dub.co Paid content

Dub's short links go beyond simple URL shortening: each link can carry branded domains, QR codes, device and geo targeting, A/B testing, deep links, expiration, cloaking, password protection, custom previews, folders, tags, and a UTM builder. These features are aimed at marketing teams that need to route, measure, and manage links at scale rather than just shorten them. The sections below cover what each feature does and when it's worth using.

Branded short links and custom domains

Dub lets you create branded short links using custom domains that match your brand, rather than a generic shared domain. The site states that custom domains can boost click-through rates by 30%, and that each short link automatically generates a matching QR code.

When you add a domain, Dub shows the DNS records you need to configure. The page evidence lists both an A Record and a CNAME Record, with fields for Type, Name, Value, and TTL. A domain shown as "Pending" (for example, try.acme.com) stays unverified until those records are set; once verified, it's marked accordingly. If you plan to run links under your own subdomain, budget time for DNS propagation before launch.

Link routing and targeting

These features decide where a click lands, based on who the visitor is or what device they use:

• Device targeting — send mobile and desktop visitors to different destinations.
• Geo targeting — route visitors by location.
• A/B testing — split traffic between destinations to compare performance.
• Deep links — open a specific screen inside a mobile app instead of a web page.
• Link expiration — set links to stop working after a defined point.
• Link cloaking — keep the short link visible in the browser instead of showing the destination URL.

A practical example: a launch campaign can use one short link that sends iOS users to the App Store, Android users to Google Play, and desktop visitors to a landing page — with an A/B test running on the desktop destination. If you only need a single static redirect, most of these settings add configuration without benefit.

QR codes and custom previews

Every short link can generate a QR code automatically, and Dub supports customizing it with a logo and color so it matches your brand. Custom link previews let you control how the link appears when shared (for example, in social or messaging apps). QR codes are most useful for print, packaging, or event materials where a clickable link isn't possible.

Organization and access control

For teams managing many links, Dub provides:

• Folders — group related links together.
• Tags — label links for filtering and reporting.
• Role-based access control — restrict who can view or edit links.
• Password protection — require a password before a link resolves.

These matter most once link volume grows. A small team running a handful of campaigns can often work without folders or role restrictions; an organization with multiple stakeholders and shared domains will want them to avoid accidental edits.

UTM builder

Dub includes a UTM builder, so campaign parameters (source, medium, campaign, and similar) can be attached to links consistently. This is what makes downstream conversion analytics meaningful — without consistent UTM tagging, attribution data becomes hard to compare across channels.

How to choose which features to use

Start with a custom domain and the UTM builder if you're running paid campaigns, then add targeting and A/B testing once you have traffic to compare. Folders and access control can wait until more than one person is managing links.

Dub positions these features as part of a broader link attribution platform that also covers conversion tracking and affiliate programs, so the short-link features are designed to feed into that measurement layer rather than stand alone.

Dub's affiliate program features give you an all-in-one partner management platform for building affiliate and referral programs. Based on the product page, you can recruit and manage partners, track the revenue each one drives, calculate what you owe them, and connect that data back to the short links and analytics Dub already handles. It fits teams that want affiliate tracking in the same place as their link management and conversion analytics, rather than stitching together separate tools.

The core jobs Dub's affiliate features cover

Dub describes its affiliate offering as an "all-in-one partner management platform for building profitable affiliate and referral programs." In practice that means handling the full loop from a partner's link click through to a recorded sale and a payout figure.

The product page shows a partner dashboard with these columns per partner:

• Revenue — the sales value attributed to that partner
• Payouts — the amount owed to that partner

Example rows from the page include figures like Revenue $17K / Payouts $5.2K and Revenue $24K / Payouts $7.2K. That pairing is the key mechanic: Dub tracks what a partner earned you and what you owe them side by side, so commission calculations aren't a separate spreadsheet exercise.

