page. You can replace this with any text you prefer.
Here’s a breakdown of the steps:
Step 1: Replace “https://www.example.com” with the URL of the website you want to link to.
Step 2: Replace “Visit Example.com” with the text you want to display for the link.
Once you’ve added this HTML code to your webpage, the text “Visit Example.com” will be a clickable link, and when users click on it, they will be taken to the specified website.
Step 3: Remember to save your HTML file with a “.html” extension and open it in a web browser to test the link.
How to create a link to a website in Word?
Here’s how to create a link to a website in Microsoft Word:
Step 2: Select the text or image you want to turn into a hyperlink. Highlight the text or click on the image.
Step 3: In the menu bar at the top, click on the “Insert” tab and Look for the “Link” or “Hyperlink” option (the label may vary depending on your Word version). Click on it.
Step 5: A dialog box will appear. In the “Enter Link” field enter the URL (web address) of the website you want to link to (e.g., “https://www.example.com”).
Step 6: You can also give your link a display text if you selected text in Step 2. This is the text that will be visible to readers. If you link an image, this option may not be available.
Step 7: The text you selected will now be a clickable link in your Word document.
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Creating a link to a website in Microsoft Word is a useful skill, especially for client reports or branded content. Many businesses also consult a web designer to integrate links seamlessly across landing pages, ensuring both visual appeal and conversion efficiency.
How to create a link to a website on a phone?
Creating a website link on a phone typically involves adding a website shortcut to your home screen for easy access. Here are the steps for Android and iOS:
For Android:
Step 1: Open the web browser on your Android phone.
Step 2: Visit the website you want to create a link for.
Step 3: Tap the three-dot menu icon (usually located at the top right or bottom of the screen).
Step 4: Select “Add to Home screen” or a similar option from the menu.
Step 5: Give the shortcut a name (this will be the label on your home screen).
The website link will now appear as an icon on your home screen for easy access.
Step 2: Visit the website you want to create a link for.
Step 3: Tap the “Share” button (it looks like a square with an arrow pointing up, usually located at the bottom center or top of the screen).
Step 4: Scroll down and select “Add to Home Screen.”
Step 5: Customize the name of the shortcut (if desired) and tap “Add.”
The website link will now appear as an icon on your home screen.
How to create a link to a website in an email?
Creating a link to a website in an email depends on the email client you’re using. Here are general steps that apply to many email clients:
Step 1: Open your email client and compose a new email.
Step 2: In the body of the email, type the text that you want to turn into a link.
Step 3: Highlight the text you just typed and look for an option in your email client’s toolbar that resembles a chain link icon or says “Insert Link” or “Hyperlink.” Click on it.
Step 4: A dialog box should appear. In the URL or Link field, enter the web address (e.g., “https://www.example.com”) you want to link to.
Step 5: Optionally, you can specify link text or a title (if your email client allows).
Step 6: Send your email. The text you highlighted will now be a clickable link when recipients open the email.
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A website link, also known as a hyperlink, is a clickable element that connects one web page or online resource to another. Clicking on a link typically takes you to the linked web page or resource.
What is the purpose of creating website links in emails?
Creating website links in emails allows you to direct recipients to specific web pages, resources, or information relevant to the email’s content, making it easy for them to access additional information.
How do I create links in WordPress when building a website?
In WordPress, highlight the text or image you want to link, click the “Insert/edit link” button in the editor toolbar, and enter the URL you want to link to. Click “Add Link” to create the hyperlink.
How can I troubleshoot issues with broken links on my website?
You can use online link-checking tools, verify the link’s correctness, and update or fix broken links by correcting the URLs.
Redirecting a URL to another destination is a fundamental skill in web development and online communication. Whether you’re rebranding a website, updating content, or optimizing user experience, the ability to seamlessly guide users from one web address to another is invaluable.
In this guide, we’ll explore various methods and step-by-step instructions on how to effectively redirect URLs, ensuring your online presence remains agile and user-friendly.
What is a URL redirect?
A URL redirect is a way to send users from one URL to another. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as:
To improve the user experience by sending users to a more relevant or up-to-date page.
To prevent broken links by redirecting users to a new page that has replaced the old one.
To track website traffic by redirecting users to a different page depending on where they came from.
2 main types of URL redirects
There are two main types of URL redirects: 301 redirects and 302 redirects.
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect, which means that the old URL will no longer be used and all traffic should be directed to the new URL.
A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect, which means that the old URL may be used again in the future.
URL redirects can be set up by website administrators or by using a third-party service.
How to redirect a URL to another URL?
Redirecting a URL to another URL can be done using various methods, depending on your specific needs and the technology stack you are using.
Here are some common methods and steps for each:
HTTP Redirects (Status Codes 301 and 302)
Using JavaScript for Client-Side Redirect
Using Meta Refresh Tag (HTML Meta Tag)
Using Server-Side Scripting (e.g., PHP)
Using URL Rewrite Rules (Apache mod_rewrite or Nginx)
Using a Content Management System (CMS)
Using a URL shortener
Now, let’s explain each of these methods step by step:
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Method 1: HTTP redirects (status codes 301 and 302)
Step 1: Open your web server configuration file (e.g., Apache’s “.htaccess” for Apache servers) or use a control panel like cPanel.
