ClickMagick custom domain: the DNS records and checks to finish before sending traffic

Prerequisites for a ClickMagick custom domain

ClickMagick documents two kinds of custom domain. A custom tracking domain loads your tracking code: ClickMagick says you need only one, however many sites or Projects you have, and it allows one. Custom domains for Smart Links and Rotators carry those links: Starter allows two, and ClickMagick says Standard and Pro allow more, with the exact number on its sign-up page. For the custom tracking domain, ClickMagick says you need access to the account where the domain is registered. ClickMagick's pricing page offers a 14-day free trial, and its Starter card lists a first-party tracking domain.

Set up a ClickMagick custom domain step by step

ClickMagick's help center gives these steps for the custom tracking domain:

1. Register a new domain, or use a subdomain of one you already own, such as clk.yourdomain.com. ClickMagick says the root domain alone cannot be used.
2. At your domain registrar or DNS host, add a CNAME record that points to cdn.clkmc.com, with the shortest TTL (time to live) it allows. On Cloudflare, set the record to DNS only, not Proxied.
3. After a few minutes, open your Project Dashboard, then Tools, then Custom Domain; enter the domain and click Continue.
4. Wait for the automatic verification, which ClickMagick says usually takes a minute.

ClickMagick says a store that uses its Shopify App does not need a custom tracking domain.

Verify the expected result

Once the domain is verified, ClickMagick's Website Code tool uses it for new tracking code. Tracking code already on your pages keeps the old address until you update it: regenerate it with the Website Code tool or, as the help center describes, edit the last line of the code by hand.

Custom domains for Smart Links and Rotators

ClickMagick says a custom domain is required to use Smart Links in social media or email marketing, because its generic clkmg.com and clkmr.com tracking domains cannot be used there. One domain can serve thousands of Smart Links; a custom domain for Rotators as well takes a second one. ClickMagick strongly recommends a new domain used only for tracking, because a DNS mistake on a domain that already serves a website can break that site for a while.

Troubleshoot the likely failure points

If ClickMagick shows a "CNAME doesn't exist" error, its help center says to wait a few more minutes and try again. If the domain still does not verify, check that the record is a CNAME pointing to cdn.clkmc.com, that it sits on a subdomain rather than the root domain, and that Cloudflare shows DNS only, not Proxied.

Plan limits after launch

One custom tracking domain serves every Project, so a second site needs no second tracking domain. For Smart Links and Rotators, Starter's two custom domains are the limit; ClickMagick says Standard, $199 a month on monthly billing, and Pro allow more. ClickMagick counts yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com as one domain toward that limit.