Tracking partner revenue and lifetime value

Beyond per-partner revenue and payouts, the page shows a partner profile view with:

• Lifetime value (shown as $12.5k in the example)
• Account tier (Pro)
• Subscription duration (2y 10m)
• Partner identity and contact details

This means you can evaluate partners not just on a single payout cycle but on the total value they've brought over their relationship with you. That's useful for deciding who to invest in, who to tier up, and who to cut.

How it connects to links and conversion analytics

The affiliate features sit on top of Dub's link and attribution engine, which the page describes as unifying "short links, real-time analytics and affiliate programs." The same link infrastructure supports:

• Branded short links on custom domains
• Click tracking (the page shows click counts per link)
• Conversion analytics that tie marketing activity to revenue

For affiliates specifically, this matters because partner links are the entry point for attribution. A partner shares a link, clicks are recorded, and conversions flow into the revenue and payout numbers shown in the partner dashboard. You don't need a separate link shortener for your affiliate program.

What else you can layer on

Because affiliate links are Dub links, the advanced link features described on the page can apply to partner campaigns too:

• Device and geo-targeting — send partner traffic to different destinations by device or location
• A/B testing — test landing pages for partner traffic
• Deep links — route mobile users into an app
• QR codes — auto-generated per link, with custom logo and color
• Custom domains — the page cites a claim of boosting click-through rates by 30% with branded domains
• Folders, tags, and role-based access control — organize and govern links at scale

Choosing whether this fits you

Dub's affiliate features are worth considering if you want partner management, short links, and conversion analytics in one platform, and if you value seeing revenue and payouts per partner alongside lifetime value. If you already run a dedicated affiliate network with its own partner marketplace and payout rails, Dub's offering is more of a self-managed program layer than a network — the page frames it as building your own affiliate and referral programs.

The page offers a free start and a demo option, and lists a separate pricing page, so you can check current plan limits there before committing.

Dub's conversion analytics connects a click on a short link to the leads and sales that follow, then reports revenue by link, campaign, and partner. It is designed for teams that already run marketing through links and want to see which ones produce outcomes rather than just traffic. The mechanism is an attribution engine layered on top of Dub's short links: the link carries identifying information, and conversion events are matched back to it.

The three metrics Dub tracks

Dub's analytics are built around a click-to-revenue chain rather than a single traffic number:

• Clicks — recorded when someone follows a short link.
• Leads — a conversion event such as a signup or form submission.
• Sales — a revenue event, shown with a dollar value.

The product page shows this as a funnel-style summary (for example, clicks, leads, and sales with a revenue figure) alongside per-link click counts. The stated goal is to move past "vanity metrics" toward outcomes, so the useful comparison is the ratio between stages, not the click total alone.

How attribution actually works

The short link is the anchor. Because Dub both creates the link and receives the conversion event, it can associate the two without relying only on a third-party cookie.

1. A short link is created on a Dub domain (for example, a branded domain like acme.link).
2. A visitor clicks it, and Dub records the click along with available context such as device and geography.
3. A conversion event fires — a lead or sale — and is matched back to the originating link.
4. The dashboard aggregates those matches into revenue and conversion figures per link, campaign, or partner.

Dub describes this as a "powerful attribution engine" that shows how marketing drives revenue. The practical implication: attribution quality depends on conversion events being sent to Dub, so the setup work is on the event side, not just the link side.

What you can see in the reporting

The page evidence shows two reporting surfaces worth distinguishing:

For affiliate and referral programs, Dub also reports per-partner figures — revenue and payouts listed by partner name — which is the same attribution data grouped by who drove the conversion.

Where conversion analytics fits with the rest of Dub

Dub bundles three things that feed this system:

• Short links — the tracking unit, with features like device/geo-targeting, A/B testing, deep links, and QR codes.
• Conversion analytics — the attribution and reporting layer described above.
• Affiliate programs — partner management that uses the same conversion data to calculate revenue and payouts.