Step 2: Add the following line to redirect the old URL to the new URL:
Replace “/old-page.html” with the path to the old URL and http://example.com/new-page.html with the new destination URL.
Step 3: Save the configuration file.
Step 4: The 301 redirect informs search engines that the old URL has permanently moved to the new URL.
Method 2: Using JavaScript for client-side redirect
Step 1: Insert the following JavaScript code in the <head> section of your HTML document:
Replace “http://example.com/new-page.html” with the URL you want to redirect to.
Step 2: When a user accesses the old URL, they will be automatically redirected to the new URL.
Method 3: Using meta refresh tag (HTML meta tag)
Step 1: Insert the following HTML <meta> tag in the <head> section of your HTML document:
Replace “http://example.com/new-page.html” with the new destination URL.
Step 2: The content attribute specifies the time delay (in seconds) before the redirect occurs. In this example, it’s set to 0, which means an immediate redirect.
Method 4: Using server-side scripting (e.g., PHP)
Step 1: Create a PHP file for the old URL (e.g., old-page.php).
Step 2: Add the following PHP code to the PHP file:
Replace “http://example.com/new-page.html” with the new destination URL.
Step 3: This PHP script sends an HTTP header to the browser, triggering a 301 redirect to the new URL.
Method 5: Using URL rewrite rules (Apache mod_rewrite or Nginx)
Step 1: For Apache, create or edit a .htaccess file in your website’s directory. For Nginx, edit your server block configuration.
Step 2: Add rewrite rules to redirect URLs. For example, for Apache with mod_rewrite:
Replace “old-page\.html$” with the old URL pattern and http://example.com/new-page.html with the new destination URL.
Step 3: Save the configuration file.
Step 4: These rules will redirect requests for the old URL to the new URL with a 301 status code.
Method 6: Using a content management system (CMS)
If your website is built on a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, there are usually plugins or settings within the CMS that allow you to set up URL redirects without directly editing server configuration files.
URL shorteners are commonly used for this purpose, especially when you want to create a shorter and more user-friendly URL that redirects to a longer or less user-friendly one.
Replug: Redirect long, complex URLs into short, user-friendly links
Replug is a popular URL shortening and link optimization platform that allows you to create branded and trackable links. Its URL shortener tool provides clean shorten link within a matter of seconds.
Here’s how to redirect a URL to another URL using a URL shortener:
Step 1: Sign in to Replug or create an account for free.
Step 2: In your Replug dashboard, click “Select your campaign” then paste your long URL into the “URL to shorten” field and click the “Create” button.
Step 3: Customize the short URL here to make it more user-friendly. You can add a custom slug to the link if desired.
Note: You can also add some powerful features here to enhance your shortened URL and boost CTR. As shown in the image below:
Step 4: After configuring your link settings, save the link. Replug will generate a short, user-friendly link that you can use for redirection.
Step 5: Replug provides analytics and tracking data for your short links. You can monitor click-through rates, geographic locations of users, and other insights to understand how your links are performing.
Replug simplifies the process of creating short, user-friendly links and managing URL redirection. It’s a valuable tool for individuals and businesses looking to make their links more accessible and trackable.
Boost ROI with branded URLs!
Enhance your marketing campaigns by creating shareable, trackable, and fully multi-purpose
customizable branded URLs.
You might need to redirect a URL to update content, change domain names, enhance SEO, or create user-friendly, easy-to-share links.
What’s the difference between a permanent (301) and a temporary (302) redirect?
A 301 redirect is permanent and tells search engines that the old URL has been permanently moved. Whereas, a 302 redirect is temporary and indicates a temporary move.
Can I manually redirect a URL without any technical knowledge?
Yes, you can use user-friendly methods like CMS plugins or online URL shorteners to perform redirection without technical expertise.
Which method should I choose for URL redirection?
The method depends on your goals. Use HTTP redirects for permanent changes, JavaScript for client-side changes, and plugins for CMS-driven websites.
What are the SEO implications of URL redirection?
Properly implemented 301 redirects can preserve SEO rankings during URL changes, but it’s essential to maintain content quality and relevance.
Crafting friendly URLs holds utmost importance, as they directly influence a website’s search engine ranking, click-through rates, and overall user experience.
A clean, keyword-rich slug not only makes your links easier to read and remember, but also signals relevance to search engines.
Even when using a link shortener, the custom URL slug you choose plays a vital role in branding, trust-building, and improving link performance.
In this guide, we’ll explore the best practices for structuring slugs that are SEO-friendly, user-focused, and optimized to work seamlessly across platforms and tools.
So, let’s get started!
What is a URL slug?
The portion of a URL that follows the domain name and any subdirectories is known as the “URL slug”. It is a human-readable and user-friendly text used to designate a particular web page.
Keywords associated with the page’s content are frequently used in URL slugs, making them more descriptive and much easier to remember.
URL slug etymology
The term “slug” in the context of publishing goes back to the days of print journalism. In newsrooms, a slug was a short label or nickname given internally to an article as it moved through the editing and production workflow.
