How to set up dedicated click tracking

You will learn

Learn how to set up dedicated click tracking and best practices when doing so. Dedicated click tracking allows you to show your own domain on click-tracking links rather than the default Klaviyo domain. You can now set up, verify, and remove your click-tracking domain yourself from your account settings.

What is dedicated click tracking?

Dedicated click tracking displays your own domain on click-tracking links instead of the default Klaviyo encoding. When a recipient hovers over a link in one of your emails, they see your brand's domain instead of a long string of letters and numbers from a Klaviyo-encoded link.

Why set up dedicated click tracking?

Dedicated click tracking makes the links in your emails easier for recipients to recognize, which builds trust and may increase click-through rates.

Mailbox providers and filtering software also consider the reputation of every domain used in your messaging. Using the same root domain in both your click-tracking links and your sending domain creates alignment across your brand and supports better deliverability.

Dedicated click tracking is also a prerequisite for using Universal Links and Android App Links in your email messages.

Before you begin

You must be on a paid Klaviyo plan to set up a dedicated click-tracking domain. Accounts on the free plan will see an Upgrade required message when accessing the click-tracking domain setup.

Only users with Owner, Admin, Manager, or Campaign Coordinator roles can set up a click-tracking domain.

You can have 1 click-tracking domain configured at a time. To replace an existing domain, review the removal guidance below before adding a new one.

Set up a click-tracking domain

You can configure your click-tracking domain in 1 of 2 ways:

• Automatic: Klaviyo provisions the DNS record for you under your existing branded sending domain. No DNS changes are required on your end. Available if you have a verified dynamic branded sending domain for marketing, including one that is active or warming.
• Manual: You add the generated CNAME and TXT records at your DNS provider. Available to all paid accounts.

To begin setup:

1. Click your company name in the bottom left corner of your account.
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Domains.
4. Scroll to the Click-tracking domains section and select Add Domain.

Klaviyo will check whether your account is eligible for the Automatic option. If it is, choose Automatic or Manual, then select Next. If it isn't, you'll go directly to the manual setup steps.

Set up a click-tracking domain automatically

Automatic setup is available if you have a verified dynamic branded sending domain for marketing, including one that is active or warming. Klaviyo creates your click-tracking subdomain under that domain, so you do not need to add the CNAME record at your DNS provider.

1. Enter a prefix in Click-tracking subdomain and review the full domain preview. The prefix defaults to trk, but you can change it, for example, to links. Klaviyo appends it to your marketing branded sending domain, for example, trk.send.helloworld.com.
2. Select Next to create the domain.
3. Klaviyo creates the DNS record and begins verification. You'll see the domain in your click-tracking domains list with a Verifying status.

To use a domain outside the branded sending domain shown in the preview, use Manual setup.

Set up a click-tracking domain manually

In Manual setup, you add the generated CNAME and TXT records at your DNS provider. You can use Entri to publish the records automatically if your DNS provider is supported, or copy the records and add them yourself.

1. Enter the full domain you want to use in Click-tracking domain, for example, trk.helloworld.com or links.helloworld.com. Klaviyo pre-fills trk followed by your default domain as a starting point.
2. Select Next. Klaviyo generates the DNS records for your click-tracking domain.
3. If prompted, choose how to publish the records. If Connect with Entri is not available, continue with manual DNS configuration:
   • Connect with Entri: log in to your DNS provider and follow the prompts to publish the generated records. This option is available when Klaviyo detects a supported DNS provider.
   • Set up manually: select your DNS provider, then select Next. Copy the generated CNAME and TXT records and add them at your DNS provider. Return to Klaviyo and select Next.
4. On the verification screen, select Finish to return to Domains. Klaviyo verifies the records automatically. Once the domain is verified, activate it as described below.

The manual setup records look like this:

The exact CNAME hostname depends on the full domain you chose. Use the hostnames and values Klaviyo generates for both records. The TXT record belongs on your root domain.

What happens after setup

After you create your click-tracking domain, Klaviyo starts verifying the DNS records and provisioning an SSL/TLS certificate. Verification runs automatically. Klaviyo checks every 15 minutes for up to 2 days. If the status is Action Required or Failed, open View records and select Verify to check again.

