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Smart Links That Never Go Out of Date

Short, branded links you can repoint whenever your campaign changes. Choose the ending yourself, share it anywhere, count every click, and change where it leads without reprinting or re-sending a thing.
  • Pick your own short name, on your own brand address
  • Change the destination at any time, even after printing
  • Every click counted, with nothing installed on your site
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Your first link is live in under a minute · No credit card required
A smart link being repointed to a new destination while its click count rises

What Is a Smart Link?

A smart link is a short web address that stays under your control after you have shared it. Ordinary links are permanent decisions: the moment one is printed on a flyer, pinned to a profile or sent to a thousand inboxes, whatever it points at is what it points at forever, and if that page moves or the offer ends, everyone who follows it lands on a dead end. A smart link separates the address from the destination. The address is short, readable and permanent. The destination is a setting you can edit in seconds, as often as you want, for as long as the link exists.

  • Short and readable, so it fits on a card and survives being said out loud
  • Branded, so people can see who they are trusting before they click
  • Editable, so a printed campaign can be sent somewhere new next month
  • Measured, so you finally know which channels send you real traffic
A short link and its list of destinations with a click counter

How It Works

A working link takes about thirty seconds to make, and you never have to make it again.

1

Paste your destination

Drop in the long address you want to shorten. A landing page, a booking form, a PDF, a video or another BrandBits tool all work the same way.

2

Choose your short name

Type the ending you want, such as /spring or /menu. The link lives on your own BrandBits address, so it carries your brand rather than a stranger’s.

3

Share it and watch

Put it in an email, a post, a flyer or a QR code. Clicks start counting immediately, and the destination stays yours to change.

The same branded short link used on a business card, an email and a flyer

Links That Carry Your Name

Anonymous shortened links have a trust problem, and it is not their fault: the same few public domains carry both real newsletters and a decade of phishing. Your smart links run on your own BrandBits web address, so your business name is part of the link, and you choose an ending that describes where it goes. People can read the link and decide it is safe before they click, which is the whole battle.

  • Your business name sits in the address, not a shortening service’s
  • Readable endings tell people where they are going
  • Fewer links quietly filtered as suspicious
  • Run everything on your own domain with the Pro plan

More on this: branded short links and vanity URLs.

Change the Destination, Keep the Link

This is the part that changes how you work. Because the address and the destination are separate, anything you have already shared becomes editable again. The seasonal offer ends, so the flyer from last month now leads to the new one. You rebuild your website and a page moves, so you update one setting instead of hunting down every place the old address was posted. A link goes out in an email with a mistake in the destination, and you fix it after the email was sent.

  • Update a live link in seconds, with no reprinting or re-sending
  • Click history follows the link, so you keep the whole record
  • Changes take effect immediately, everywhere
  • Pair with a dynamic QR code for two layers of control

More on this: dynamic links.

One link being switched between three different destinations
A click analytics panel showing clicks over time

Every Click, Counted

Because a click passes through your link before it reaches the destination, the link can count it. That means you can measure things website analytics never sees: a poster in a shop window, a mention in someone else’s newsletter, an address you read out on a podcast, a link sent in a private message. Give each channel its own link and within a week you will know which ones are worth your time.

  • No tracking script, plugin or tag on your website
  • Works even when the destination is a page you do not own
  • One link per channel turns opinions into a ranked list
  • Click data sits with the rest of your BrandBits analytics

More on this: link tracking.

Passwords, Expiry Dates and Click Limits

Not everything should be open to the whole internet. Put a password on a link and the destination only opens for the people you gave it to, so a forwarded link on its own is worthless. Add an expiry date and the link retires itself on schedule. Add a click limit and it closes after a set number of opens. Protected links keep their destination in private storage outside the public web root, so it cannot be read out of the link’s public settings.

  • Password gate in front of any destination
  • Automatic expiry on a date you choose
  • Maximum click count for limited offers and private files
  • No account needed by the person opening the link

More on this: password-protected links.

A link protected by a password, an expiry date and a click limit
A dashboard listing short links with their click counts

One List of Every Link You Own

Links accumulate quietly. A campaign here, a QR code on some packaging, a bio link somebody set up two years ago. Keeping them in one list is what stops that pile from rotting: you can see what each one points at, how many clicks it has earned, and whether it still deserves to exist. When you rebuild your site, you do not have to remember everywhere an old address went out, because the links you own are already in front of you.

  • Every link, its destination and its clicks in one view
  • Rename, repoint, protect or retire in a couple of clicks
  • Included with your subscription, not billed as a separate product
  • Point links at your other BrandBits tools as easily as at your website

More on this: link management software.

Everything Smart Links Includes

Custom Short Names

Choose the ending yourself so the link reads like your brand, not random characters.

Repoint Any Time

Change the destination whenever you want. The short address never changes.

Click Tracking

See how many people clicked, and when, in your BrandBits analytics.

Password Protection

Put a password on a link so only the people you tell can reach the destination.

Expiry Dates

Set a date after which the link politely stops working.

Click Limits

Cap a link at a number of clicks, ideal for limited offers and private files.

Served From The Edge

Redirects are cached across 100+ datacentres, so they resolve almost instantly anywhere.

Pairs With QR Codes

Point a dynamic QR code at a smart link and you can change the destination twice over.

More About Smart Links

Every capability below is part of the same tool and included in every plan.

Works With the Rest of Your Toolkit

Smart Links is one of more than a dozen tools in a single BrandBits subscription, and it is most useful next to the others.

Dynamic QR Codes

Print a QR code that points at a smart link, so both the code and the link stay editable.

Email Marketing

Use branded short links in campaigns and see exactly which ones earned the clicks.

Digital Business Card

One short address on the printed card, pointing at a card you can update forever.

Analytics

Link clicks land in the same dashboard as the rest of your visitor data.

FAQ

What is a smart link?

A smart link is a short, branded web address that you control after you have shared it. You choose the short name, you can change where it points at any time, and every click on it is counted. That combination is what separates it from an ordinary shortened link, which is fixed forever the moment you send it.

How is this different from a free URL shortener?

Free shorteners give you an anonymous address you cannot edit and cannot really measure. A smart link carries your own business name, lets you pick a readable ending, can be repointed whenever your campaign changes, counts its own clicks, and can be locked with a password or an expiry date.

Can I change where a link points after I have shared it?

Yes, as often as you like. The short address stays exactly the same while the destination behind it changes, which is what makes it safe to print a link on packaging, posters or business cards.

Do my links carry my own brand name?

Yes. Every link runs on your own BrandBits web address, which already contains your business name, and the Pro plan lets you run everything on your own domain instead.

Can I password protect a link?

Yes. You can require a password before the destination is revealed, and you can add an expiry date or a maximum number of clicks. Protected links keep their destination in private storage, so it cannot be read out of the public link settings.

Will short links slow anything down?

No. Redirects are served from a cache spread across more than 100 datacentres worldwide, so the redirect resolves almost instantly wherever the visitor is.

Is Smart Links free?

You can create smart links on the free plan without a credit card. Every paid plan includes the tool along with everything else in the BrandBits suite, rather than charging for it separately.

One link, endlessly editable

Create your first smart link free and see every click it earns.

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Your first link is live in under a minute · No credit card required

More tools included with BrandBits

Your subscription includes a full toolkit. Here are a few: