Branded Short Link Examples
Real branded short links from major brands, with breakdowns of what makes each one work.
The best way to understand what a branded short link looks like in practice is to see what major brands actually use. The examples below are real, in active use, and recognizable. Each one shows a different choice about how to brand short links, and each one offers a lesson worth taking when you set up your own.
What Makes a Branded Short Link Work
Short. Memorable. Recognizably the brand without spelling out the full name. Usually a shortened version of the company name, sometimes a play on the name, often using a country-code domain to get a clever ending. The brand stays visible; the URL stays compact.
Twelve Branded Short Link Examples
Each example below shows the brand, the branded short link they use, and a short breakdown of the choices that make it work. None of these brands are ShortifyMe customers; these are well-known public examples that demonstrate the concept.
Example 1. The New York Times. nyti.ms
A clever shortening of nytimes.com that uses the .ms country code (Montserrat) to land on a short, pronounceable domain. The link reads as “NYT-ms,” which is short enough to fit anywhere and clearly belongs to the New York Times. A good example of using a country-code domain to get a short result that still spells out the brand.
Example 2. The Washington Post. wapo.st
Built from the brand’s internal nickname (“Wapo”) plus the .st country code (São Tomé and Príncipe). The result is shorter than washingtonpost.com would ever allow and uses a nickname the audience already knows. A lesson in using established shorthand for your brand if you have it.
Example 3. Reuters. reut.rs
Six characters total, plays on the “rs” sound. Uses the .rs country code (Serbia). Quick to type, easy to recognize, and unmistakably Reuters. Demonstrates that even a four-letter brand can be compressed further.
Example 4. Amazon. amzn.to
“Amzn” is Amazon’s recognizable shorthand (it is also Amazon’s stock ticker). The .to country code (Tonga) gives a clean ending that reads as “to.” The combination works as a complete phrase: “amzn-to,” almost an instruction. One of the best-known branded short links in the world.
Example 5. Apple. apple.co
Apple kept the full brand name and used .co (Colombia) for a short ending. This works because “Apple” is already short and unmistakable; the full brand fits, and the .co ending implies “company” in casual reading. A lesson that you do not always have to compress the brand name.
Example 6. YouTube. youtu.be
Drops the “be” from youtube and uses .be (Belgium) to land on a domain that reads as the brand name itself. The full URL reads as the word “youtube” with a slash through it. Possibly the most elegant branded short link in regular use, and an example of using domain creativity to recreate the brand name.
Example 7. Twitter / X. t.co
Two letters. The shortest possible branded short link. Worth noting that t.co predates the rebrand to X and stayed in use because changing it would break millions of existing links. A lesson in the permanence of branded short links once they exist at scale.
Example 8. LinkedIn. lnkd.in
“Lnkd” is short for LinkedIn, with .in (India) reading as the word “in,” which appears in the LinkedIn brand. The whole URL reads as “linked-in,” recreating the brand name through the domain structure. Demonstrates the same domain-creativity technique as YouTube’s youtu.be.
Example 9. Buffer. buff.ly
Buffer dropped to “buff” and added .ly (Libya) to read as the word “buffly.” Not a compression of the full brand, but a related word that suggests the brand. Buffer was an early adopter of branded short links among software companies and helped popularize the practice.
Example 10. TED Talks. on.ted.com
Different approach: not a country-code domain, but a subdomain of the main brand. on.ted.com puts “on” at the front (suggesting “watch this on TED”) and keeps the recognizable TED domain. The lesson: a subdomain on your main brand is a valid alternative to a separate short domain.
Example 11. Mashable. on.mash.to
Combines two techniques: “on” as a subdomain prefix (like TED’s), and a compressed brand name with .to. Reads as “on-mash-to,” close to a phrase. Demonstrates that domain choices can stack.
Example 12. ESPN. es.pn
Four characters, split across the domain (“es”) and the country code (.pn for Pitcairn Islands), reading together as “ESPN.” Same technique as YouTube and LinkedIn: the brand name is reconstructed through the domain structure. A particularly clean version of the trick.
Patterns to Notice
Pattern 1. Short, Even Shorter Than the Brand Name
Almost every example above is shorter than the brand’s main domain. The point of a branded short link is to be short, so designs that compress the brand or use a compact country-code domain win.
Pattern 2. Country-Code Domains Do Heavy Lifting
Most of the examples use a country-code top-level domain (.ms, .st, .rs, .to, .be, .in, .co, .ly, .pn). These domains are short, often available with creative letters, and give designers room to land on something clean. The country itself is irrelevant; the letters are what matter.
Pattern 3. The Whole URL Often Reads as a Word
youtu.be reads as “youtube.” lnkd.in reads as “linked-in.” es.pn reads as “espn.” amzn.to reads as “amazon-to.” When a branded short link reads as a word or phrase, it is easier to remember and feels more intentional.
Pattern 4. Subdomains Are a Valid Alternative
TED’s on.ted.com and Mashable’s on.mash.to show that a subdomain on the main brand can work as a branded short link domain. This avoids the need to register a separate short domain and lets the main brand stay visible.
Designing Your Own Branded Short Link
Start with the brand name and try compressing it. Drop vowels (lnkd, wapo, mash). Drop trailing letters (buff, amzn). See what reads cleanly.
Then look for a country-code domain that completes the brand or makes a word. The .co, .io, .to, .ly, .in, .be, .ms, .st, and .rs domains are commonly used. Many are widely available; some are expensive.
Or, if the brand name is short enough, use it whole. apple.co keeps the brand visible; nothing was lost to compression.
Or use a subdomain on your main brand: link.yourbrand.com, go.yourbrand.com, on.yourbrand.com. These are free (no separate domain registration) and keep the brand in front.
Once you have a domain, point it at a URL shortener that supports custom domains, verify it through DNS, and start creating short links. ShortifyMe supports custom domains on every paid plan, from 1 on the Starter plan up to 10 on Premium. The choice of domain is yours; the platform handles the rest.
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