In web publishing, that sense of a brief identifier carried over, and a slug became the short, human-readable token for a page.
Why is it called a URL slug?
In digital contexts and web systems, it’s called a URL slug because it provides a concise, human-readable identifier for a web page. Besides, it follows the domain and subdirectories, making URLs memorable and SEO-friendly.
Why are URL slugs important for SEO?
URL slugs are vital for SEO as they provide a concise, descriptive, and user-friendly representation of a webpage’s content. This helps both search engines and visitors quickly understand your pages.
Moreover, the following points highlight why well-crafted slugs are essential:
Boost search rankings: A concise, keyword-rich slug signals relevance to search engines and can improve your page’s visibility.
Enhance user experience: Clean and descriptive slugs help visitors instantly understand what the page is about before clicking.
Improve readability: Short, well-structured URLs are easier to read, remember, and share across platforms.
Increase trust and CTR: Clear slugs look more professional, which builds trust and encourages higher click-through rates.
Support better indexing: Search engines can crawl and categorize content more effectively when slugs are structured properly.
Encourage backlinks: Shareable, meaningful URLs are more likely to be cited or linked to by other websites.
URL slug best practices: Best tips for writing SEO-friendly slugs
People often think URL slugs are a minor SEO element, but that’s not true. They can significantly impact your website’s performance in search engine rankings and enhance user engagement.
Creating SEO-friendly URLs with refined slugs involves careful consideration of keywords, readability, and user experience. Below are some key actionable tips to help you optimize your URL slugs effectively.
1. Include your keyword in the URL slug
The very first object that comes to mind when discussing SEO is the “keyword”. In addition to the content, you must include your primary keyword in the URL slugs as well.
Search engines use slugs to understand the context of your page content. As far as users are concerned, looking at the URL makes it easier for them to identify what the specific page is really about.
For example, if your focus keyword is ‘AI Tools for Social Media’, you need to incorporate these keywords in your URL slug, just like ContentStudio did.
2. Keep the slug part short, yet informative
Try to keep your URL slugs short and informative to make them appealing to both users and search engines. Imagine you run a website dedicated to a content curation tool. Instead of having lengthy URL slugs like:
Consider using a more compact and descriptive URL slug:
This shorter version conveys the essence of the page’s content while being more SEO and user-friendly.
Note: Users are more likely to click on links with concise and relevant URLs, as they can quickly grasp the page’s content before visiting it. Moreover, shareability improves when URLs are shorter, making it easier for people to share your content on other platforms hassle-free.
3. Use hyphens, not underscores, to separate words
Prioritize the use of hyphens instead of underscores. Hyphens serve as clear word separators that enhance the visual appeal and readability of your URLs.
Search engines recognize hyphens as natural dividers between words. This enables them to interpret the content more accurately.
Consider the following two URL slugs:
Visibly, the first version presents a tidy and simple URL that users and search engines can process without difficulty. The second version with underscores, on the other hand, seems cluttered and less practical.
4. Use lowercase letters in the URL slug
To ensure consistency and avoid problems with duplicate content, always use lowercase letters and characters when creating your page slug.
Instead of something like “What-Are-Ctas-In-Marketing,” “what-are-ctas-in-marketing” is preferred.
Note:URLs are handled case-sensitively by search engines.
This means that “what-are-ctas-in-marketing” and “What-Are-Ctas-In-Marketing” are treated as two separate URLs. This might result in issues with identical content and weaken your website’s SEO efforts.
Moreover, mixed-case URLs can make it more difficult for users to remember or share them correctly.
5. Keep it evergreen
Use content that will remain relevant and valuable over time when creating URL slugs. More precisely, avoid incorporating time-sensitive details such as specific years or dates in your URL slugs.
Evergreen slugs help improve SEO results because search engines value content that holds its value over an extended period.
You can prevent potential broken links and maintain the SEO authority that has developed over time by removing time-sensitive elements from your slugs. This eliminates the need to update URLs with each passing year.
6. Use one domain and one subdomain
Maintain a clean URL structure by sticking to one primary domain and a minimal number of subdomains (stick to 1). This approach helps strengthen your website’s authority and assists with content fragmentation.
Opt for “blog.example.com” instead of “example.com/blog.”
Moreover, a compact URL structure simplifies your website’s maintenance and improves link equity distribution. You avoid the risk of diluting SEO authority across multiple subdomains, ensuring that your primary domain gains maximum value from incoming links.
Note: You can use subfolders instead of subdomains. Subfolders within the main domain consolidate link equity, making the website more authoritative and easier to rank. Many case studies have shown significant traffic increases when moving content from subdomains to subfolders.
Source: Andy Chadwick’s Twitter account (X) TweetSource: Stephen Kenwright Twitter account (X) tweet
7. Update old slugs, but be careful
Always ensure that proper redirects are set up when changing a slug to prevent broken links and maintain the SEO authority of the previous URL.
Because sudden changes can result in broken links and negatively affect user experience and search engine rankings, managing URL changes requires careful planning.
You can smoothly direct users and search engines to the new URL while transferring the SEO value accrued by the old slug by implementing “301 redirects”.
Your website will continue to be user-friendly and search engine optimized if outdated slugs are strategically updated.
