Bitly and TinyURL are both services referred to as “link shorteners,” which means they take long URLs and shrink them into much smaller ones. Then, when you enter them into your web browser, they get converted back to their full length. For example, both bit.ly/1c92v5e and tinyurl.com/ngnr2v will take you to the Tech for Luddites home page.
I don’t know when the first link shortener was created but it really came into its own when Twitter began to take off, thanks to its 140-character limit.
NOTE: I also don’t know if TinyURL was the first link shortener ever, but it was the first one I ever saw used regularly. And while I normally like to reward a company who comes up with such a brilliant idea by sticking with them even when the inevitable competitors come along (the reason I stayed with Netflix’s mail-at-home DVD service even when Walmart and Blockbuster came out with less expensive options), the inherent value of a link shortener is its shortness. So since the tinyurl.com domain uses 11 characters and bit.ly uses only 6, I made the switch.
First a little terminology lesson. “Bitly” is the name of the company. They call their shortened links “bitlinks” and the first part of the shortened link is “bit.ly”.
Creating Bitlinks
Creating a bitlink is very simple. Just go to bitly.com and enter the full URL in the box at the top right of the screen.
Click “Shorten” and you’ll be taken to a page with your new shorter URL.
That’s it! Now just click the Copy button and then go to wherever you want to use it and paste it in.
About Twitter and Bitlinks
Although one of the original big uses of bitlinks was to reduce the number of characters in a tweet, a change Twitter made some time ago actually eliminates that benefit. That’s because even though you might still see the bitlink in the tweet, behind the scenes Twitter converts all links using its own shortening service (t.co) and will count all links as 22 characters (23 if they use “https”).
A Few More Notes about Bitlinks
Do you use bitlinks or other URL shorteners a lot? If you have any tips you want to share, add them in the comments below!
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View Comments
Thanks, this was very helpful as I have been wondering how this is done.
I do internet marketing for small businesses and some of them are still in the process of having websites built. I thought using a Bit.ly would be useful to build landing pages using my main marketing site as the host.
Some people look at the links to ensure safety, which is perfectly fine, but this helps eliminate people from worrying about the link for local mechanics shop when it shows my webnflo.co as the permalink.
Thanks for updating this article I think it has confirmed my thought on using it as such. I'll have to test it and then post a blog on how it worked out, with a backlink here of course!
Very interesting article, THANKS
Thanks for the helpful post Elizabeth !
Seems, I cannot get the + thing working on IE 11 .. The URL does not show up as a preview for me .
Hmmm... I never use IE 11 anymore, but I just tested it and it worked for me.
One thing though: If you're getting the Bitly link from Twitter and you're using the right-click option to copy the link location so you're using the URL that begins with "t.co", that doesn't work with the plus sign (in any browser). The URL must be pasted in as "bit.ly/..."
Otherwise, I'm not sure why it's not working for you.
- Elizabeth
Useful ty.
Using Bit.ly for links looks so much more professional If you're going to be publicizing the links at all. Especially if the link you're shortening has any series of numbers in them, like dates or page numbers. It makes it easier for the readers too.
Nice trick about adding the "+" at the end. I didn't know that before. Thanks!
I didn't know until I was reworking the article either. I knew TinyURL had that feature but had never heard about it for Bit.ly. So I did a search and sure enough...!
- Elizabeth