SMS URL Shortener Overview and Setup Guide

What Is the SMS URL Shortener?

The MessageGears SMS URL Shortener allows you to send shortened links in SMS messages by masking a longer URL. At render time, a shortened redirect link is created. When the recipient clicks the shortened link, they are seamlessly redirected to the full original URL, which is securely stored on the MessageGears platform.

Example:

Shortened URL (sent in SMS):  http://sms.domain.com/s/03ZA38AV3Xc

Redirects to full URL:  https://www.company.com/view/category/301597?pc=FLASH20&cm_mmc=SMS-FLASH20-NA&utm_source=SMS

The shortened URL will remain active for a set time (configurable up to 90 days). After that, users are redirected to a fallback URL that you provide.

How It Works When Building Your SMS Template:

• Enter the destination URL as usual when setting up your SMS message.

• MessageGears will automatically shorten the URL at send time, based on your SMS URL Shortener settings.

• No additional action is required in the template to generate the shortened link.

How the Shortened URL Is Structured

• Base URL: The portion before the unique identifier (for example, http://sms.domain.com/s/).

• Unique ID: A short alphanumeric code that identifies the link.

  • The Unique ID starts at 7 characters in length.

  • As more links are generated under the same SMS tracking domain, the Unique ID can increase up to a maximum of 11 characters.

  • Character growth is exponential, meaning that millions of links can be generated before the length increases.

The /s/ will always appear after .com in shortened URLs.

Character Count Expectations:

The full shortened URL length equals:

• Base URL character count plus up to 11 characters.

For example, a 30-character base URL plus an 11-character unique ID would result in a 41-character shortened link. As more links are created over time, the alphanumeric string may increase slightly, but it will remain 11 characters until millions of links have been created.

Information Needed to Set Up SMS URL Shortening

Before MessageGears can enable the SMS URL Shortener for your account, we will need the following information:

1. SMS Tracking Domain

• Choose a domain that will be used to create and track the shortened SMS links.

• Important:

  • Your SMS tracking domain must be separate from any domains used for email.

  • You must CNAME the domain to mgmsg.co.

  • Example:
    

2. Secure (HTTPS) URLs (Optional)

• If you want your shortened URL to use HTTPS (secure links), you must acquire and provide a valid SSL/TLS certificate for your SMS tracking domain.

• MessageGears will install the certificate on your behalf.

3. Fallback URL

• The URL users will be redirected to after the Time-To-Live (TTL) expires.

4. TTL (Time-To-Live)

• The amount of time (in days) the shortened link is active before redirecting to the fallback URL.

• The default and maximum TTL is 90 days.

5. URL Append (Optional)

• Optional values that will be appended to the destination URL after the redirect.

• Useful for tracking parameters (for example, UTM codes).

Key Reminders

• Always plan your SMS content assuming the shortened URL will be your base URL length + 11 characters.

• Ensure your SMS tracking domain is properly CNAMEd to mgmsg.co before sending messages.

• Choose a fallback URL that provides a good user experience after the link expires.

If you need assistance setting up your SMS URL Shortener, please get in touch with MessageGears Support.