In the traditional or physical world, you’ll probably have to go around shouting your brand’s name on a loudspeaker for people to hear you. That said, the digital world is a different game altogether. You’ll need different strategies to get the same effect. A good starting point is to use a vanity URL.
Read on as I explain what a vanity URL is. I’ll also help you understand how these URLs can benefit your business and how you can create one.
What Is a Vanity URL?
A domain URL like techgenix.com or google.com is the name of your website. A vanity URL, on the other hand, is a unique web address that will uniquely and quickly identify your business on the internet. It’s also highly relevant to your business. It can also include keywords, CTAs (call-to-action), or anything to help users remember you.
To give you an example, let’s say you’re into content marketing, and that you have a company called Kreative Workers. Your domain website is kreativeworkers.com. This website isn’t descriptive enough to tell your visitors what you actually do. Instead, if you use contentmarketing.org, visitors can instantly identify what you do. See how relevant this is for your business? Here, kreativeworkers.com is your domain URL and contentmarketing.org is your vanity URL.
Remember, a vanity URL will also point to your domain. In the above example, when a visitor clicks on contentmarketing.org, they’ll end up at kreativeworkers.com. In other words, both a domain and a vanity URL can take visitors to the same landing page. The only difference is that visitors are more likely to remember your vanity URL than a domain one. That’s the impact a vanity URL has; it’s a marketing strategy that will greatly benefit your business in the long run.
That said, vanity URLs are expensive. The main question is if they’re worth your money. Will they truly benefit your business? Read on as I answer these questions, and more!
5 Benefits of a Vanity URL
A vanity URL adds a ton more value to your business. Being easy to remember is the biggest reason for starters. Visitors can identify your business through this URL only. If that’s not enough, here are 5 more benefits.
1. Improves Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Given today’s fierce competition, it’s very hard to feature on Google’s first page. Vanity URLs facilitate SEO. When you include an important keyword in the URL, you’re likely to rank higher for that keyword in web search. The key here is the slug of the URL. You can include not just keywords, but also a CTA or just about anything else, based on your business.
Let’s go back to the previous Kreative Workers example: if you’re running a marketing campaign for content creation, your vanity URL can be writequalitycontent.com. This URL will bring users to your landing page. When someone searches for the keyword “good quality content,” your business (kreativeworkers.com) is sure to rank in the first few links. Of course, it also depends on the promotion and marketing efforts you’ve taken. In general, a vanity URL increases your chances of visibility overall.
2. Is Easily Identifiable
It’s hard to stand out in the digital space and it’s even harder to imprint your business in your customer’s mind. A vanity URL is one way to achieve that.
Vanity URLs quickly identify your business. More importantly, visitors and consumers tend to remember such names easily. In our above example, users are more likely to remember contentmarketing.com when they think of content’s role in digital marketing than your domain URL.
3. Provides a Sense of Trust
Many people tend to be wary of websites and freebies. Given the many hacking incidents, visitors are never sure if they’re visiting a genuine business or not. This is where vanity URLs help.
They provide a sense of trust to your potential customers. They depict you as someone who’s serious about your business. Vanity URLs also add much more credibility to your business. Due to these reasons, customers quickly identify you, remember you, and are more likely to do business with you. Well, I say this sounds like a win!
4. Facilitates Sharing
Long business names and URLs are hard to remember. Vanity URLs solve this problem easily though due to being highly relevant. Customers are also more likely to share your URL with others. Why? Simply because they remember you well! This then transforms into word-of-mouth advertising for your business. As you know, such advertisements have a higher chance of bringing in more customers.
From your standpoint, you can easily use these URLs in your marketing materials. Imagine printing your URL on a T-shirt. How cool is that! It doesn’t just look good; it feels good knowing you have a great marketing strategy in place!
5. Gives You Control over Your Domain
If you have multiple domains or landing pages for many marketing campaigns, the number of web pages can become unwieldy. Vanity URLs give you complete control over your domain. You can create subdomains, edit short links, redirect them, edit the description, and more.
