How to optimize text message deliverability and send links to your audience

In today’s interconnected world, sending links through text message has become a common and effective practice to encourage your audience to take action or to share important information with them. Sending links to your audience through text can be useful to process donations, manage RSVP’s, event registration, and more. Whether it’s for promotional purposes, sharing important information, or driving traffic to a website, the ability to quickly reach a large audience with a link can be a powerful texting tool.

While sharing information via links can be incredibly useful, bad actors commonly use public-domain link shorteners, such as bit.ly, to redirect links to hide malicious intent or content. This is why many wireless carriers block messages that contain links created with common redirect tools. Below is a list of commonly used public-domain link shorteners that wireless carriers tend to flag as spam. (credit: Bandwidth)

Common disallowed URL shorteners

• bc.vc
• bit.ly
• budurl.com
• clicky.me
• goo.gl (Google Drive links are also disallowed)
• Is.gd
• lc.chat
• s2r.co
• soo.gd
• tiny.cc
• tinyurl.com

So, what does that mean for organizations that need to disseminate information through links? Here are a few tips to consider the next time you need to send a text containing a link.

• When possible, send the full, direct URL to achieve better deliverability rates
• Always use “https://” to signify the link is secure within a message
• If available, use a proprietary link shortener instead of a public domain link shortener. 
• Do not send a link in the first message – wireless carriers are more likely to filter out initial messages as spam if they contain a link
  • Instead, the first message script can include a question asking the recipient if they’d like to receive the link – an agent can then reply with the link when the recipient says yes
• If you’re a Hustle client, you can use our ‘Share a Link goal type’ to shorten links and send with increased deliverability 
  • As an added bonus, using the Share a Link goal type also lets you track action taken from each link you send!

Sending links through text message can be a highly effective communication tool when done correctly. Avoid using link shorteners to maximize your deliverability rates, and always let your contacts know where the link is going to direct them. 

To learn other ways to increase your message deliverability, check out this article on the blog. 

As you consider how to get your message across, it’s also important to note that 10DLC is now required by carriers to deliver messages. Looking for more info on 10DLC? Check out our help article on this texting standard. Have questions about deliverability that we haven’t covered here? Reach out to your Client Success Manager or Hustle’s Support Team. Not a Hustle client yet? Not a problem! Fill out the demo request form to contact our sales team.