TL;DR
- BrightEdge Digital manages 12 distinct client domains from a single SimpleURL Team account.
- Each client's outbound campaigns use their own subdomain, preventing cross-client link mixups and building recipient trust.
- Filtering links and analytics by domain reduced monthly reporting time from 6 hours down to 90 minutes per client.
The problem
It was 10:30 p.m. on a Thursday night in Bangalore. Priya Sharma was doing a final sweep of the campaign calendar before Urban Brew Coffee's Friday monsoon WhatsApp broadcast to 18,000 customers. Inside the master Google Sheet, she noticed that the primary call-to-action button was pointing to a free trial pass for FitNest Gyms—a completely different client.
BrightEdge Digital was juggling 12 active client retainers using a shared generic URL shortener account. Every link was mixed together into one giant chronological list of generic short links like bit.ly/3x9Kp2. When four campaign managers worked in parallel across social drops, email newsletters, and paid ads, links were easily copied into the wrong client spreadsheet.
Beyond the operational risk, the links looked like spam in direct message channels. Urban Brew's customers regularly replied asking whether the short link was safe to click. When month-end arrived, Priya spent nearly 6 hours per client downloading raw CSV files, manually filtering campaign tags, and assembling client report decks.
What Priya needed
- Separate branded domains per brand: Each client's links needed to live on their own verified web address, such as
go.urbanbrew.inorjoin.fitnest.in. - Clean campaign isolation: A structured way to organize and filter links so team members never cross-pollinate URLs between client accounts.
- Simple client onboarding: A rapid DNS setup process that client IT leads could complete in minutes without protracted email exchanges.
- Domain-level analytics: Instant click, city, and device breakdowns filtered by client domain for fast reporting in Looker Studio.
- Multi-user team access: Simultaneous logins for account managers and media buyers under one shared agency billing plan.
How Priya set up branded links for agencies in SimpleURL
1 Connect each client's custom subdomain
Priya upgraded BrightEdge Digital to SimpleURL's Team plan, which includes 10 custom domains, and added 2 extra domain add-ons to cover all 12 client retainers. Instead of asking clients to purchase new domain names, BrightEdge requested a dedicated subdomain on each client's existing root domain—such as go.urbanbrew.in, join.fitnest.in, and shop.saffronhome.in.
For each client, Priya used SimpleURL's AI assistant to generate clear DNS instructions for the client's registrar. The client's technical contact added a single CNAME record pointing to cname.simpleurl.tech. SimpleURL automatically provisioned an SSL certificate for each domain, keeping every link secure over HTTPS.
go.urbanbrew.in
Urban Brew Coffee
join.fitnest.in
FitNest Gyms
shop.saffronhome.in
Saffron Home
book.kavyadental.in
Kavya Dental
2 Filter campaigns by domain from one shared dashboard
With multi-user access enabled on the Team plan, Priya invited all four account managers and media buyers into the agency's SimpleURL workspace. Whenever an account manager created a short link, they selected the client's domain from the domain selector dropdown.
In the main dashboard, the team filtered the link registry by domain. An account executive working on Saffron Home saw only shop.saffronhome.in links, eliminating the risk of accidental link swaps across accounts.
3 Standardize back-halves and UTM campaign tags
To keep links organized across ~600 new URLs created every month, Priya established a strict team naming convention: [channel]-[campaign]-[month]. Using SimpleURL's built-in UTM builder, team members created clean, readable URLs such as go.urbanbrew.in/monsoon or join.fitnest.in/trial with source, medium, and campaign parameters baked in.
Because SimpleURL allows destination URLs to be edited after creation, BrightEdge could update the destination of a running ad or social post in seconds if an inventory change occurred, without resubmitting creative or reprinting collateral.
4 Deploy branded links across direct and social channels
BrightEdge rolled out branded short links across client channels, including WhatsApp Business broadcasts, Instagram bio buttons, LinkedIn sponsored posts, and Google Ads sitelinks. Instead of an unbranded string of characters, every link visibly carried the client's business name.
