Shorten domains and URLs look good in viewing and even five times better than a long ugly link. URL shortener websites/services create an HTTP redirect in the shorten URL and redirect users to the original long URL. If you don’t like the generated link ID, you can even add your own custom characters in the shorten link.
Many marketing companies say that the right way to post links to social media sites, is by shorting link with a URL shortener website. When a user click on the shorten link, the service will record useful data such as number of clicks, user location, platform and more. You can access the analytics data completely for free. Almost all services listed on this page are absolutely free and not required any registration for shortening links.
Following are the best URL Shorteners on the web:
1. Bitly (bit.ly)
Bitly is the popular URL shorting service on the internet with over 600 million shorten request per month. The service was launched in 2009 and become a part of Twitter as a default URL shorten service. Bitly is so popular everywhere, from social networking sites to SMS marketing. As a non-registered user, you can shorten links directly from Bityl.com home page, but in order to use a custom URL and link analytics, you must register.
2. Google URL Shortener (goo.gl)
Google URL shortener is really easy to use and easy to measure even if you have a Google account or not. The service can be easily used through the website and using the developers API. Currently Goo.gl didn’t support custom URL functionality, but I think it will become soon. You can see the analytics data of any Goo.gl URL by adding ‘.info’ after the shorten link. For example, https://goo.gl/<ID>.info.
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3. Ow.ly (ow.ly)
Ow.ly is an another link shortening service provided by one of the best social media tools, Hootsuite. You can easily shrink a long URL through Ow.ly website, but it required registration in order to measure link analytics. Ow.ly’s API is open for developers.
4. TinyURL (tinyurl.com)
Because the TinyURL website is ad supported, the service is absolutely free and it didn’t require any registration or paid subscription. The domain tinyurl.com sounds good in reading that’s why there is no shorten version exist. You can add custom characters in your shorten URL before making a Tiny URL.
5. is.gd (is.gd)
is.gd is redirecting over millions of URLs. It is really simple, free and the API access is open for developers. Before generating the shorten version, expand further options and use the custom URL feature. You can track the link analytics by adding URL ID at the end of, https://is.gd/stats.php?url=<ID>.
6. Godaddy URL Shortner (x.co)
As a most popular domain registration company, GoDaddy is running a URL shortener service with a smallest domain name x.co. But in order to use the service, you will need to register with GoDaddy. There are some more shorten domain versions available, go check it out at shortener.godaddy.com.
