How to Create Branded URLs in Squarespace with URL Mapping

Squarespace

Oct 30

When you make the plunge to start affiliate marketing through your blog, you’ll find that many URLs are cluttered, hard to remember, and a gigantic eyesore. You might try using bit.ly to make the URLs shorter and easier to remember, but who wants to pay for an upgraded bit.ly account to make a link branded to your website name?

Not me.

So you know I’m all about getting you the best blogging tips while saving you money. That’s why I want to share one of Squarespace’s most overlooked tricks with you today.

The FREE way to create Branded URLs in Squarespace

It’s called URL mapping.

URL mapping is a way to create branded URLs in Squarespace, similar to how PrettyLink (which you have to pay for) works in Wordpress. A lot of Squarespace users that transferred over from Wordpress are hesitant to lose that plugin, but it’s built right into the back end of Squarespace.

Wait, so what does it do?

Let’s say you signed up for Amazon’s affiliate links and you’re trying to make affiliate sales on Your Favorite Book.

Now you have a link that looks something like https://www.amazon.com/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll2&tag=yourname-20&linkId=78715df3022e9cfa70f1316866ae0ae4&language=en_US

What a mess. No one remembers that.

Using Squarespace’s URL mapping, you can create a branded URL that looks like https://www.yourdomain.com/yourfavoritebook

Isn’t that so much easier to remember?

However, URL mapping on Squarespace isn’t limited to just affiliate links.

You might use another service, such as ConvertKit or LeadPages to host your e-mail list or landing pages. Your URL looks something like https://yourname.leadpages.co/morestuffhere

It’s so much nicer to create a branded URL like https://www.yourdomain.com/yourfreebie for both yourself and your audience to remember.

So how do you start creating branded URLs using URL mapping?

Step-by-step instructions on URL mapping in Squarespace

Head over to the Settings in your homepage.

Under Website, click on Advanced.

Once you’re under Advanced, you’ll see a link called URL Mappings. That’s what you’re looking for.

The next part might feel tricky. Once you get the hang of your first URL mapping, the rest falls right into place. First, type in what the branded link should be. Then type in what the original link was. Lastly, type in the type of redirect you want. 302 should suffice.

So if you want https://www.amazon.com/link/link2/morelinks/favmovie to be https://www.yourdomain.com/favmovie you’d type in:

/favmovie -> https://www.amazon.com/link/link2/morelinks/favmovie 302

That’s all there is to it! You can now do this for every link that you need to turn into a branded URL.

To keep it organized, I recommend creating a spreadsheet where you type in the original URL and then a log of what your branded URLs are. That way, if you ever need to see a quick, clear view of all the URL mappings you have, they are beautiful and neat in one place.

Has URL mappings made your Squarespace life easier? Let me know in the comments below.