If your goal is only branded short links, the analytics layer is optional overhead. If your goal is knowing which campaigns or partners produce revenue, the conversion events are the part you cannot skip.

Practical conditions to check before relying on it

• Conversion events must be instrumented. Dub can only attribute leads and sales it is told about; a link with no events will show clicks and nothing downstream.
• Domain verification matters for trust. The evidence shows domains in Verified and Pending states, with DNS records (A and CNAME) required before a custom short domain works. Unverified domains affect whether links resolve as intended.
• Pricing and plan limits are not covered here. Dub has a pricing page, but the available material does not specify which analytics or affiliate features sit behind which plan — check that page directly before committing.
• Attribution is link-based. Conversions that never pass through a Dub link, or that are blocked before the click is recorded, will not appear in the revenue figures.

Dub is a link attribution platform that combines short links, conversion analytics, and affiliate program management in one product. It fits teams that already drive traffic through links and need to connect those clicks to leads, sales, and partner payouts — rather than tracking clicks in one tool and revenue in another.

The core idea is stated on the site as "Turn clicks into revenue": a link is the starting point, and attribution is what turns it into a measurable outcome.

The three capabilities Dub unifies

Dub's product page groups its offering into three areas, each solving a different part of the same problem.

Short links

Create and manage short links at scale, with advanced features, folders, and role-based access control. The site lists these link-level capabilities:

• Branded short links on custom domains
• Built-in QR codes, generated automatically with each short link
• Device and geo-targeting
• A/B testing
• Deep links
• Link expiration, link cloaking, password protection, and custom previews
• Tags, UTM builder, and folders
• Webhooks

Dub claims custom domains can boost click-through rates by 30%, and presents that as a benefit of matching links to your brand rather than as a guaranteed result.

Conversion analytics

Dub describes a "powerful attribution engine" for understanding how marketing drives revenue. The homepage example shows a link (acme.link) with clicks, leads, and sales figures alongside a revenue number, plus a contact record with lifetime value, account type, and subscription duration. That is the shape of the output: link-level traffic joined to downstream conversion and revenue data.

Affiliate programs

Dub positions this as an "all-in-one partner management platform for building profitable affiliate and referral programs." The homepage shows a partner table with per-partner revenue and payouts, which is the practical view an affiliate manager needs: who generated revenue, and what they are owed.

How the pieces connect

The value is in the chain, not any single feature:

1. A click arrives through a Dub short link.
2. Attribution ties that click to a lead or sale.
3. For affiliate traffic, the same conversion is credited to the partner who drove it, producing a payout figure.

If you only need shorter URLs, a basic shortener is enough. Dub becomes relevant when you need the click-to-revenue link, or when affiliate payouts must be calculated from tracked conversions.

Who it is for

Based on the site's own framing, Dub targets:

• Marketing teams measuring which channels and links produce revenue
• Growth and startup teams running referral or affiliate programs
• Teams managing many links who need folders and role-based access control

The site also references an Enterprise offering and a Startup Program, and shows a "Start for free" and "Get a demo" path. Pricing details are not specified in the available material, so check the pricing page directly before assuming a plan structure or cost.

Practical checks before adopting it

• Domain setup: Using a custom short-link domain requires DNS records. The site shows A and CNAME record configuration, and marks a domain as "Pending" until records are verified — so plan for a DNS step, not just a settings toggle.
• Attribution scope: Confirm the attribution engine covers the conversion events you care about, since that is the feature the whole product is built around.
• Affiliate fit: If partner payouts are a requirement, verify the partner management and payout views match how you actually pay partners.
• Access control: Role-based access control matters if multiple people or teams will manage links.

Bottom line

Dub is best understood as one system for three jobs that are usually split across tools: creating links, attributing conversions, and managing affiliate partners. Choose it if connecting clicks to revenue — and to partner payouts — is the problem you are solving. If you only need short URLs, the extra capability is likely more than you need.