Furthermore, it aids in maintaining backlinks and search engine rankings while securing a steady flow of organic traffic to your updated content.
8. Match slugs to headlines
To further emphasize the relevance of your content, you must confirm that your URL slugs and page headlines are consistent. Both users and search engines will have an easier time understanding the purpose of your page if you align both elements.
This practice assists search engines in associating your content’s main topic with the URL, potentially improving your website’s ranking for relevant search queries.
Additionally, users are more likely to click on links that display a clear correlation between the headline and URL, enhancing their browsing experience.
9. Use fewer page categories
Keep your URL slug structure simple by minimizing the number of categories and avoiding keyword stuffing. Clear and uncomplicated slugs make it easier for users to navigate your website and for search engines to understand your content.
Let’s take a look at a social media analytics tool web page. Rather than using a confusing, long URL, they preferred a short and descriptive URL slug:
This direct method keeps things crystal clear.
10. Choose a memorable domain name
Find a unique domain name and pair it with a relevant URL slug. By doing this, you can enhance your band’s recognition and reinforce your website’s theme.
The combination in the picture above exemplifies how a cohesive URL structure can align with your brand’s identity.
Note: When users encounter a domain name that resonates with their interests, they are more likely to remember and revisit your website. This instant recall plays a significant role in building a loyal audience base.
Adding a relevant URL slug like further enhances user engagement. It communicates the content focus, guiding visitors to the specific section they are interested in. This targeted approach saves users time and effort, promoting a positive user experience.
WordPress is known for its user-friendly interface and flexibility, making it a popular choice for website development. Changing a URL slug on WordPress is a simple process that can be done within the platform’s settings by following the steps below.
Step 1: Set up your permalink structure
Before starting, you must ensure that your permalink structure allows for user-friendly URL slugs. Navigate to “Settings” and then to “Permalinks.”
You can choose one of the standard permalink structure types or create your own. However, it is recommended to use the “Post name” structure.
Step 2: Edit the slug in the post or page editor
Open the editor of the post or webpage and look for the “URL” section in the rightmost panel. Click on the automatically generated slug and edit it the way you want to. That’s it.
An SEO-friendly URL slug is more than just aesthetic; it helps both users and search engines understand what a page is about before even clicking. The right structure can improve visibility, credibility, and usability across the board.
1. Enhanced search engine visibility
Strengthening your website’s search engine optimization is a key advantage of using SEO-friendly URL slugs. Search engines can learn a lot about the content of your page when you use relevant keywords in the URL slugs of your URLs.
The search engine’s ability to index and rank your pages for relevant search queries is subsequently improved.
2. Amplified shareability
Concise, descriptive, and simple-to-remember URLs are more likely to be shared on various platforms. There is a much greater chance for users to share valuable content with their friends, coworkers, or social media networks when the URLs are simple and clear.
When the reader comes across your URL slug, which is to the point (has the focus keyword), they can easily copy and paste the URL, knowing that the link is authentic. The user-friendly and shareable URL slug allows others to access the same content quickly and effortlessly.
3. Higher click-through rates
An SEO-optimized URL slug can also improve click-through rates (CTR) from search engine results pages (SERPs). When users see a relevant and well-structured URL slug that matches their search intent, they are more likely to click on the link, expecting it to lead to content that aligns with their needs.
The user-friendly and keyword-rich URL slug assures the user that the page contains the desired information, thus increasing the likelihood of a click.
Let’s say someone is searching for “best smartphone deals”. He’ll click on a URL with a slug like “/best-smartphone-deals” rather than a generic one like “/products/abc123.”
6 major mistakes to avoid while creating URL Slugs
As discussed before, URL slugs play an essential role in enhancing your website’s SEO and user experience. However, there are common mistakes that can impact your website’s performance and rankings.
Below are six prominent errors that you need to avoid when crafting URL slugs for your web pages.
1. Avoid stop words
Common words like “and,” “the,” “of,” “a”, etc., are stop words, and they add very little to the meaning of a URL. Avoid using them in your slugs because doing so will lengthen them and make them less readable.
For example:
2. Avoid using dates in slugs
The use of specific dates in URL slugs can result in out-of-date content and affect SEO. Rather than
In this manner, you can prevent updating your URLs annually and ensure their continued relevance.
The biggest issue is that when you need to change the date from 2024 to 2025, you must update the slug and redirect the old URL to the new one. This process can be time-consuming and may lead to broken links if not handled correctly.
Moreover, these URL redirects can be suboptimal. They may result in less link juice passing through to the destination URLs. This means that the SEO value of your old URL might not fully transfer to the new one.
Note: By leaving out numbers and using descriptive slugs, you avoid the need for frequent redirects and maintain a consistent flow of link equity to your content.
3. Avoid using special characters
Including special characters like question marks, exclamation marks, or dollar signs can cause issues with URL encoding in your slugs.
Certain characters are replaced with encoded strings, making the URL less readable. Furthermore, some special characters may not be universally supported by all browsers and platforms, potentially causing compatibility issues for some users.
What’s best is that you can use hyphens to separate words in your slugs. Hyphens are considered word separators, providing better readability for search engines and users alike. Hyphen-separated slugs contribute to a cleaner and more professional appearance for your URLs.
