Bitly is apparently adding a preview page, and ads to your shortened link. Right off the top, no thanks. The whole point of a shortened link is to make a long link less unweildy and more “pretty”. There really is no other reason to have a short link. It doesn’t help that as more and more scams pop up on the web, using short, hard-to-decipher links, the novelty of services like Bitly drops signifficanty. When people look at a shortlink now, the question of “Is this a scam?” is probably the first thought they have.
So Bitly, you are already starting on the back foot since you conjure thoughts of scams. Now you are telling me you are going to interrupt my users’ journey by showing them a “Preview” page for a link they already decided to visit. All to show them an ad?
Nah.
It’s time to love your long links, people. The same way you should love yourself for who you are. Accept your website’s taxonomy with all it’s flaws. Or better yet, just improve it with the tips below to make your links a manageable, perfect length.
Pick a short domain & unique domain extensions
If you have your domain and you love it, great. If you are just starting out and worried your business name is crazy long, you have to get creative. Face facts, “.com” domains are gone. You will be very VERY lucky to get one that is short and makes sense. Lucky for you, there are a ton of TLD’s you can grab that are viable and short. For example, “.co”, “.tv”, “.us”, “.studio”, “.net”. They are all great and the variety gives you the space to have some fun with your domains depending on your company name.
For example, for a professional wrestling project called “Tusslin'”, I was able to secure the domain tussl.in. Look how short, branded, and clever that is? There is also my platform Super. Black where the domain is pretty perfect: https://super.black. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Less is more: Remove unnecessary elements
Services like WordPress give you lots of options to structure your URLs. You can add digits, categories, tags, post names, dates, etc. You have quite a bit of control over how your posts and page URLs are put together. WIth that said, resist the urge to use 98% of those things. Your links rarely need dates; they age your content. Most websites never need to add ID numbers to posts, the exception being dense websites that require an extra level of uniqueness to avoid slug confusion (For example, a wiki site like Giant Bomb that may have multiple pages with the name title but different content attached).
At most, add your post name and call it a day. WordPress will take care of the rest. Even if you are building an app from scratch, embrace the “less is more” pattern with your URLs and you should be golden. Start with the base unique slug and only add on what is essential to keeping your content organized.
Search engines take care of long URL problems
Stop writing out URLs in print documents
Sometimes you may have to add a specific page link to a document that will be printed out. Maybe for further instructions or to a video. I have no idea, but it happens. Let’s clear the air, no one is retyping links from print documents. Especially long ones, or short links with various caps and numers in them. At best, they will visit your top level domain and try to search within your site for the page. At worst, they are Googling whatever it is you want them to visit and hoping your site comes up.
Take this opportunity to get creative with what links you add to these printables. If you need to link to a video, create a playlist on YouTube or on your website itself and link to the that. Put the burden on your SEO and make sure your video topics exactly match whats written so users know what to search when they get online. You can also utilize QR codes (although, they get a bad wrap these days as well so be careful), or create landing pages with branded URLs that contain all the content related to whatever is in the document. You have options that are better than just typing out links.
Forget Bitly and short links. Embrace your long links
I don’t remember the last time I truly needed a link shortened. With SEO, Bookmarks, Seach engines, branded custom QR Codes, domain authority, and even those goofy Linktree style hubs, short links aren’t really needed today. If you take the time to set up your URL structure from the start, you won’t ever really need to shorten your links. If you have a long domain, or simply can’t avoid having the ongest URLs ever, you have to lean on your SEO and the quality of your content to carry those pages. If you really really really need a link shortener, there are still free alternatives like Tiny URL and others that can help. I say, just love your links as they are and avoid predatory paywalls.
Be better, Bitly. You may have overestimated your provided value here.
Let me know how many short links you have and if they are still relevant in your workflow.