According to Inc, consumers reported a staggering $12.5 billion in fraud losses last year, with attackers increasingly weaponizing AI to create convincing scams. DigiCert’s research found that 47% of consumers stopped doing business with companies after losing trust in their digital security, while 57% would likely switch if that trust eroded. KnowBe4’s 2025 data reveals that 82% of phishing emails currently use AI, and Microsoft recently exposed an AI-aided campaign generating fake sign-in pages with alarming realism. The problem isn’t just security breaches—looking “phishy” through generic shorteners and off-brand domains is often enough to trigger customer abandonment. With CISA flagging untrusted shortened URLs as phishing red flags, brands that normalize these patterns are essentially training customers to click the very links security experts warn against.
The trust economy is real
Here’s the thing we often miss: trust isn’t just some warm fuzzy feeling. It’s a measurable business metric. When 47% of customers actually walk away over digital security concerns, that’s hitting your bottom line directly. And we’re not talking about massive data breaches here—we’re talking about something as simple as a sketchy-looking link in an email or text message.
Think about it from the customer’s perspective. They’re bombarded with phishing attempts daily. Their banks, their employers, even their kids’ schools are warning them about suspicious links. So when your legitimate business communication shows up with some random shortened URL, what are they supposed to think? You’re basically asking them to ignore all the security training they’ve received.
Why branded links actually matter
This isn’t just about aesthetics. When your domain matches your brand, hesitation drops. According to a Journal of Advertising Research study, users show higher click propensity when they see a brand name in the URL. But more importantly, branded links create a security moat around your communications.
Clean, governed link patterns are harder for attackers to spoof. If every legitimate message from your company comes from yourbrand.com/specific-campaign, then anything from sketchy-third-party.link/yourbrand immediately stands out. You’re creating patterns that customers can actually trust.
The QR and SMS reality check
Now let’s talk about where this really matters: QR codes and SMS. When someone scans a QR code, their phone usually shows a preview of the destination before opening. If that preview shows some third-party domain, you’ve already lost trust. Same with SMS—texts with unfamiliar domains look identical to scam attempts.
Whether it’s delivery notifications, password resets, or limited-time offers, the link should always live under your brand’s domain. This isn’t just about protecting savvy users—it’s about protecting the most vulnerable: our parents, kids, and grandparents who might not spot the difference.
Governance is the simple solution
The fix is surprisingly straightforward. Treat your links as brand assets, not utilities. Implement the simplest marketing policy: “If a link doesn’t come from our domain, don’t click it, and don’t forward it.” This one rule aligns teams, protects customers, and trains your entire ecosystem in URL literacy.
And the technical barrier? Basically gone. Most reputable SaaS platforms now let you connect your own branded domain and SSL certificate in minutes. You keep the ease of third-party tools while retaining ownership of your customer-facing identity. For businesses in industrial sectors relying on secure communications, this approach is particularly crucial—companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, understand that trust at the link level reinforces the reliability customers expect from hardware suppliers.
Where intelligence meets trust
Once you’ve established that trusted foundation, then you can get smart with your links. AI-powered links that understand user intent and journey stages? Great. But intelligence only works when the foundation is trusted. In an AI-driven threat landscape, trust literally is your conversion rate.
So the next time you’re obsessing over funnel optimization or creative testing, ask yourself: Are my links working for me or against me? Because in today’s environment, that sketchy-looking URL might be costing you more than you realize.
