Have you ever copied and pasted a URL and it ended up being a long string of seemingly random numbers and letters? It’s ugly, unwieldy, and doesn’t give much of a clue to what the destination is. The solution is a vanity URL.
Transcript below.
Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn.
Have you ever copied and pasted a URL and it ended up being a long string of seemingly random numbers and letters? It’s ugly, unwieldy, and doesn’t give much of a clue to what the destination is. The solution is a vanity URL.
Just so we’re clear, this is not a vanity URL. It’s a vanity domain.
A vanity URL looks like this.
Vanity URLs are a way to shorten one of those long, ugly links into something manageable and eye-pleasing. These are links that can be easily shared across platforms and that users can understand at a glance.
They consist of three parts: the domain, the top level domain or TLD, and the URL slug.
Beyond just being nicer to look at, vanity URLs provide several concrete benefits.
For one, they’re better for SEO. Put a keyword in the URL slug of your links, and search engines will find you more easily. Choosing the right TLD can help as well, as this plays a part in the indexing of sites. When selecting the three parts of your vanity URL, use the most descriptive ones possible. Any company who can make a vanity URL for you, like DealerOn, will have several TLD options to choose from and can assist with the selection of good keywords.
A careful selection of keywords in the URL slug can also reinforce your branding. You are associating your store with the word in both the minds of your customers and with search engine algorithms. If your link is shared, for example by a user who can’t use the offered deal but knows someone who can, your branding goes with it. It’s a free ad for your dealership.
Try to imagine using a regular link on a mailer. There’s no graphic designer who can make it look good.
Now look at a vanity URL on the same mailer. If you were a customer, which link would you use?
In addition to branding, a vanity URL increases trust in your link in a measurable way. Recognizable words are more appealing to users than random strings of digits. A link with branding in it can increase click through rate by an amazing 39%.
The vanity link is both easier to remember and easier to share. A customer can easily recite a vanity link, as it’s a few short words. On the other hand…
Vanity URLs should be standard practice if you plan to promote or use a link in any context. The benefits are huge, and they don’t take all that much time to put together. If you have any questions, talk to your DealerOn Customer Success Manager today.
That’s all the time we have for today’s workshop. As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next week for another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn.
