A URL shortener is a SHORT web address that redirects to a full (long) URL.
Example: Look above in the address bar to see the full web address of this page:
- Long URL: https://google-goo.com/freebies/google-url-shortener
- Short URL: https://goo.gl/nyovko
In most cases, visiting a short URL is virtually seamless for the end user. The user clicks on a link and is seamlessly redirected to their intended destination. The most common place to see shortened URLs is in Twitter where character limits make it difficult to list the full address to websites.
Shortened URL Uses
The two most popular uses for short URL’s are:
- Use in emails – sometimes when you try and send a long URL in an email, the software chops the email off after a certain number of characters and creates a new line which breaks the URL. By sending a short URL it 100% guarantees the link will not be broken.
- Twitter – twitter only allows 140 characters per post, so if you want to include a long URL, then a shortened URL is a clever work round.
goo.gl shut down (2018)
Google has replaced goo.gl, with Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL) on April 13th 2018. The new smart URLs let you send readers to any location within iOS, Android or web apps.
You can no longer create new goo.gl links, but existing goo links will continue to work indefinitely (console closed March 30th, 2019).
Link Shorteners
Google suggests creating FDL’s, or..
- Bit.ly
- Bl.ink
- Rebrand.ly
- Buff.ly
- Ow.ly (Requires Hootsuite account)
Tags: shortener, shorten, shorted, url shotted, url shorten, domain shorter, google goo shoted, google goo url
- URL stands for Universal Resource Locator