Use your own domain for ad links

By default an ad link lives on our address. You can put it on a subdomain you own instead, such as go.yourbrand.com, links.yourbrand.com or offers.yourbrand.com. The visitor sees your name in the link, and your ad's destination looks like your brand.

We recommend one subdomain per ad platform or ad account. You are not forced to.

#What you need

• A domain you control, and access to its DNS settings.
• A subdomain nobody is using. The name needs at least three parts, such as go.yourbrand.com.
• To be an owner or admin on the brand.

Do not use a subdomain that is already in use by something else. Replacing a DNS record used by another service can break that service's links.

#Add a domain

1. Open Advertising → Links and scroll to Your link domains.

   On screenAdvertising › Links

2. In Subdomain, type the subdomain, such as go.yourbrand.com. Leave out https:// and any path.

3. Press Add domain. The page says "Domain saved. Add its DNS record, then check the connection."

The domain shows under its name as Waiting for DNS.

#Add the DNS record

Under the domain, the page shows a line of the form go.yourbrand.com CNAME followed by the target, and a Copy DNS target control.

1. In your DNS provider, add a CNAME record.

2. Set the name to your subdomain (usually just the first part, such as go).

3. Set the value to the target shown on the page.

4. If your DNS provider runs a proxy (for example, Cloudflare's orange cloud), turn the proxy off for this record. Use DNS only.

5. Save.

#Check the connection

1. Back on Links, press Check connection under the domain. You can check up to 5 times a minute.

2. Read the result:

   • "DNS is not ready yet. Add the CNAME record below, then check again." The record is missing or has not spread yet. Wait and check again.
   • "DNS is correct. The secure connection is still being prepared; check again shortly."
   • "Domain connected. You can now choose it for a link."

3. The state under the domain changes: Waiting for DNS, then DNS confirmed · secure connection pending, then Connected.

DNS changes can take from a few minutes to a few hours to spread.

#Use it on a link

When you make a link, the Link domain menu lists every connected domain. Choose one on step 1. The domain is fixed once a link is made, so existing ads keep working. To use another domain, make a new link.

If your email tracking domain is already secure, it is also offered in the menu, so you can reuse it.

#Limits

• Up to 50 link domains per brand.
• A domain can belong to one brand only. "That domain is already connected to another brand." means someone else added it first.
• You cannot add a subdomain of aminoengine.com. "Choose a subdomain owned by your brand."

#If it didn't work

• "Enter a public subdomain such as go.yourbrand.com, without https:// or a path." Retype just the host name.
• Still "Waiting for DNS" after an hour. The record name or value is wrong, or the proxy is on. Compare it with the line on the page.
• "Wait a minute before checking again." You hit the limit of 5 checks a minute.
• The domain connects but the link does not open. Make sure the link was made after the domain connected, and that you chose that domain on step 1.