A vanity URL is also self-descriptive and offers the flexibility to customize your marketing. For example, change.org/reducetax is self-explanatory. You know what this page is all about once you look at the URL. Vanity URLs come in handy if you’re using multiple domains or subdomains for your business. You have ownership of all the URLs and can control each page’s name and display.
These are just 5 benefits of vanity URLs for your business, but you’ll get even more. They sure look promising and are worth the high price, especially if you operate in a highly competitive market.
Next, let’s talk about how to create these special URLs.
How to Create a Vanity URL
In order to create a vanity URL, you should follow certain steps that ensure you do it successfully. Here are the 4 steps you’ll need to go through when creating this URL.
Step 1: Pick a URL
Pick a URL for your business or marketing campaign. It’s good to include your primary keyword or a CTA in it. This is highly effective to leverage the benefits mentioned earlier.
Step 2: Check Its Availability
Once you pick a URL, check if it’s available. Usually, when you do a Google search, you can see if such a URL already exists. If not, see if your hosting company owns this URL. Some hosting companies may own these URLs, but might be willing to transfer ownership for a fee.
Step 3: Check the Rates
If the vanity URL is too expensive, change your keyword or CTA. You’ll need to put on your creative cap here. Keep going until you find a URL that’s available and within your budget.
Step 4: Buy and Load
Finally, buy the vanity URL. You can redirect it to your domain. You can also have a new landing page for it. This is particularly relevant if the URL is for a specific marketing campaign.
Final Words
A vanity URL can be a great marketing asset for your company. It boosts trust and credibility between your business and the customer. It also improves SEO capabilities, which helps to rank your page above your competitors on Google. You’ll have more control over your domains too. The only downside is that vanity URLs are expensive, especially for those that contain commonly-used words.
That said, the cost is worth it if you aim to attract more customers and help them easily remember and share your URL with others. In this article, I explained what a vanity URL is and provided you with 5 of its many benefits to your business. Last, I’ve gone over the steps you need to follow to create these URLs.
Want to know more about vanity URLs? Check out the FAQ and Resources sections below!
FAQ
Are vanity URLs helpful for SEO?
Yes, these URLs are very helpful for SEO. When you use an important keyword in the URL, you’re associating your business/brand name with the keyword. Consequently, when visitors search for the keyword, your URL is likely to feature in the top results. Of course, you’ll have to continue your digital marketing efforts too.
Can I have a call to action in my vanity URL?
Yes, of course! This just depends on what you want to promote. For example, if you’re running a poetry contest, you can have a vanity URL that goes something like writeapoemandwin.com.
What’s the purpose of a vanity URL?
The purpose of vanity URLs is to make your link easy to remember among your visitors. It also boosts your SEO ranking for specific keywords contained in the URL. For businesses, it offers complete control over web pages and their use.
How do I choose a vanity URL?
Start with a list of keywords that best describe your business. See which of them are available to buy. Note that vanity URLs can be expensive, but they’re worth the cost. Buy them from the hosting domain where it’s available and you’re good to use them.
Are vanity URLs worth the cost?
Yes, vanity URLs are worth the cost. They help to build trust among your customers. These URLs also help with digital marketing for your business. They’re also highly memorable and shareable, so your customers are likely to share them with others. This can lead to greater customer loyalty and retention.
Resources
TechGenix: Article on The Implications on Security and Privacy of Shortened URLs
Check out this article to learn about the implications of shortened URLs on security and privacy here.
TechGenix: Article on How COVID-19 Is Speeding up The Digital Transformation
Learn how COVID-19 brought about a digital transformation that put a focus on new digital marketing strategies in this article here.
TechGenix: Guide on the Risks and Benefits of Shortened URLs
Read this article before you pick a shortened URL to learn about the risks and benefits.
TechGenix: Article on How Flyers Can Be Effective in Marketing
Learn more about how you can use flyers as a part of your marketing strategy in this article.
TechGenix: Article on User-Friendly Web Design Tools
Read this article to discover valuable tips on how to create a user-friendly website.
TechGenix: Article on The Best Email Hosting Services
Discover some reliable email hosting services for small and medium-sized businesses in this article.
