A URL shortener is a website that reduces the length of your URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The idea is to minimize the web page address into something that’s easier to remember and track.
There are many URL shorteners on the market today, including Bit.ly, Goog.le and Tinyurl.com. The URL shortening service you choose will maintain the connection between the new link and the original URL. This means that anyone who clicks your new link will be redirected to the original page.
Why URL shorteners are amazing
Content is a critical part of any marketing strategy. To share that content, you’ll need the right URLs. A URL shortener ensures that you get the right messages out to your audience without taking up too much space in your social posts.
Additionally, tools like Bit.ly:
- Make it easier to share your content. Simplified and branded URLs tell customers everything they need to know about your site. There’s no need to use reduced URLs with random combinations of letters and numbers anymore.
- Make your URLs more appealing. Shorter URLs have more aesthetic appeal. Although this might not seem important, a shorter URL could make all the difference in convincing someone to click on your links.
- Allows for traffic monitoring. Bit.ly comes with tracking monitors that measure the sharing activities of your tweet or post over a certain period.
- Help your URLs look more aesthetically pleasing. While it’s great that you’re tracking your social media analytics, your link ends up looking incredibly scammy as a result. This will make people much less likely to click on it and directly impact your metrics. This is where a good URL shortener comes in. You can hide all of that tracking information while providing your target audience with a solid user experience.
- Let you brand your links. One of your most important metrics is brand awareness. This is the amount of attention your brand gets across different platforms like social media. That means you’re going to want to seize every opportunity to put your brand in front of as many eyes as possible—including your URL short link. Some URL shorteners allow you to customize your short link. This can help you subtly promote and spread your brand and increase brand awareness.
- Help save space and save you from strict character limits. Is there anything more frustrating than crafting an awesome social media post—only to find that you’ve gone past the character limit by a few letters? Luckily, a good URL shortener can help you save space with your post. This allows you to squeeze in a few more words or hashtags in order to help spread your brand.
Even though link shorteners are very ideal, it’s critical to remember to create short links that don’t potentially ruin your brand reputation. URL shortener tools are fantastic alternatives to long, bulky URLs, they also hide original content in your link.
This can make your target audience a bit more suspicious about what you have to offer. Brands and businesses need to be sure that their links always lead to the content promised.
How do you find and use URL shorteners?
There are plenty of URL shortener tools on the market today. Some sites, like bit.ly, handle everything from URL shortening to analytics and tracking like. Others simply transform your URL into a new reduced link.
When you choose the URL shortener you want to use, simply enter your URL into the content box and click the button to reduce the link. Remember to be careful of link shortener tools that remove the branding from your content as this could make the link look less reliable.