4. Avoid trailing slash issues
Adding a trailing slash at the end of a URL can unintentionally create duplicate content problems for your website.
A negative effect on SEO may result from search engines treating URLs with and without the trailing slash as separate pages. Maintaining consistency in your URL structure is essential for mitigating this problem.
You can guarantee that users and search engines always access the preferred version of your content by consistently using one format for your URLs and implementing the appropriate redirects.
For example:
5. Avoid broken links after making any changes
Making changes to your URL structure or slugs is a common practice, but it’s critical to handle these changes carefully. This is to avoid broken links and maintain a consistent user experience.
Note: Setting up 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new ones is essential when changing a URL.
Users who are trying to access your content may become frustrated if you neglect to implement proper redirects. Broken links not only have a bad effect on the user experience, but they also give the wrong impression to search engines, which could lower the ranking of your website.
6. Avoid ranking cannibalization
Ranking or keyword cannibalization is a phenomenon where multiple pages on your website compete for the same keyword. As a result, there is internal competition in the search results.
Concentrate on making sure that each URL slug targets a different and specific keyword or topic to prevent this phenomenon. Conduct keyword research and use different variations for each page.
Note: You can improve each page’s content clarity and relevance in the eyes of search engines by allocating unique URLs to particular keywords or topics. This enables search algorithms to better understand the purpose and intent of your pages, leading to improved rankings for relevant search queries.
Concluding remarks
From understanding what a URL slug is to learning why it matters for SEO, user experience, and CTR, this guide covered everything you need to know about crafting the perfect slug.
We explored best practices like keeping slugs short, keyword-rich, and evergreen, while also avoiding common mistakes such as using dates, special characters, or stop words.
At the end of the day, an optimized and clean URL slug does more than make your URL look professional. It builds trust, strengthens branding, improves visibility, and drives clicks. Treat your slugs as a small but powerful SEO asset, and they’ll continue to pay off in the long run.
Ready to put your optimized slugs into action?
Try Replug.io! It is the ultimate link shortener and URL optimization tool that helps you create clean, branded, and trackable links in seconds. Give it a go today!
Frequently asked questions
What is the optimal URL slug length?
The optimal URL slug length is typically 3-5 words or 20-60 characters, ensuring it’s concise, descriptive, and includes relevant keywords for SEO. Shorter slugs are user-friendly and easier to share, while avoiding excessive length improves readability and search engine performance.
What is an example of a slug?
An example of a URL slug is “best-hiking-trails” in the URL “www.example.com/blog/best-hiking-trails”.
URL slug examples like this are short, descriptive, and use keywords to clearly indicate the page’s content, enhancing SEO and user experience.
How to create a slug?
To create a slug, manually craft a concise, descriptive phrase using lowercase letters, hyphens, and relevant keywords, like “best-travel-tips” for a blog post. Alternatively, use a URL slug generator tool to automatically produce SEO-friendly slugs based on your page title or content. Both methods certify user-friendly and search-optimized URLs.
What is the difference between URL slug and path?
A URL slug is the specific, human-readable part of a URL that identifies a page, like “about-us” in “www.example.com/about-us”. In contrast, the URL path includes the slug and any preceding directories, such as “/blog/about-us”.
Understanding the difference between URL slug vs. path helps clarify that the slug is a concise page identifier, while the path shows the full navigational structure.
What is the difference between a permalink and a URL slug?
A URL slug is the descriptive, human-readable segment of a URL identifying a specific page, like “contact-us” in “www.example.com/contact-us”. A permalink is the complete, permanent URL, including the domain, directories, and slug, designed to remain unchanged. This distinction in permalink vs URL slug ensures clarity in linking and SEO optimization.
What is the difference between a URL slug and a URL?
A URL slug is the specific, human-readable part of a URL that identifies a particular page, such as “blog-post” in “www.example.com/blog-post”. On the other hand, a URL is the complete web address, including the domain, protocol, and path, like “https://www.example.com/blog-post”. Understanding this difference clarifies that the slug is just one component of the whole URL structure.
Does changing the slug change the URL?
Yes, changing the URL slug alters the URL, as the slug is the part that identifies a specific page, like “new-post” in “www.example.com/new-post”. Modifying it, for instance, to “updated-post”, results in a new URL, “www.example.com/updated-post”, which may impact SEO and require redirects to avoid broken links.
What are URL slug parameters?
URL slug parameters are not typically part of a slug, as slugs are static, human-readable URL segments like “product-name” in “www.example.com/product-name”. URL parameters, appended after a slug (e.g., “?id=123” in “www.example.com/product-name?id=123”), are dynamic query strings used to pass additional data to a webpage. Understanding this distinction ensures clarity in URL structure and functionality.
Smart URLs, also known as dynamic URLs, are generated automatically based on a set of rules. This contrasts static URLs, which are manually created and do not change. Smart URLs can be used to improve the user experience, track website traffic, and improve search engine optimization.
Smart URLs can be valuable for businesses of all sizes.
They can help businesses to:
Improve the user experience by making it easier for users to find the information they are looking for.
