How do I setup branded short domains?

How to drive CTR up to 34%. Replace mobn.us in your links with your brand name, allowing total control of your content.

Support and Success at Mobiniti avatar
Written by Support and Success at Mobiniti
Updated over a week ago

The first step is selecting your domain registrar to purchase your branded short domain. Some popular domain registrars include Domain.com, GoogleDomains, GoDaddy.com, Namecheap.com, Bluehost.com, HostGator.com. We recommend selecting a 5-6 character domain that is closely tied to your brand. For example, if your company name is Sally's Shoes, we would recommend something such as sallysh.com

Below is a mock example step by step using sallysh.com. Make sure to input your domain / generated values instead.


Connecting Your Newly Purchased Short Domain In Mobiniti

Once you have purchased the domain, you can insert it in Mobiniti to generate your CNAME and A Record details to update on your domain DNS settings. Login to Mobiniti, navigate to (1) Settings > (2) Short Links > (3) Short Link Domain. See below:

After you have inserted your domain and hit save, it will generate the values needed in order to properly forward your domain to Mobiniti. These are the CNAME Record and A Record. See below:


Setting Up CNAME and A Record DNS Changes

1. Setup the CNAME Record:

1.a. From the CNAME's Host Record only copy "_acme-challenge". (blue box). There is no need to copy the full record. Then copy the full CNAME's Value Record from Mobiniti using the copy to clipboard button (blue circle).

1.b. Update the CNAME's Host Record and the CNAME's Value Record from Mobiniti in your domain's DNS settings. Navigate to DNS settings in your Domain Register, click your domain, and then proceed to the DNS settings. Add/Edit CNAME type by pasting the Host and Value from Mobiniti. Set the TTL to 1 Hour.

2. Setup the A Record:

2.a. The A Record Host will be "@". Copy the A Record Value from Mobiniti using the copy to clipboard button (blue circle).

2.b. Update the A Record Host and the A Record Value from Mobiniti in your domain's DNS settings. Navigate to DNS settings in your Domain Register, click your domain, and then proceed to the DNS settings. Add/Edit A Record with "@" for Host and copied Value from Mobiniti. Set the TTL to 1 Hour.

Note: If you purchased your domain from GoogleDomains leave the A Record Host name blank, do not add "@".

If you have any questions, just message us on our live chat, or email cs@mobiniti.com.

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