Posts Tagged ‘Bit.ly’

In a nutshell
URL Shorteners are used to reduce the number of characters in a website address. For a expample, clickinghttp://www.wilsonmonnig.com/tinc?key=JxSCQUVa&id=19&design-output-mode=js&design-css-mode=standard on or http://bit.ly/25EvM4 will both take you to the same web page. Some services, like Bit.ly, also offers free statistics and charts to help you track click-through rates on specific shortened URLs.

Why is it useful?
URL shorteners are very useful for social media services like Twitter or Facebook that put a limit on the number of characters you can type in any one message. Some third-party Twitter services like Seesmic even include built in URL shorteners that generated an abbreviated web address right there and then. One downside to using shortened URLs is that sometimes spammers use them to direct unsuspecting users to malicious sites, so be aware that your customers may be cautious about clicking on your link.

Top Alternatives
TinyURL
Bit.ly
Ow.ly
dwarfURL
SnipURL