Track website traffic and see how users are interacting with the website.
Improve search engine optimization and make it easier for websites to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Before using smart URLs, consider:
Make sure that the rules for generating smart URLs are clear and easy to understand.
Use a consistent naming convention for smart URLs.
To create a smart URL link, you can use a custom URL shortener. Replug allows you to create short, easy-to-remember links for long URLs. When you create a smart URL link, you can also add keywords and other information to it. This can help people find your link more easily when they are searching for information online.
Here’s how to create a smart URL link using Replug
Make sure that the link is easy to remember and type.
Use keywords in the URL slug so that people can find it easily when they are searching for information online.
Keep the link short so that it is easy to share.
Track the number of clicks on your link to know how it’s performing.
Maximize marketing ROI
by transforming ordinary URLs into branded short links that convert.
Try Replug for free
Replug link analytics: Track your link’s performance
Replug empowers you to unleash the true potential of your links by providing a comprehensive suite of analytics.
No more flying blind – with Replug’s data-driven insights, you can make informed decisions that amplify your marketing efforts.
Picture this: a dashboard that paints a vivid picture of your link’s journey across the web.
From the number of clicks and unique visitors to geographical data, referral sources, and even the devices your audience prefers – it’s all there at your fingertips.
A smart URL is a short, descriptive URL that is easy to remember and share. It is also more likely to be clicked on than a long, complex URL. Smart URLs are often used for marketing and advertising purposes, as they can help to increase website traffic and brand awareness.
What is the difference between hyperlinks and smart links?
Hyperlinks are simply links that point to another web page. They are typically used to provide additional information or to direct users to a related resource. Smart links, on the other hand, are more sophisticated. They can be used to track user behavior, personalize content, and even trigger actions.
Are smart links safe?
The safety of smart links depends on the platform or service that generates them. Some smart links are designed to track users and collect data, while others are simply a way to shorten long URLs. It is important to be aware of the risks associated with any smart link before clicking on it.
Digital marketers, SEOs, and affiliate bloggers play around with links all the time. Sometimes, these experts use short URLs, masked URLs, or redirect URLs. Different link management strategies are used to achieve desired results.
If you’re into affiliate marketing, you must have come across link cloaking. It’s also known as URL masking.
If you’re curious about URL masking or why it’s important to understand or who should be using this link management technique, then stick around.
What Does it Mean to Mask a URL?
URL masking is a process of altering the appearance of the URL without changing the destination URL. When a URL is masked, it may appear different on the outside, but it takes the visitor to the pre-defined destination.
URL redirection has an important role in the URL masking process. The redirection helps website owners and bloggers to allow URL masking to work. I’ll shed some light on the URL redirects in a second.
There are several other use cases of URL masking that you’ll witness going forward.
One of the reasons why marketers and SEOs mask URLs is to beautify the look of the URLs, especially if they want to promote content on social media or email newsletters.
Most bloggers and affiliate marketers cloak affiliate links to hide the hideous affiliate links and mask them with their short, beautiful links to increase CTR and engagement.
What are URL Redirects?
URL redirects are traffic forwarding parameters to direct the visitors and bots toward the destination URL. The purpose of setting up redirects is to push the visitors or bots in the right direction.
Sometimes, a company rebrands itself into a new name and pushes the website traffic toward the new domain. This is where the URL redirection comes in handy.
Moreover, a permanent redirect is also used to tell the search engine bots that a page or website has moved to a new URL.
URL redirection is extremely helpful in blogging, affiliate marketing, and SEO. Therefore, it’s vital to understand how it works and the difference between different types of redirects.
When to Mask a URL?
Now you know how URL masking works and why it’s important. So let’s discuss when to apply URL masking.
Here are different scenarios where URL masking would be helpful:
Inserting affiliate links: Most affiliate experts mask URLs when they have to promote affiliate products on their blogs. They use a URL masker so that their affiliate links look more natural and non-spammy.
Dealing with long URLs: We’ve established the fact that long and clunky URLs don’t appeal to website visitors due to their spammy and sketchy appearance. Therefore, marketers and bloggers mask such URLs when they have to deal with long product URLs or affiliate offer links.
Hiding free web hosting URLs: A lot of beginners prefer free web hosting and free sub-domains for launching their websites or blogs. However, most of them try to hide those free sub-domains through link shortening or URL masking. For instance, blogger.com and wordpress.com provide free sub-domain and web hosting for setting up free blogs.
Increasing tracking parameters: Whenever a brand wants to keep track of its links’ performance, they have to add certain tracking parameters to the URLs in question. Therefore, it’s necessary for them to insert additional tracking parameters using a URL tracker to make it happen.
These were some of the situations where users might want to consider masking the URLs so that they could benefit from this link management strategy.
Advantages of URL Masking
Here are some perks of using a URL masking tool:
i. Security
A lot of companies try to hide their sensitive information or deny the accessibility to sensitive files to maintain security. Data theft, malware transfers, and code injections are a few of the challenges websites, blogs, and e-commerce sites have to be aware of to survive.
So this is why it’s important to understand and implement URL masking when or where it’s inevitable. You can also apply data masking in Salesforce to manage customer data, especially during sandbox testing or internal reviews, where exposing real records could pose risks.
