Link branding for email campaigns

  • Updated

Link branding allows you to show your own domain when a customer hovers their cursor over your click-tracking links rather than the default SendGrid domain. Link branding is automatically enabled in your account.

Email service providers have strict security protocols to protect users. As a result of these security protocols, you might notice that your branded links in your email campaigns result in a secure connection error for your customers. This error prevents your customers from successfully navigating from the link in your email to your website.

To resolve this, you need to host an SSL certificate on a proxy server. If you are unable to do this, contact our support team to disable link branding.

Host an SSL certificate on a proxy server

Without an SSL certificate hosted on a proxy server, your URLs begin with HTTP, which is the source of the error described above. However, when you host an SSL certificate on a proxy server, your URLs begin with HTTPS, thereby resolving the error in question for customers trying to access your branded links. This also increases customer trust because your link redirects them to a secure site.

A proxy server is a computer system or router that relays the connection between client and server. It helps prevent someone from accessing a private network and is one of several tools used to build a firewall.

To update your proxy server with an SSL certificate for your branded links:

  • Check where you currently manage your domain names. Your domain provider should have documentation to help you add security certificates and set up the proxy to route all traffic to SendGrid's final destination.
  • Add a new CNAME entry that points your configured branded link domain to sendgrid.net. For more information, see SendGrid's documentation.

Once you complete this, contact our support team to confirm that SSL click tracking is enabled on your account.

Disable link branding

If you are unable to host an SSL certificate on a proxy server, contact our support team to disable link branding. When link branding is disabled, the SendGrid domain displays when a customer hovers their cursor over click-tracking links in your email campaigns. This allows your customers to successfully navigate from the links in your emails to your website.