Branded links can earn up to 34% higher CTR than generic short links, according to Rebrandly's widely cited research. For Urban Brew Coffee's WhatsApp broadcasts, open and click confidence increased immediately because customers recognized the sender's verified domain.
bit.ly/3xK9qPz
Unbranded link looks suspicious in chat and triggers spam scrutiny.
go.urbanbrew.in/monsoon
Client brand is visible up front, increasing customer trust and click confidence.
5 Assemble monthly client reports in 90 minutes
At month-end, Priya opened SimpleURL's analytics panel and selected a single client domain and date filter. With a single click, she viewed total clicks, device distributions, and geographic locations broken down to the city level.
For Urban Brew Coffee, the city-level analytics immediately demonstrated that 72% of monsoon campaign clicks originated in Bangalore, with a growing 18% cluster in Mysuru where Urban Brew had recently opened two new stores. Priya exported the data directly into the agency's Looker Studio reporting deck, reducing client report preparation from nearly 6 hours down to 90 minutes per account.
The results
By switching to dedicated branded domains within SimpleURL, BrightEdge Digital streamlined multi-client operations, eliminated link management errors, and improved campaign transparency across all 12 client retainers.
Campaign Analytics · Monsoon 2026
Urban Brew Coffee · WhatsApp Broadcast
Clicks by city
| Workflow Metric | Before SimpleURL | After SimpleURL |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-client link mixups | Frequent errors during multi-campaign launches | Zero errors across 12 isolated domains |
| Monthly report preparation | ~6 hours per client manual CSV work | ~90 minutes per client with domain filters |
| New client domain onboarding | 3–5 days of confusing email back-and-forth | Same-day setup using AI DNS guidance |
| Customer spam inquiries | 4–6 messages per campaign asking if link was real | Zero trust inquiries with verified client domains |
| Link flexibility | Static short links that could not be modified | Editable destination URLs with active campaigns |
Make it work for your agency
- Standardize on subdomains: Recommend that clients create subdomains such as
go.brand.comorlink.brand.comrather than buying new web addresses. This keeps links connected to their primary domain authority. - Add DNS setup to client onboarding: Request DNS record access during your initial kickoff call so your technical team can connect the subdomain before campaign work begins. Learn more in our guide on agency per-client branded domains setup.
- Document a team back-half taxonomy: Create a short internal guide defining slug formats (e.g.
/[campaign]-[channel]) so media buyers maintain consistent tracking structures across accounts. - Highlight city insights in deliverables: Traditional shorteners provide country-level data only. Sharing city-level click breakdowns gives clients valuable regional demand indicators that prove agency value. Read more about how agencies use branded short links.
- Audit your plan capacity: If your agency is scaling past 10 clients, review SimpleURL's Team pricing and add-on domain credits to ensure smooth onboarding for every new account.
Frequently asked questions
Do clients need to buy a brand new domain for short links?
No. Clients do not need to purchase a new domain. They can dedicate an existing subdomain such as go.clientname.com or link.clientname.com by adding a single CNAME record pointing to SimpleURL. This preserves brand equity and costs nothing in extra domain fees.
What happens to the branded links if a client retainer ends?
The domain belongs to the client at all times. If a client contract ends, they maintain full ownership of their root domain and DNS records. If they wish to manage links on their own, they can point the subdomain to an independent SimpleURL subscription without breaking published links.
How many client domains can an agency run from a single SimpleURL account?
SimpleURL's Team plan includes 10 custom branded domains. Agencies that manage more accounts can add additional domain slots through add-on credits, allowing dozens of client brands to be operated from one master billing login.
Can multiple team members manage client links simultaneously?
Yes. SimpleURL Team accounts feature multiple user access, enabling campaign managers, copywriters, and client leads to create links and check analytics concurrently without sharing account credentials.
Ready to run client links from your own dashboard?
Give every client a branded subdomain, isolate campaign tracking, and cut reporting time in half.
Start your free trial Explore Branded DomainsRelated use cases
How agencies build and manage dedicated link-in-bio pages for each client brand
AnalyticsHow an agency automates monthly client click and geographic reporting
AI AssistantHow a freelance designer connects a branded short domain in 60 seconds with AI DNS guidance
E-commerceHow ThreadCraft replaced generic short links with branded domains across SMS and email