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SMS

How to include links in text messages without getting them blocked

Don't use public link shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl…) in SMS: carriers filter them. Write your page's full address or use a short link on your own domain, with no redirect chains, and measure clicks with UTM parameters.

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Before you start

  • Know where you want to send the customer: the booking page, the form, the payment page.
  • If you use a shortener, check whether it's public (a third-party domain) or on your own domain.
  • Remember you pay for every SMS you send, delivered or not: a badly chosen link costs money and customers.
Where to find it

Conversations › contact's conversation › SMS channel (or the Send SMS action in a workflow)

Step by step

  1. Prefer your page's full address (for example, https://yourbusiness.com/book). Carriers trust it most because it shows right away who's sending.
  2. If you need to save characters, use a short link on your own domain (for example, yourbusiness.com/promo). Branded short links are accepted; public ones aren't.
  3. Never use public shorteners (bit.ly, rb.gy, tinyurl and the like): some carriers block every message containing them.

Avoid redirect chains

  1. Make sure the link opens the final page directly, or with a single redirect at most.
  2. Don't use links that hide the destination or rotate across several domains to dodge filters: that gets you blocked.
  3. Test the link on your phone before sending it to customers.

Track clicks without a public shortener

  1. Add UTM parameters to the full address (for example, ?utm_source=sms&utm_campaign=fall) to see clicks in your website analytics.
  2. Or use a short link on your own domain that records clicks.
  3. If the link is essential and doesn't fit, accept that the message takes more than one segment: it costs more, but it arrives.

Tips

  • An SMS has 160 characters per segment. A full link takes a lot of them; keep the rest of the message short and direct.
  • Pair the link with your business name at the start of the text: it builds trust with both the customer and the carrier.
  • A custom domain for short links usually costs less than the messages you lose to a public shortener.

Common problems

  • Texts with links aren't delivered → The most common cause is a public shortener in the message. Switch to the full address or a short link on your domain.
  • The link redirects several times before the page opens → Point the link straight at the final page; redirect chains get filtered.
  • The message got expensive because of the long link → Use a branded short link or trim the rest of the text.
  • I need to know who clicked → Use UTM parameters or a branded short link with click tracking.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. What's prohibited is public shorteners, domain rotation and redirect chains.

Yes. A long address can push the message into a second segment, at extra cost.

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