How to shorten a LinkedIn URL

Posting links on LinkedIn is more than a routine task—it’s an essential part of your brand strategy. Your links are the final call-to-action in posts, direct messages, and LinkedIn profile bios. It’s your one chance to drive traffic, track engagement, and reinforce trust. That’s why it’s critical to understand how to shorten LinkedIn URLs correctly, but the answer isn’t as simple as it might seem.

The built-in LinkedIn link shortener will automatically override any link over 26 characters long. So, even if you’ve gone the extra step to buy a custom domain and generate descriptive back-half text, LinkedIn could still shorten the link using a generic URL.

These generic links do nothing to enhance brand visibility, build user confidence, or increase click-through rates. You’ll miss out on key opportunities that strengthen your digital identity and potentially lower your click-through rates. 

Let us walk you through how to maintain control of your links and create better short URLs for LinkedIn.

How the LinkedIn URL shortener works

The URL shortener in your LinkedIn account will automatically overwrite any link longer than 26 characters with its shortening format. Relying on LinkedIn’s default shortener strips away the context that lets users know who posted the link and replaces your domain with LinkedIn’s, making it harder to build trust with your audience and easier for followers to ignore your message.

Losing brand visibility and control over link text undermines your ability to create relevant and engaging short URLs as well. Part of what makes custom domains so powerful is the ability to write back-half tag text that communicates value and intention to your audience. 

Instead of your carefully chosen URL:
yourbrand.co/excitingbackhalf

You might end up with something super generic like:
lnkd.in/3y252u3423

The decrease in relevance with generic short link text will not get you more clicks.

Let’s review how the generic tool available in your LinkedIn account compares to a branded link shortener:

LinkedIn URL shortener vs. branded short links:

When you consider the limitations of the LinkedIn link shortener, it’s easy to see why maintaining control over the 26 characters you have at your disposal is so important.

A branded LinkedIn URL shortener is better

Branded links build trust, boost performance, and give you more control across every LinkedIn touchpoint, from posts and profiles to DMs and business pages.

Brand consistency across LinkedIn and beyond

Every time you share links on LinkedIn, you reinforce your brand. A generic, short LinkedIn URL removes that opportunity. With a branded link, your identity shows up with every click, creating a consistent experience that builds recognition across all your channels. Shortened links are also better than long URLs for search and social media visibility.

Build trust and boost CTR

People are wary of generic short links or overly long links, especially on professional platforms like LinkedIn, where reputation matters more than most. A branded link helps your audience recognize you immediately and signals to users and platforms that the link’s content is safe.

Branded domains can also increase CTRs by up to 39%. On LinkedIn, that could mean more engagement on every campaign, post, and profile update.

Advanced tracking and smarter analytics

LinkedIn’s built-in shortener gives you limited insight into link performance. Rebrandly’s branded links unlock complete visibility. You can track by:

• Channel (e.g., personal profile vs. business page)
• Campaign (e.g., recruiting push vs. lead gen)
• Audience behavior (referrer, location, device type)

Because you control the link structure you can also A/B test different CTAs and back half tags to see which language resonates best with your LinkedIn audience.

Flexible destination management

Need to update your link after posting? With Rebrandly shortened links, you can change the destination of any link without impacting the user experience. This flexibility is ideal for updating expired landing pages, replacing outdated LinkedIn content, or pivoting a campaign in real time.

Updatable destinations are especially helpful for evergreen posts or featured content in your LinkedIn profile, where you want the link to stay live but evolve over time.

Better targeting and campaign integration

Every click on a branded link is a signal. Rebrandly lets you use that data to build custom audiences, segment traffic, and integrate with tools like Google Ads or Meta for retargeting. That means your LinkedIn campaigns don’t just stop at the click—they become part of a larger performance strategy.

You also gain more control over how your links display visually, making it easier to tailor messaging for different audiences—whether you’re recruiting talent, nurturing leads, or sharing company news.

How to use Rebrandly to create smarter short links for LinkedIn

Rebrandly’s link management platform provides all the tools you need to create branded links under the 26-character threshold. It’s as simple as:

• Choosing a custom domain. Something short and to-the-point that fits LinkedIn’s character limits.
• Creating smart back halves. You can use Rebrandly’s back half generator to help you get started.

Staying under 26 characters is easier than ever now that  Rebrandly created a character counter that tells you how many characters your link contains.

We also have a Chrome extension that lets you create and edit URLs without leaving your browser window. Our character counter features ensure that every link you create is optimized for every platform, even LinkedIn’s incredibly short 26 characters.

Every link you create can also have custom metadata, which our AI generated link previews feature will help you design for optimal CTR. Don’t let the LinkedIn URL shortener’s limitations decrease your potential for building successful link campaigns.

LinkedIn link implementation strategy best practices

A systematic approach to branded link generation and campaign implementation has a few limitations, but once you understand the platform’s requirements, setting up a cohesive link strategy is simple. It doesn’t matter if you’re updating your public profile, sharing an article, or updating resources for job seekers—you need to customize the links you share.

It all starts with a reliable link management tool like Rebrandly, which enables your team to create social media links for any platform at any scale. Work together to define the naming standards for every link, and make a few different length options for each platform. This planning ensures that every link has a recognizable structure for your audience.

Once you’ve defined these domains, use Rebrandly’s smart back half optimizer to build out text for each different campaign. Implement similar naming conventions here and document them for future analysis and tracking. Our built-in character counter helps you stay within the 26-character limit, but that’s a lot easier if your domain is as short as possible:l:

• Take your brand name and remove all the vowels to shorten it.
• Think of one-syllable words that capture attention and promote action.
• Write relevant back halves for each campaign and run them through Rebrandly’s AI optimization tool.

All these strategies will help you build a cohesive LinkedIn URL implementation and shortening strategy, decreasing the potential for issues with character counts.

Create more effective short links on LinkedIn with Rebrandly

Your LinkedIn link is more than a click—it’s a trust signal. Rebrandly helps you take control of every link you share, so you never miss an opportunity to grow your brand, measure engagement, and deliver results.
Want to try it yourself? Rebrandly offers a free trial to build smarter LinkedIn links today.