Are short link domains affecting ad approvals in 2026?

[trastly.org]

I’ve been noticing something interesting lately It feels like the domain of your short link now matters more than ever. Not talking about tracking, but actual approval rate + stability.

For example:
-Some shorteners get flagged instantly
-Some work for a few days and then die
-Others seem to pass moderation much easier

Same offer, same landing page, same creatives, only the link domain changed. And results were different.

So I’m curious:
Do you guys see better approvals with certain domains? Are you still using classic shorteners or going custom domains only?

Would love to hear real tests (FB / TikTok / Google / Native).
What’s working for you right now?

 

[ivanreach]

We’ve definitely noticed this too! Major platforms are getting much stricter about standard shorteners because they're so often used for spam. For our campaigns at Reacheffect, we’ve moved almost entirely to custom domains on dedicated hosting to keep our approval rates high and stable.

 

[T J Tutor]

Major platforms are getting much stricter about standard shorteners because they're so often used for spam.

Not just major platforms. Most all of any legitimate businesses in our industry. I haven't used them since 2017. I got ahead of the curve. I early adopt in our industry related practices. Especially these days.

 

[Francesca90]

Short links don’t automatically hurt approvals, but they can raise flags if the domain looks like it’s mainly used for redirects or hides the real content.
If it’s just used inside a normal site usually fine. If the whole setup is short-link/redirect heavy, approvals can get stricter. I’ve also seen some publishers diversify with networks like AdMaven alongside AdSense in cases like this.

 

[Ascendex]

Custom domains definitely seem to perform better for approval rates. Good insight.