Your domain moves through these statuses:

• Verifying: Klaviyo is checking your DNS record and provisioning the SSL/TLS certificate. DNS verification typically completes within a few minutes once your record is published; certificate provisioning can take longer.
• Action Required: verification is taking longer than expected. Select View records to check the DNS records and certificate status.
• Failed: the domain could not be verified after multiple attempts. See the Troubleshoot section below.
• Verified: DNS verification and SSL/TLS provisioning are complete. Select Activate in the banner above the domain, then select Activate in the confirmation dialog to start using it for click-tracking links in your emails.
• Active: your emails are using this domain in their click-tracking links.

Until you activate the domain, your emails continue to use Klaviyo's shared click-tracking domain.

Why SSL/TLS certificates matter

An SSL/TLS certificate proves a domain is what it claims to be and lets browsers connect to it securely. When a valid certificate covers a hostname, links to it load over https:// with no warning. When one is missing or does not match the hostname, browsers warn your recipient or refuse to load the page.

Your click-tracking domain needs one because every tracked link in your emails points at it. If that domain cannot be served securely, recipients see a warning instead of your content.

On Klaviyo's current setup there is nothing for you to do. Klaviyo requests the certificate for your click-tracking subdomain when you add the domain, renews it automatically, and shows the domain as Verified once both DNS verification and certificate provisioning are complete.

If View records shows CNAME values pointing to sendgrid.net, your domain uses a legacy setup and Klaviyo does not manage its certificate. See How to configure SSL/TLS on a legacy click-tracking domain to check whether yours is working and to configure it.

CAA records

CAA (certification authority authorization) records are a type of DNS record that reduce the risk of unauthorized certificate generation. If your brand has a CAA record on your root domain, the record must include the following property so that Klaviyo can generate SSL/TLS certificates for your click-tracking subdomain:

This is only required when you use Manual setup with a CNAME pointing to klaviyodns.com. If you do not have any CAA records on your root domain, no action is needed.

View your click-tracking domain records

To view the DNS records for an existing click-tracking domain:

1. Go to Settings > Domains.
2. In the Click-tracking domains section, find the domain you want to view.
3. Select the 3-dot menu for that domain and choose View records.

The records panel displays the CNAME and TXT records in both setup modes:

• Manual setup: these are the records you added at your DNS provider. Use them to confirm or troubleshoot your DNS configuration.
• Automatic setup: Klaviyo manages the CNAME record under your branded sending domain. The panel also shows the TXT record used to verify your root domain.

Remove a click-tracking domain

You can remove a click-tracking domain from your account at any time. After removal, your emails will use Klaviyo's shared click-tracking domain instead.

1. Go to Settings > Domains.
2. In the Click-tracking domains section, find the domain you want to remove.
3. Select the 3-dot menu and choose Remove.
4. Select Remove in the confirmation dialog.

Regardless of your DNS setup, click-tracking links stop redirecting 90 days after a message is sent. Links required for compliance, such as unsubscribe, are not affected.

Manage click tracking

You can stop recording clicks on a single link, for individual recipients, or across your whole account. See How to manage click tracking for all three options.

Troubleshoot click-tracking domain setup

If your click-tracking domain fails to verify or shows Action Required, work through the checks below.

Confirm the CNAME and TXT records are published

Use a public DNS lookup tool to confirm your CNAME and TXT records are reachable from outside your network:

• https://www.whatsmydns.net/
• https://dnschecker.org/

Look up the CNAME for your click-tracking domain, for example, trk.helloworld.com, and confirm its value matches the value Klaviyo generated. Then look up TXT records for your root domain and confirm the generated verification value is present.

Disable record proxying

If you use Cloudflare or another DNS provider that supports record proxying, confirm proxying is disabled for your click-tracking CNAME. Proxying prevents Klaviyo from verifying the record and provisioning your SSL/TLS certificate.

Check for CAA conflicts

If you used Manual setup and your root domain has CAA records, confirm that 0 issue pki.goog is allowed. Without this, Klaviyo cannot issue an SSL/TLS certificate for your click-tracking subdomain. See the CAA records section above.

Wait for DNS propagation

DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though most updates are visible within a few minutes. If your record looks correct but verification is failing, wait and try again.

DNS resources

If you're not sure how to update your DNS records, see these DNS guides and provider instructions:

• GoDaddy
• DNS basics (Google Workspace)
• Cloudflare
• Name.com
• Hostgator
• Hover
• Namecheap
• Squarespace

Additional resources