They say the first impression is the last impression. You might not want website visitors to feel overwhelmed when looking at your links. URL masking may help improve your links’ appearance to some degree.
Social media influencers, bloggers, and affiliate marketers strive to position themselves as genuine, authentic, and real.
However, when they come across awkward, untrustworthy links to publish on their sites or social media, they fashion something to make those links look better.
URL masking helps marketers and brands create short, user-friendly links that don’t look sketchy at all. And that’s a huge advantage of link cloaking.
As a result, most influencers and creators with massive followers base use short links to promote the products or sell their own products.
iii. Hide unnecessarily long destination URL
One of the benefits of using any URL masker is to hide long destination URLs. These long URLs might not necessarily be affiliate links or e-commerce product links. Sometimes, website pages or blog posts have relatively longer URLs that don’t look very nice.
Have you ever come across a social post that has a long URL as a call-to-action?
I’m sure we have all seen something like that on social media or SMS. The point is that nobody would ever click on such a link.
Brands, marketers, and affiliate bloggers need short and trackable URLs. The reason is that these experts know that readers despise long links in the article or social media posts etc.
URL masking provides these professional marketers and bloggers with a shield to get away with this.
This way, brands, websites, and bloggers can get more engagement and clickability on their websites. Here’s an example of Coca Cola’s URL branding example.
iv. Adds the ability to track link performance
It’s impossible to grow an online business or blog without a proper website tracking and reporting system. One of the benefits of URL masking is that it allows users to track the clickability of the shortened links. Thus, it helps in determining the conversion rate of a website or blog.
Website tracking assists website owners to analyze content performance, user engagement, and conversion rate. Links are added to the content or social posts so that readers click them while going through the content.
It’ll be a shame if clicks are happening, but there is no click tracking in place to analyze the links’ performance.
It’s safe to say that link performance tracking is crucial to establishing a successful link management strategy whether you’re managing social media channels or running an email marketing campaign.
URL masking does help marketers and affiliate bloggers to track link performance across different platforms.
v. Improves click-through rate on affiliate links
An affiliate marketing campaign has numerous aspects that make conversion happen. The affiliate offers on a blog don’t convert just because they have been added.
In fact, the conversion happens because readers need the solution or they trust the author or the recommendation makes sense.
URL masking does have a huge impact on the click-through rate of any brand or website. You must have known by now that readers find it hard to click on an untrustworthy link.
While some readers chicken out when they aren’t sure about the link they’re supposed to click, others leave it to decide later.
I have personally been using link-cloaking tools to hide the affiliate offers on my blogs because I don’t to showcase my unpretty links.
On the flip side, adding short URLs to your blogging system dramatically improves the click-through rate on your website.
vi. Branding
Branding isn’t just about the name, logo, and colors – it’s a wholesome package that shapes how a brand is perceived by the audience. Links are an essential part of the branding composition. Pay close attention to your links from the branding perspective. No wonder a lot of brands use short custom domains for URL shortening.
URL masking & URL branding is quite common in digital marketing and affiliate marketing areas. Publishers, bloggers, and affiliate marketers try to mask affiliate or lengthy URLs to make the user experience as smooth as possible.
Perhaps, long and bulky URLs scare readers off. Therefore, it’s necessary to make your links look beautiful and catchy with your branded keywords.
A complete link management solution
for marketing professionals & agencies.
Try Replug for free
How Do I Create a Masked URL?
You don’t have to be a website developer need to create a masked URL. In fact, it’s not that difficult, considering you have access to the right tools for the job.
Speaking of the tools, I’ll be sharing how you can do URL masking using a URL shortener. Let me tell you a little bit about this URL shortener.
Replug is an all-in-one URL shortening tool that provides digital marketers, affiliate bloggers, and social media experts with a bunch of link management tools.
The key features of this link management platform include social media bio links, branded short links, retargeting visitors, mobile deep links, QR marketing, UTM parameters, and more.
Create a masked URL using Replug URL Shortener:
Note: Skip to step 3 as integrating a custom domain is not mandatory to create a customized URL slug. Unless you want to use your brand name in your domain with your slug, then follow the given steps.
Step #1: Register your short domain
First things first, register a short domain that is suitable for your brand. A lot of companies and experts pick the short version of their brand name to register for setting up their short domain.
For instance, youtube.com has youtu.be, Amazon has amzn.to, and Replug has rplg.co. So these are a few examples of short domain names that companies have registered for different purposes.
To register your short domain, go to your favorite domain registrar services like Namecheap or Godaddy and look out for a perfect, short domain name.
Once you’ve registered the domain name, move on to step number two.
Step #2: Integrate your custom domain with Replug
After registering the short domain name, there are some integrations that need to be done before you could start using your branded short URL.
This integration is a two-step process to make it work. Start with adding the DNS records for your custom domain to configure it with Replug.
To do this, log in to your domain registrar account and look out for the DNS settings. You’ll see an option like “Add New Record” or “Add Record,” depending on the domain registrar you’re using.
The idea is to add a CNAME record in your domain setting to configure it with your Replug account.
