For ClickMagick users, by far the most common reason for the “unsafe” or “privacy” error is because you’re trying to use https:// with a custom tracking domain that is not secure.

And if you’ve just recently started to see this with your custom domains, don’t worry there’s nothing wrong …

We did however recently make a change with how your tracking links are displayed in the ClickMagick interface. Previously they were always displayed as http:// links, but now they are always displayed as https:// as a gentle reminder that you shouldn’t be using insecure http:// links in 2020.

For more important details on this, please see the article below:
   

Please note that none of this affects any of your links. If however you “copy and paste” an https:// tracking link from ClickMagick into your browser and it uses a custom domain that isn’t secure, you will see a privacy warning. Until you secure your domain, simply remove the “s” and change the link to http:// and it’ll work just fine.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the real fix for the problem…


Solution #1 – Use Cloudflare With a Brand New Custom Tracking Domain

The easiest and most recommended solution is to buy a new domain that you only use for tracking purposes. You can buy a new domain for as little as $2 and you can then set this new domain up with Cloudflare which provides you with the free SSL.

Because you’ll only be using this new domain for tracking, it doesn’t have to be a “perfect” domain.

If your regular site is golfstuff.com, you can simply use an unlikely variant like glfstff.com or golfstufftrk.com for tracking. Visitors won’t ever be typing your custom domain, and in many cases it won’t even be visible, so you normally don’t have to worry about it being “perfect.”

To learn how to set up your secure custom tracking domain this way, follow this article:

How do I set up a secure custom tracking domain?


Solution #2 – Use Cloudflare With Your Existing Domain

It’s not recommended, but If you insist on using a domain that you already own with Cloudflare, you can just point your domain nameservers to Cloudflare and set up a subdomain with ClickMagick.

If you want to go this route, read this article to learn how to add a subdomain to your custom tracking domain:

How do I set up a secure custom tracking domain?


Solution #3 – Buy a “Wildcard” SSL Certificate

If you’re hosting a website with your own domain and your hosting company gave you a free SSL certificate, keep in mind that while that will secure your “root” domain e.g. mydomain.com it will almost certainly NOT secure any sub-domains such as track.mydomain.com that you set up for tracking purposes.

For that you would need a “wildcard” SSL certificate. A wildcard SSL certificate will secure all of your subdomains as well, but the downside is that there’s usually a separate cost for this.

So if you’re in this situation you can inquire with your hosting company about getting a wildcard SSL certificate and see how much they charge. If it sounds reasonable to you then you can go ahead and get a wildcard SSL certificate and this will allow you to set up an unlimited number of secure sub-domains for tracking purposes.

Article 488 Last updated: 07/22/2021 10:50:58 AM
https://www.clickmagick.com/kb/?article=488