A short-course in URL shorteners

A new Web tool is growing in prominence thanks in large part to micro-blogging services like Twitter. The 140-character limit of the micro-blogging site makes sharing lengthy URLs cumbersome, and often impossible. Additionally, longer links can break in e-mails, are difficult to verbalize and remember. That’s why URL shorteners are handy. They abbreviate lengthy URLs into a more digestible format; most less than 20 characters.

Aside from simply shortening a link, one of the most widely recognized benefits of using a URL shortener is the ability of some of them to track clicks. This helps marketers provide instant measurement of the social media effort. Shorter links are also useful with mobile communications. And some shorteners even allow for custom descriptive words in the new URL, allowing users to keep a mention of their brand in the link. Another plus for marketers.

Search engine writer Dan Sullivan of Search Engine Land compared URL shortener service options in his recent article, URL Shorteners: Which Service Should you Use? He pointed out features that are important to consider, such as search engine optimization, tracking, stability, custom URLs, etc. If you are new to URL shortening, this article will help make sure the shortener you use will meet all your objectives.