So click on the “Add New Record” option to include a new record. Provide the following details:
Record type
Hostname
Point to (Address)
CNAME
@ or www
*short domain*
Most domain registrars allow adding a CNAME record. However, if your domain registrar doesn’t allow it, you can use the A -Address option instead.
Record type
Hostname
Point to (Address)
A
@ or www
*Domain IP address*
Once you’re done on the domain registrar front, head over to the Replug account.
Now it’s time to add a custom domain to your Replug account.
Log in to your Replug account and open the drop-down settings menu from the top right corner.
Access the campaign section through the top menu. Go to Manage from the top menu bar and click on the Campaigns option from the drop-down menu.
Now press the New Campaign button from the top.
Now you’d have to select the right brand for this campaign.
Select the brand you just created for this campaign.
The next section would be about the campaign type selection.
This is where you have to select the appropriate custom, short domain for the campaign.
Name your campaign and opt for the right short domain you just added.
Save the campaign and you’re good to go.
Step #5: Shorten the URL with your branded URL
Once everything goes smoothly, you’ll be able to create optimal short links.
Head over to the dashboard to start shortening the URLs using your short, branded domain.
FAQs About URL Masking
Here are some burning questions about URL masking:
Is there a way to mask a URL?
Sure, there is more than one way to mask a URL. The most common method for bloggers and affiliate marketers to mask links is by using plugins.
Moreover, you could also use link cloaking to mask a URL. It essentially changes the appearance of the URL to make it look decent, but the destination URL remains the same. It requires URL redirection to direct the visitors to the destination page.
What is the difference between URL masking and redirecting?
The URL redirection pushes the visitors to a different page or a new website with clear directions for search engine bots to follow. However, URL masking is more of a URL-hiding strategy to avoid unnecessary suspicion on the user’s end.
What is the difference between URI and URL?
The URI is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Identifier. It’s a series of characters employed to specify and differentiate a logical or physical resource, commonly associated with the internet, from other resources.
Whereas, a URL is short for Uniform Resource Locator. It’s a distinctive identifier employed to pinpoint the location of a resource on the Internet. It’s also known as a web address.
Are you looking to make your website discoverable by millions of users across the web? Do you want to ensure that your content appears in Google’s search results? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Submitting your URL to Google is an essential step in getting your website indexed and increasing its visibility online.
In this guide, we will simplify the process and provide you with simple, easy-to-understand instructions on how to submit your URL to Google.
Submitting URLs to Google is essential for several reasons:
Enhanced Visibility: Submitting URLs ensures that your web pages are indexed and appear in Google’s search results, increasing visibility among your target audience.
Faster Indexing: By submitting URLs, you expedite the process of indexing, allowing your content to be searchable sooner.
Increased Organic Traffic: Indexed URLs have the potential to appear in search engine results, attracting organic traffic to your website.
Control Over Search Results: URL submission allows you to prioritize your most valuable web pages in search results, giving you more control over your online presence.
Recognition of Updates: Submitting URLs alerts Google to crawl and index your updated content, ensuring users have access to the latest version.
Improved Rankings: Indexed URLs contribute to higher search engine rankings, boosting visibility and organic traffic.
A complete link management solution
for marketing professionals & agencies.
Try Replug for free
Method 2: Submit an XML Sitemap
Follow these steps to submit an XML Sitemap:
Step 1: Submit your XML Sitemap
On the Sitemaps page, click on the “Add/Test Sitemap” button.
In the text field that appears, enter the filename or path of your XML sitemap. It should typically be named “sitemap.xml” and located in the root directory of your website.
Click on the “Submit” button to add your XML sitemap to Google Search Console.
Step 2: Verify Successful Submission
After submitting your XML sitemap, Google Search Console will display the status and details of the submitted sitemap. It may take some time for Google to process the sitemap and index the included URLs.
Check the “Coverage” report in Google Search Console to ensure that the submitted URLs are being indexed properly. Monitor any errors or warnings that may require attention.
It’s important to note that Google’s crawling and indexing process may take some time. Submitting a URL doesn’t guarantee immediate inclusion in search results, but it improves the chances of your web page being discovered and indexed by Google. Repeat this process whenever you have new content or make significant updates to ensure timely indexing and visibility in search results.
FAQs
What is the purpose of submitting URLs to Google?
The purpose of submitting URLs to Google is to enhance visibility and ensure that your web pages are indexed and included in search results.
How long does it take for Google to index submitted URLs?
The time taken for Google to index submitted URLs can vary, but it typically ranges from a few hours to a few days.
Can I submit multiple URLs at once to Google?
Yes, you can submit multiple URLs at once to Google using an XML sitemap or by requesting a crawl through Google Search Console.
Should I resubmit my URLs to Google if I make updates to my website?
Yes, it is advisable to resubmit your URLs to Google whenever you make updates to ensure timely indexing of the modified content.
What should I do if my submitted URLs are not getting indexed by Google?
If your submitted URLs are not getting indexed by Google, you should review potential issues such as crawl errors or content quality to troubleshoot and address the problem.
How often should I review and update my XML sitemap?
Regularly reviewing and updating your XML sitemap is recommended, especially when new content is added or existing content is modified.