Dub is a link attribution platform that combines short links, conversion analytics, and affiliate program management in one product. It is a reasonable fit if you run marketing campaigns, affiliate or referral programs, or need to attribute revenue to specific links rather than just count clicks. The site offers a free start option ("Start for free") and a separate demo path ("Get a demo"), and a dedicated pricing page exists at dub.co/pricing for current plan details. Whether it suits you depends on which of its three core capabilities you actually need.

What Dub actually does

Dub describes itself as "the modern link attribution platform for short links, conversion tracking, and affiliate programs." Those are three distinct jobs, and most buyers only need one or two of them:

• Short links — create and manage branded short links at scale, with folders and role-based access control.
• Conversion analytics — an attribution engine that connects marketing activity to revenue outcomes.
• Affiliate programs — an all-in-one partner management platform for affiliate and referral programs.

The unifying idea is stated on the homepage: "Marketing isn't just about clicks. It's about outcomes." If your current stack already handles one of these well, evaluate Dub mainly on the others.

Who it fits

The site positions Dub across several segments, and the homepage explicitly names enterprise and startups (there is a "Startup Program" mentioned in the navigation). Based on the described feature set, here is how to judge fit:

A concrete example: if you run a partner program and currently track partner revenue in a spreadsheet while your links live in a separate shortener, Dub's combination of affiliate management and link attribution removes that split. If you only need a shortener and already have analytics you trust, the affiliate and attribution layers may be more than you need.

Short link features worth checking

The advanced link capabilities are where Dub differentiates from a basic shortener. According to the product page, short links support:

• Built-in QR codes, automatically generated with each short link, with logo and color customization
• Device and geo-targeting
• A/B testing
• Deep links
• Link expiration and link cloaking
• Password protection
• UTM builder, tags, folders, and custom previews
• Custom domains (the site claims custom domains can boost click-through rates by 30%)

Custom domains require DNS configuration — the page shows A records and CNAME records with name, value, and TTL fields, and notes that a domain stays "Pending" until those records are set. Plan for a short setup step if you want branded links like acme.link instead of a shared domain.

Conversion analytics and affiliate tracking

The analytics side is built around attribution: understanding "exactly how your marketing drives revenue." The homepage illustrates this with a funnel view — clicks, leads, and sales shown together (for example, 12.5K clicks, 8.2K leads, $12K sales in the sample display).

The affiliate side tracks per-partner performance, showing revenue and payouts side by side for each partner. If you need to know which partners actually generate revenue versus which generate traffic, this is the relevant capability. If you only need click counts, you do not need this layer.

Integrations and scale

Dub states it connects with "your favorite tools" and is "built to scale." The homepage lists integrations as a product area but does not enumerate specific tools in the available content, so check the integrations page directly if a specific tool (CRM, analytics, or e-commerce platform) is a hard requirement for you.

Pricing: what is confirmed and what to check

What the available site content confirms:

• There is a free starting option ("Start for free").
• There is a demo request path ("Get a demo").
• A pricing page exists at dub.co/pricing.
• Enterprise and startup segments are referenced (including a Startup Program).

What is not confirmed in the available content: specific plan names, prices, usage limits, or whether any paid tier is required for particular features. Do not assume the free option covers affiliate programs or advanced link features — verify tier-by-tier on the pricing page before committing.

How to decide

1. List which of the three capabilities you need: short links, conversion attribution, affiliate management.
2. Open dub.co/pricing and check whether your required features sit in the free tier or a paid one.
3. If you need branded links, confirm you can configure DNS records for your domain.
4. If a specific integration is essential, verify it exists before signing up.
5. If you are evaluating for a team, request the demo rather than starting free, so you can test role-based access and folders.

The short version: Dub is a strong fit if you want link attribution and affiliate tracking unified with short links, and it offers a free entry point to test that. It is likely overkill if you only need a shortener. Confirm current pricing and feature tiers at dub.co/pricing, since the available content does not specify them.