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Check these troubleshooting steps for some common issues with domain verification.
Use two different domains for your Bitly links and your website
Make sure you are utilizing a new domain or subdomain to link to your Bitly account and not your existing website. The reason for this is that multiple IP addresses within the DNS record will direct all traffic from your website to a Bitly landing page.
For example, these are ESPN's website domain and domain for short links:
Website: www.espn.com
Short links: es.pn
Configure the DNS record for your own custom domain
This is the most common reason for domain verification problems. If you are adding your own domain from an external host, like GoDaddy, you will want to ensure your DNS record includes the following settings in order to point to Bitly:
| RECORD TYPE | HOSTNAME | POINTS TO |
| A | @ | 67.199.248.12 |
| A | @ | 67.199.248.13 |
| If you are using a subdomain, set a CNAME as follows: | ||
| RECORD TYPE | HOSTNAME | POINTS TO |
| CNAME | @ | cname.bitly.com |
For more details, see our step-by-step guide on configuring your custom domain.
Add your own domain before using Bitly's complimentary domain
(That is, if you have one.)
If you haven't added a domain yet, Bitly offers a complimentary domain.
If you have just redeemed a complimentary domain through Bitly and you receive a verification failed status, please allow up to 24 hours for the settings to verify and attach to your account. You can also remove the domain from your account and re-add it to verify.
Check your IP address setup
After you have configured your custom domain and are unsure if it is correctly pointing to Bitly, we recommend heading over to whatsmydns.net and pasting your domain name in the search bar. The search return will immediately let you know what IP addresses are active in your DNS record. If there are other IP addresses in addition to the Bitly addresses listed above, you will need to edit your record and remove these IP addresses.
Once your record had been edited and is successfully pointing to Bitly (and no other IP addresses) you can head back to your account, remove your domain and re-attach. It should then verify right away and you can get started creating custom links!