Every tracked link in an SMS campaign is shortened before it goes out, and by default those links use Optimove's own short link domain, ot.gt. That works, but it means the last thing your customer sees before tapping is a domain they don't recognize.

Branded Short Links replaces that default with a subdomain of your own — for example, links.yourbrand.com — so links in your SMS (formerly OptiText) campaigns look like they came from you. Click tracking and engagement reporting stay inside Optimove, so you don't need an external link-shortening vendor, and one branded subdomain can be shared across multiple brands or apps in your instance.

This guide will walk you through setting up a branded subdomain, from adding the domain in Optimove to confirming your DNS records are verified and live.

Note: Branded Short Links is currently available for Optimove's SMS channel only.

Please note: Branded Short Links supports subdomains only — for example, links.yourbrand.com. Root domains are not supported.

How to Set Up a Branded Short Link

Open the Branded Short Links page

Branded Short Links lives in Cross-Channel Settings, alongside your other instance-wide configuration.

From the left navigation, click Settings, then open Cross-Channel Settings.
Click the Branded Short Links card. The Branded Short Links page opens and lists any custom subdomains you have already configured.

Add your custom domain and assign brands

You choose the subdomain and decide which of your brands or apps will send links from it.

On the Branded Short Links page, click + Custom Domain.
In the Custom Domain field, enter the subdomain you want your campaigns to use — for example, links.yourbrand.com.
In the Brands/Apps field, select every brand or app that should use this subdomain. Use the search bar to find a specific brand, or select Select All to apply it to every brand in your instance.

Please note: A brand or app can only be linked to one branded subdomain at a time. If a brand already has a domain assigned, it appears grayed out in the list along with its current subdomain — remove it from that domain first before assigning a new one.

Send the DNS records to your IT or DevOps team

Optimove generates the DNS values for you. Someone with access to your DNS zone needs to add them.

Review the DNS Records table. For each brand you selected, Optimove generates four values:
- CNAME record
- CNAME value
- TXT name
- TXT value
Click Copy DNS Records to copy all the values at once.
Send the copied values to your IT or DevOps team and ask them to add the records to your DNS zone.

Please note: Each brand requires its own TXT record, even when several brands share the same CNAME and subdomain.

Save the domain

Click Save.

Save stays disabled until you have entered a valid subdomain and selected at least one brand or app. Once saved, your new domain appears on the Branded Short Links page with its assigned brands, status, and reason.

Understanding DNS Record Statuses

After you save, Optimove checks your DNS records automatically and shows the result in the Status and Reason columns. Statuses are per brand, so one subdomain shared across three brands can show three different statuses.

Pending — the domain was just created, and Optimove has not found a CNAME or TXT record yet (for example, Reason shows "TXT Record Not Verified"). Nothing has been implemented on your side so far.
Inactive — Optimove can see that implementation is in progress, but the CNAME record, the TXT record, or both are not yet verified.
Active — your CNAME and TXT records are set correctly, and the SSL certificate has been provisioned (Reason shows "Records set, cert provisioned"). Your branded short links are live.
Failed — your records were implemented, but validation did not succeed. This happens when the certificate fails to provision, or when the CNAME or TXT record fails validation.

Please note: Optimove polls your DNS configuration regularly to confirm that the CNAME record, the TXT record, and the SSL certificate all remain correctly configured. Any issue found — past or present — is reflected in the Reason column for that domain; there is no separate error log to check. Optimove renews your certificates automatically when they are due to expire.

How Optimove Chooses Which Domain to Use

You never pick between your branded subdomain and Optimove's default domain when building a campaign. Optimove decides per brand, based on that brand's domain status:

Status is Active: short and tracked links sent for that brand use your branded subdomain.
Status is anything else (Pending, Inactive, or Failed): Optimove falls back to its default short link domain, ot.gt, for that brand, so your sends are never interrupted.

Note: SMS character limits count the full URL. A branded subdomain is usually longer than ot.gt, which increases message length and can push some messages into an additional SMS segment. Review your existing templates after enabling a branded domain to confirm they still fit your intended segment count.

Managing an Existing Branded Domain

From the Branded Short Links page, you can change or remove any domain you have already created:

Click Manage Domain next to a domain to change which brands or apps are assigned to it.
Click the delete icon in the Action column to remove a domain entirely.

Key Elements to Keep In Mind

You can assign the same branded subdomain to multiple brands or apps, but each brand still needs its own TXT record implemented and verified.
A brand or app can only use one subdomain at a time.
Domain selection for sends is automatic — Optimove only uses your branded domain while its status is Active, and falls back to ot.gt otherwise.
You can review or edit a subdomain's brand assignments at any time from the Branded Short Links page using Manage Domain, or remove it using the delete icon.
Once your DNS records are Active, allow up to 10 minutes for any subsequent DNS changes to be picked up by Optimove's validation check.
Subdomains only — root domains are not supported.